There was a time when you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of a drum ‘n’ bass label boss. You might have been thrown down a set of stairs. Or woken up in the middle of the night with an offer you couldn’t refuse.

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In the process, Kasra’s created a broad church: neurofunk specialists Mefjus and Emperor, with their obsessive pursuit for technical supremacy akin to Noisia and Phace, sit alongside Ivy Lab’s futuristic experimentation into halftime beats and bass that make you go “oooof”. And Critical has already racked up 100 releases, not bad for a label that’s essentially “music that I like,” says the understated bossman, as he looks out at the dreamy cobalt blue Adriatic sea during this year’s Outlook Festival.

He’s not alone in liking Critical’s music. The label pulls massive crowds from London’s fabric to the Let It Roll festival, a sci-fi d’n’b fantasyland in the Czech Republic. Standing under a pregnant moon, surrounded by uplit trees and skanking ravers at Outlook’s Critical stage, the dedication to the label is clear: a blogger enthusiastically explains that he’s travelled from Toronto; a Belgian guy gasses about Critical shows at Star Warz in Ghent; and a raver in a cardboard box (nationality unknown) dances appreciatively as Kasra drops Enei’s infectious, rolling earworm ‘The Process’.

It wasn’t always this way. Imagine a time before Facebook and selfie sticks, a time when everyone had a friend called Tom on MySpace, a time when the Dogs On Acid forum was one of the busiest on the planet.

If people weren’t paying attention before, they were by the time Calibre’s ‘Rockafella’ came out. “That was a watershed moment for the label, really. We were nine releases in and the people so far weren’t exactly household names. Dom [Calibre] was really flying then. It put us on the map.”

And despite Rockwell moving over to Shogun, most of the current roster has a long-standing association. Sabre, one third of beat scientists Ivy Lab (with Stray and Halogenix), goes back even further. “I’ve known Gove [Sabre] for nearly the whole time I’ve been running the label,” Kasra says.

“I love their music,” he continues, contemplating Ivy Lab’s rise to become one of the most exciting acts making beats today, “so when they come with the halftime curveballs, or the liquid stuff, it’s a natural thing to want to work with them.”

• 15 years strong: Critical Music has become a drum 'n' bass empire
• 15 years strong: Critical Music has become a drum 'n' bass empire
• 15 years strong: Critical Music has become a drum 'n' bass empire

Afterwards, as everyone staggers back up the hill, an excitable fan shouts, “Emperor and Enei was the best set I’ve ever seen!” But it’s the sounds of Ivy Lab and Sam Binga that leave the biggest impression; their set effortlessly bounced between 80 and 160 BPM, cutting and splicing through junglist vibrations, snippets of Dirty South vocals, stuttering snares, wonky and utterly infectious beats and bleeps, and bassline pressure so weighty it leaves you gasping for air.

Their importance is not lost on Kasra: “We are predominantly a drum ‘n’ bass label but that doesn’t mean it all has to be. I would struggle to run a label if I was putting out the same music every month; it would be boring.”

A couple of weeks later we’re back in London, N15 to be precise, on an industrial estate. Croatia is lovely and that, but this is more familiar territory for UK drum ‘n’ bass heads. As a JCB claws its way through grimy mattresses and urban detritus across the road, there’s a hive of activity at Ten 87 studios, a complex that’s home to the likes of Kasra and Alix Perez.

In a unit where Ivy Lab and Foreign Beggars have been cooking up future beats (using Sriracha hot sauce as a secret ingredient, by the looks of it), Kasra picks up the thread about the label’s sound. “There’s talk that we’re just a neurofunk label, but I think we’re one of the most diverse labels out there,” he says with just a faint sense of frustration in his voice.

He’s got a point. There’s no doubt the label does rep that sound in a big way, and Mefjus, who is mixing the forthcoming Fabriclive 95, has become a star in that world, but Critical deserves better than to be pigeon holed. In any case what’s coming up is the perfect response. Sam Binga and Rider Shafique’s ‘Champion’ EP is a futuristic dancehall release – and it’s fucking great that a d’n’b label is confident enough to put it out.

“I listened to it and wasn’t sure whether it was right for the label,” Kasra reflects, “and then I saw there’s a bigger picture. I’m a big fan of putting out records that people might not expect.”

When Kasra set up Critical 15 years ago it was unheard of for a drum ‘n’ bass label to put out a dancehall record. This openness to outside influences and unshackling from the confines of tempo means Critical – and, as a result, drum ‘n’ bass - is in a very healthy place.

“A lot of people regularly write drum ‘n’ bass off as being ‘that stuff that was popular in the late ‘90s’, so it’s inspiring to see we’re being given the opportunity to play on stages to tens of thousands of people this year. A lot of the music scene is based on hype and fads. For the most part, I’ve never known drum ‘n’ bass to be cool. That’s fine. We just get on with it. The people who love it, really love it.”

Mark O'Donnell is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Twitter

Asia Huddleston is a freelance photographer. Follow her on Instagram

Emperor’s long awaited debut album is finally among us! Does it live up to the hype?

Hell yes! The young prodigy Conor Corrigan has been working on this for quite a while, wanting to make it a deep, personal look for the listener into his art, so much as releasing 6 of its intended tracks last year in the Into Black EP to leave room for something else than pure dancefloor bangers.

Of course the album is chock full of them, but the LP format allows him to explore other musical avenues to splendid results!

Much of the album’s songs display Emperor’s trademark sound, but taken up a notch. It’s really interesting to listen to all the intricate details stemming from the unique way he works with sound. I don’t know if his workflow is still entirely sample-based, but a few years back he made a video taking us through how he made his debut release for Critical, “Monolith”. He was explaining how he prefers to do everything with audio clips : drums, basslines, etc. and how he treats his entire mixes through the Ozone mastering plugin.

You may think “well, what makes that so special?” but he has managed to construct a very distinct sonic identity that is obviously influenced by the mechanical undertones of neurofunk but that sounds very organic, like every sound is breathing with and flowing into the next, like an interdependent whole, a “sonic” organism if you will. I posit that this stems from the afore-mentioned sound manipulation techniques. Every time-stretching artefact and clipping from the basses distorting the surrounding sounds adding rich details to the whole.

It’s also quite interesting that he uses a lot of breaks and acoustic drum sounds, in an era where most DnB is filled with predominantly synthesized (cough, Vengeance, cough) samples, and these sounds and the natural swing in their rhythms further add to the organic character of the music.

His use of reverb and his choice of vintage sounding melodic samples (strings, piano, etc.) also add to the atmosphere of his compositions, creating a contrast with the brash, harsh drums and basses. It is also interesting to note that while Emperor is adept at making immense drops, he seems to also take into consideration the inclusion of more melodies into his harder tunes.

Now let’s go into a more detailed examination of the songs. I usually write in depth analyses of the songs I review, but the album has sixteen tracks and I don’t feel like writing a novel, so I’ll resume my thoughts on each tune into a sentence, or two (a brilliant suggestion from my girlfriend).

“Cold Snap” is a wonderful album opener with its otherworldly intro and its immense drops that has didgeridoos and mild melting reeces battle for bass supremacy over awesome stepping breaks. It invokes a bit of that classic Noisia sound and is a bonafied future classic, and definitely a hard one to beat (but Emperor manages to do so throughout the album).

“Haste” is a pure Emperor dancefloor stormer with a simple, transforming and devastating bassline and a suspenseful piano loop that both work really well to create a tension and release structure. This one seems mainly orientated at heavy club rotation and fulfils this function perfectly.

“I Was” is a more experimental, playful track with a joyful, but somehow disturbed melody. It is a nice nod to Phace, even formerly being called “I Am” and it’s the first big surprise on the album. I absolutely love it and I wish there was more DnB like this out there that boldly takes chances.

“Foxholes” is a more minimal roller type of song, with less focus on destructive sound design and more on providing a cool, retro tech-step vibe. The ring-modulated bass is a possible nod to Current Value and how dissonance can be a useful tool for musical exploration.

“Shapeshift” reminds me a bit of Ed Rush & Optical, but mixed in with Heavy Metal squelchy 303 stabs and it gets even better on the second drop. It’s another tune that revolves around its root note and makes the most of it. Freaky cyberfunk from the shapeshifter’s realm.

“From Ashes” is probably the heaviest, darkest tune on the album. It is menacing and unrelenting, like a Terminator. It reminds me of classic Spor tunes with the huge bio-mechanoid type bass and ominous atmosphere. One of the album’s best!

Emperor Drum And Bass Clef

“Infrasound” takes a bit of a departure from DnB and explores minimal dub-like halftime structures, later going into a breakbeat rhythm, underpinned by a dark, almost industrial, sci-fi atmosphere. A nice little interlude of sorts.

“Dispositions” is also on the softer side of things, with a laid back vibe. I find difficult to listen to it however, because of Peta Oneir’s very pitchy vocals. I respect the intention of keeping it organic sounding with no auto-tune but she seems to have a hard time keeping a note and it really ruins the song for me. The instrumental backdrop does seem very interesting and enjoyable though.

Drum And Bass Music

“Interstellar” marks the return to full on speaker-cone-melting neurofunk with a wonderful twisted, juicy bassline and what appear to be the first synthesized drums on the record. It’s a very high impact number and it also features some wonderful atmospheres in the quieter sections.

“One Foot” has an awesome, trancy, nostalgia-inducing arpeggio and a killer drop where the bass and kick drum are focused on rhythmic counterpoints, a figure often seen in metal (and recent Teddy Killerz songs) that works to great effect on making one want to bounce everywhere in the room. Terrific track!

Emperor Drum And Bass Pro Shop

“Sidestep” continues the intense dancefloor workout with a techy roller vibe filled with squelchy reeses, and a sort of mutated juke rhythm that sounds like it’s coming from a washing machine in its breakdowns, while its 2nd drop focuses a bit more on the intense breakbeat workout.

“Jounce” has a heavily shuffled UKG-style rhythm, which is quite refreshing when paired with the funky minimal neuro bass hits. Hence this track definitely puts the funk back in Neurofunk, and is guaranteed to set off intense bouts of skanking!

“Thunder” features the inimitable MC Fats, a lovely jungle atmosphere and a laid back sound that is most pleasant. It is essentially a contemporary version of jungle, but stripped of its ever fetishized breaks & augmented with a bit of uneasy, nasty bass. Lovely tune for those dreamy, rainy afternoons…

“Made Of Light” is the final track in the album’s arc, closing an intense journey with its smoothest moment. The vocals here are extremely enjoyable, never too caught up in the ever present histrionics of pop performance and just sexy enough to keep you coming back for more without pandering to easy clichés. The instrumental is, as the rest of the album’s tracks : flawless, although definitely more intent on creating a rich vibe than showing off technical prowess.

The album in itself is over, but there are 2 more tracks! VIPs of “Control” and “Mindgames”. I haven’t heard the original of “Control” but i am mightily impressed (yet again) with this tune. Deceptively simple, yet incredibly addictive, Emperor has yet again created an infectious techy roller of massive proportions!

I am more familiar with “Mindgames” and while i prefer the original, i must say that this version gets better and better with each twist and turn Conor decides to explore next! I can pretty much sum it up the way the rest of this album is : a fearless exploration, both technically and musically of Drum & Bass. Never afraid to push boundaries or sound different (contrarily to much dnb these days).

Drum And Bass Video

With “Dispositions”, Emperor shows us that through bold aesthetic choices and sheer aural ingenuity, he is one of the pioneers of the future of drum & bass. Always looking forward and beyond what the music currently is, and not afraid to expand the palette of a genre that too often suffers from musical inbreeding, which is a threat more than ever with the rise of youtube tutorials and the all too present me-too attitude of so many actors in EDM and electronic music at large.

Emperor Drum And Bass Clef

For more information on Emperor:
Emperor on Facebook
Emperor on Soundcloud

For more information on Critical Music:
Critical Music on Soundcloud
Critical Website