Delta Heavy's Love Letter to Drum & Bass: From Fake IDs and Smoky Rooms to the World Stage

Delta Heavy have waved the drum & bass flag for 15 years. Their ongoing global tour features the largest North American stretch of their career, and it seems the world is picking up on the same contagious rhythm that’s captivated them since youth.

“Nightlife, going out, clubbing, raving, going to a festival. It’s the perfect way to escape—a bit of a cliché but—from day-to-day life,” Delta Heavy’s Ben Hall tells EDM.com.

Hall and Simon James recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of their first record deal. Coincidentally, the former was 15 years old when he first discovered drum & bass. The sheer scale and technological marvels of modern electronic dance music festivals dominate social media in 2024, but the scene was quite stripped back in Hall’s youth.

“I went to this quite old, posh boarding school in the UK,” he recalls. “A bunch of us went to a tiny club called Bar Rumba… It’s not around anymore. It hasn’t been for years. You’re right in the center of London in the West End, in the theater district. Maybe 250-person capacity. You go down the steps to the sweaty little basement. We saw Bryan Gee, Shy FX and it was DJ Marky’s first-ever show in the UK.”

Equipped with patch-job fake IDs and can-do attitudes, Hall and friends found themselves in the center of London’s underground rave scene.

“We got in with these really ropey fake IDs,” he continues. “The bouncer kept grabbing us from the crowd and peeling the IDs open. Somehow mine passed the test. I don’t know how. Also, we all looked really young. There’s no way we looked 18.”

It’s unclear how many holes Hall had in his rave-punched card by this point, but he was already an electronic music enthusiast. Hall had been spinning vinyl on his Technics 1210 turntables since he was 12 or 13. Still, no amount of adolescent DJing could prepare him for the breakdance pace of drum & bass.

“I’d got into electronic music through trance, progressive house and new school breakbeat which was really popular in the UK at that time,” Hall said. “But then we went to this night and the energy and rawness blew me away. I never really looked back after that.”

Delta Heavy released their third studio album on August 23rd, their highest charting LP to date. Their love letter to the genre, Midnight Forever is a “cathartic” trip down memory lane and a deeply personal project that bottles their youth and presents it through a modern lens.

It’s the same philosophy that drives Delta Heavy’s visuals. Their global tour debuts a new visual experience intended to bridge the gap between different generations of ravers.

“When we first started going out, it wasn’t really a visual experience. It was very much dark, sweaty, smoky and underground,” Hall explains. “We wanted to capture a little bit of that feel and vibe in the album while also creating a little visual world.”

Drum & bass is now rapidly becoming destination viewing on lineups in North America. Acts like Delta Heavy and Chase & Status regularly fill out festival stages and venues. Hall sees the lightbulbs going off, much like it once did for him.

“It certainly feels in the last 18 months or so, a wider audience is listening to it and getting used to the rhythmic identity of the music,” he says. “I think the main difference a lot of people have found is that in the past when you’d hear drum & bass at a big festival, people didn’t really know what to do.

“I think in terms of the BPM, something like dubstep or trap has a lot of synergy tempo-wise with rap music,” Hall adds. “Drum & bass at 172, 174 or 175 beats per minute, it’s completely unique in electronic music. I think people were quite confused in the US initially. ‘How do I dance to this? What do I do?’ You can’t really head-bang at that tempo. But it’s honestly one of the most, most energetic music to dance to. People are getting that here finally.”

Watch the full interview below and purchase tickets to Delta Heavy’s remaining 2024 tour dates here.

Follow Delta Heavy:

X: x.com/deltaheavyuk
Instagram: instagram.com/deltaheavyuk
Facebook: facebook.com/deltaheavyuk
Spotify: spoti.fi/35MUGJv

EDM.com Presents: Artist Choice 2024

In celebration of EDM.com‘s 10-year anniversary, we’re presenting a brand-new, first-of-its-kind initiative, the “Artist Choice” list.

While some annual lists and awards are dictated by fan voting and others are data-driven, the “Artist Choice” list was exclusively sourced from the scene’s actual musicians. Over 300 of the world’s biggest dance music artists, across a plethora of sub-genres, were contacted and polled in a months-long initiative.

The ongoing project is designed to cut through the noise and celebrate the enduring impact of electronic dance music as recognized by those who best understand the intricacies of the industry: the artists themselves. We sought out these artists to provide insights into the best festivals, music producers and many other distinctions to spotlight their peers’ impressive accomplishments throughout 2023.

Check out the inaugural “Artist Choice” winners below.

EDM.com Presents: Artist Choice 2024 Winners

Music Festival: Tomorrowland

Venue: Brooklyn Mirage

Artist of the Year: Skrillex

Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Sammy Virji

House Artist of the Year: Odd Mob

Bass Artist of the Year: PEEKABOO

Techno Artist of the Year: Sara Landry

Drum & Bass Artist of the Year: Chase & Status

Trance Artist of the Year: Marlon Hoffstadt

Song of the Year: John Summit & HAYLA – “Where You Are”

Album/EP of the Year: Skrillex – Quest For Fire

Hall of Fame Inductee of the Year: David Guetta

Best Crowd: Chicago

Mainstream Song of the Year: John Summit & Hayla – “Where You Are”

Underground Song of the Year: Kevin de Vries & Mau P – “Metro”

Best Collaboration: Skrillex, Fred again.. & Flowdan – “Rumble”

Remix of the Year: Hamdi – “Counting” (Taiki Nulight Remix)

Event Organizer: Insomniac Events

Record Label of the Year: Armada Music

NERO and the Human Cost of Technological Progress

Remember when NERO warned us about the “promises” we made to technology? Well, we’ve broken them all.

The influential electronic band’s first two albums whispered of a looming disconnect via cinematic dubstep, but their long-awaited third full-length, Into the Unknown, roars with the realization of that grim forecast. And as they embark on an ambitious audiovisual tour kicking off this weekend, we’re now between two worlds, lost in the static of our own creation.

NERO’s Daniel Stephens, Joseph Ray and Alana Watson have called Into the Unknown the final installment of a trilogy. They said the album “feels somewhat like a bridge” between its predecessors, which explored the search for meaning in the face of dystopia.

The album doesn’t just continue the story—it rips open the festering wound of our digitally-induced detachment to the point of numbness. In the throes of the AI era and its existential threat to our livelihoods, NERO have written the soundtrack to the forbidden sense of freedom that comes with the human cost of technological progress.

And from a purely musical standpoint, Into the Unknown feels like a second skin.

“This is where we’ve always felt that we reside, stylistically,” the band said. “We wanted to make sure the album sounded quintessentially NERO and hopefully our fans will feel we succeeded in that.”

Within a nanosecond of the album’s haunting opener, it’s clear they haven’t lost a step despite nearly a decade between albums. The stentorian voice of NERO frontwoman Watson is a lightning rod, providing clarity and focus amidst the radiant chaos of Ray and Stephens’ electronic production. There’s a controlled power in her delivery, reflecting the symbiosis between the rod and the structure it protects.

The band is now set to take Into the Unknown on an expansive US tour sans Watson, who will take a step back after giving birth to her third child with Stephens. Her timeless vocals, however, will serve as the focal point of a brand-new hybrid live show.

You can purchase tickets to NERO’s tour here and listen to Into the Unknown below.

Follow NERO:

X: x.com/nerouk
Instagram: instagram.com/nero
TikTok: tiktok.com/@nero
Facebook: facebook.com/nero
Spotify: spoti.fi/3rd8N27

Girl Math: How Nala and VNSSA Are Steeping Electronic Music in Feminist Punk

Before Nala and VNSSA ever started DJing together, they were exchanging oyster photos in a group chat they named, “We’re F***king Eating.”

Although the food photos have since slowed down and dachshund pics now reign supreme, the two continue to share not only a palpable chemistry, but also a companionship that has only grown stronger over the years.

The friendship began thanks to Dirtybird. They met in-person for the first time mid-pandemic, around 2021, at a drive-in rave. VNSSA, whose real name is Vanessa Barnes, arrived early to see Nala, Stefania Aronin, play her set. After crossing paths at the show, the two then started hanging out and DJing together.

“We would complain about the male-dominated music industry to each other, and share experiences with that and connect through that,” Barnes tells EDM.com in an exclusive interview.

It wasn’t long before Barnes and Aronin were booked for their first b2b performance together during Miami Music Week with Walker & Royce’s label, Rules Don’t Apply.

“[Walker & Royce] were joking that our duo name would be VaNala Ice,” Barnes recalls with a laugh. “That’s where it started and then we were getting more b2b offers, and we were like, maybe we should just make this a thing.”

As the demand for their b2b sets increased, the duo had to decide on a collaborative nom de plume. They were preparing for their debut performance at Coachella’s beloved Do LaB when the name finally materialized.

“There was a moment where I was like, it should be ‘girl’ something,” Aronin says. “It had that punk edge to it.”

“Our friend Nikki has this joke: four plus four equals ‘ate,'” Barnes adds. “So we were like, ‘Girl Math,’ that should be the name. But it’s more than just that… Having ‘girl’ in the name gives us empowerment and it feels like a feminist movement.”

View the original article to see embedded media.

Girlhood means “everything,” Aronin and Barnes agreed.

“There’s this implied thing with girlhood that’s like, we’re great at everything and we hold it all down, and sometimes that goes without credit,” Aronin explains. “So girlhood is about getting shit done, even if it means not totally getting acknowledged for the work that went into it.”

Nala and VNSSA, each of whom are star DJs and producers in their own right, found that girlhood in the music industry was inextricably linked with isolation and disillusionment. The opportunity to collaborate cultivated a sense of unity and comfort, they said, that ultimately aided in their creative process and tightened their bond.

“Touring by yourself, it’s really easy to get burnt out and it’s just boring alone. So it’s a lot more fun having a partner in crime,” Barnes says. “Playing together, you have another person where you can bounce ideas off and instead of just trusting yourself, you have someone else that you can rely on. So it’s just nice to have that kind of support.”

Girl Math have now performed at Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Splash House and other major music festivals. They’re now gearing up for their first headlining show, which is scheduled for November 1st at the Chocolate Factory Theater in New York City.

Drawing inspiration from their respective backgrounds in rock music, the pair found common ground in live instrumentation and began to infuse those shared interests into their music with a punk twist. Aronin said she’s great at “coming up with random sound design concepts” while Barnes provides a lot of Girl Math’s “structure, stability and direction.”

“It’s just my anxiety,” Barnes says with a laugh, blushing over the compliment.

While Aronin brings her affinity for Riot grrrl-influenced vocals to the table, Barnes offers drumming skills with a metal focus. It was a match made in heaven.

“I thought being a drummer in a metal band was the coolest thing you could ever do prior to being a DJ,” Aronin gushes. “So I was like, we need to incorporate this history on both sides and turn this into something that’s rowdy and fun and chaotic. That’s where we met in the middle—a rock-focused approach to music. And when I say structure, I really mean drums. She brings the drums on a really solid, structured level.”

“We want to take as much live music inspiration as possible,” Barnes adds. “I think you’ll be able to hear that in our production as well. Because there’s a lot of live drum elements along with synths and Nala’s vocals. It gives it a very gritty, rebellious sound. It’s the mix of us together.”

Through the singular lens of Girl Math, Aronin and Barnes say they ultimately hope to inspire other female producers in the electronic music scene.

“Do whatever the fuck you want and make whatever the fuck you want,” Barnes says with a grin. “Don’t worry what anyone else thinks. Do whatever makes you feel good.”

“Surround yourself with people who are supportive,” Aronin adds, “and fuck everyone else.”

Follow VNSSA:

X: x.com/VNSSAmusic
Instagram: instagram.com/vnssa
TikTok: tiktok.com/@vnssaofficial
Facebook: facebook.com/vnssaofficial
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3z5EYe2

Follow Nala:

X: x.com/thisisnalaa
Instagram: instagram.com/thisisnala
TikTok: tiktok.com/@thisisnalaa
Facebook: facebook.com/thisisnala
Spotify: spoti.fi/3PaEghQ