In this series, Selections, we invite DJs, producers and label heads to dig into their digital crates and share the contents of their collections. This week, breakout d&b DJ and producer Bou spotlights recent favourites and highlights from the ‘DNB 4 PEACE’ compilation
To say Bou is in high demand right now would be an understatement. Recent years have seen the Manchester DJ and producer become one of the biggest and brightest new stars in drum & bass. He’s a regular in the No. 1 spot on Beatport thanks to tracks like ‘Veteran VIP’ for Souped Up and all three of his singles on his own Gossip label. He’s also been called up to remix heavyweights like Shy FX and DJ Fresh — the latter recently asking him to rework his UK chart-topping track ‘Gold Dust’. And he’s one of the hottest tickets in town, selling out his debut headline show at London’s E1 in March and due to play everywhere from Parklife to Tomorrowland, Glastonbury and Lost & Found festival this summer.
In June 2021, he organised a whopping 61-track compilation under the banner DNB 4 PEACE, bringing together music from d&b’s finest to raise over £35,000 to help Palestinians. “We were inundated with tracks to put on this LP… I’ve chosen the best four that make it into my sets,” he says of the last four tracks in his Selections. Still to come this year, Bou will drop his long-awaited remix of ‘Spartanz’ by Nu Elementz and Dominator — the jump-up star who sadly passed away in 2017 — and a collab with Example.
“I recently bought this to show support to the people of Ukraine. Fantastic project, and big up all the artists involved.”
“Always been a massive fan of Chimpo and everything he does, constantly releasing music on his Bandcamp. Love his jungle take on this EP.”
“I bought this album last year and listened to it a lot during the lockdown. DRS’ music is just so nice to listen to; I don’t play a lot of liquid in my sets but it’s always my go-to when on car journeys travelling to shows.”
“Nia is taking the scene by storm currently, with her fast-paced mixing and winning Best Producer at the NME Awards. Hopefully one day we can work together and combine our sounds. Hoping to cross paths this summer on the road!”
“Great EP, love everything this guy does, everything is just perfect and sounds so good. Might have something coming up also with Alix, so keep your eyes peeled!”
“Blind Mic is a young vocalist from Manchester whose music I’m listening to currently. This one with IAMDDB is constantly in my playlist. They both complement each other so well. Looking forward to what’s next from Blind Mic.”
“LOVE THIS TRACK — the intro is just too cold. Pola & Bryson are probably one of my favourite liquid producers. I’m just glad they let us use this track on the LP that was exclusive to Bandcamp.”
“Can’t leave the don that is Hazard out, can I? I know how selfish this man is with his music and when this arrived in our inbox to put on the DNB 4 PEACE project it made us so happy. Such a banger, man!”
“This track is probably the favourite on the LP, made it into a lot of my sets last year. Big ups AC13!”
“When Salo found out about this project she instantly wrote this track with Dogger. It really is the anthem of the project and sits so well on the release.”
Listen to our recent The Sound Of mix with Deep Jungle
Ben Hindle is DJ Mag’s deputy editor. Follow him on Twitter @the_z_word
Thrust Publishing Ltd, Unit 3, 30-40 Underwood Street, London, N1 7JQ, United Kingdom. Tel: +44(0)7940488008
