Signature (or Signature Recordings) is liquid drum & bass and jungle legend Calibre’s label. Belfast-born/Cologne-based Calibre aka Dominick Martin launched his label in 2003 with the intention of primarily showcasing his own productions. Thought-provoking, stripped-back, raw, soulful, emotive, warm, deep and dubby are all words to describe Calibre’s Signature sound. The label is littered with some of his own stand-out releases, including: ‘Even If’, ‘Mr Majestic’ (featuring High Contrast), ‘Second Sun’, ‘Pillow Dub’ and ‘Amen Tune’ (featuring DJ Marky).
Review: Preceding the release of Calibre's so called 'first bona fide 140 BPM record' is two choice remixes that Signature have commissioned from legendary Berlin producer Mark Ernestus. Popularly characterised for his role in Basic Channel, Ernestus' dubwise remixes are only rivaled Chain Reaction's DJ Pete (aka Substance). Delving deep into the art of the saw wave, "Badder" sees swells of holographic synths float in the ambient textures of Calibre's original groove while occasionally buffered by light, skipping tops. "Bad", just the same only simmered down, allows its drums to cut through in a way that doesn't distract from its cavernous sound.
Review: Magic happens when Calibre and DRS collide. Both masters of space, imagery and story telling; they complement each other so well. Especially here... The piano-massaging "Sunrise" is the light from the dark as the pair make sense of the night before and capture the essence of a brand new day. Meanwhile on "Broken Wings" we're taken right back to Swerve with a subtle velvet disco hook that rises softly while DRS puts down one of the most important messages since "Angels Fall": we need to work together for this to work. Calls for unity don't come with much more authenticity.
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