Drum and Bass
Ever since his formative years growing up in Vancouver, BC, Dabbler has been heavily influenced by music. At the age of 10, he began ‘dabbling’ with an early education in music and this was only an indication of his later passion.
Growing up he was influenced by artists like Nine Inch Nails, and Vancouver locals, Skinny Puppy. Industrial style music captivated Dabbler with its heavy use of sampling and electronic sounds. Spending much of his time growing up attending concerts and being involved in the music scene, he developed an extensive addiction to music and expanded his music library.
Originally inspired by Vancouver legend DJ Czech’s fusion of breaks and bass lines, Dabbler started playing breaks and house. After hearing Jonny L’s “Sawtooth LP” he was drawn towards Drum and Bass and never looked back. Shortly after his transition, Dabbler was playing several times a week and became well known in Vancouver for his unique mixing skills and varied style.
Since that time, Dabbler has thrown some of Vancouver’s biggest and best Drum and Bass shows, and has played alongside
nearly every major name in DnB. He was a resident of Vancouver’s early rave companies, Twisted Productions, and later as a part of Automatic, Canada’s longest running DnB weekly. Through this involvement, Dabbler has played with celebrated international artists such as Shy Fx, Pendulum, Dillinja, and Zinc to name only a few. Constant exposure to these artists led to a new desire to create his own sound.
Finding new inspiration in Reggae and Dub, Dabbler signed his first track – a bootleg remix done with Pacific, which was quickly scooped by XS Records in the UK. An international bestseller that year, in only a few months it pushed his name to the front of DJ’s crates all over the world. Both his released and unreleased tunes have received support from artists like Visionary, Kenny Ken, Muffler
and Benny Page, and have led him to his most recent signing of “Future Riddim” to Marcus Visionary’s Lion Dubs label.
Recently he has begun moving towards more traditional Reggae and Reggae/Dub influenced Uptempo tracks. These days you can expect to hear a slice of Skanking Beats & Breaks, mixed with occasional oldskool Hip Hop and Roots Reggae.
With local and international support, Dabbler’s music is increasingly heard and demanded on global dance floors. This recent success can only be seen as a precursor to further international achievements.
Lion Dubs, XS Records, Hustlin Beats