Since his early work for Dublin label Qaudrophonic in
1998, Dominick Martin aka Calibre has always delivered a
sound that delves below the all too often unsatisfying D&B
surface. His ability to bring a warm, natural feel to the
digital landscape of D&B raised interest from Creative
Source and Radio 1's Fabio, leading to a critically acclaimed
double album in 2001, entitled 'Musiqe Concrete'. This opened
the door to a new breed of dance floor capable, musically
orientated D&B, as confident in its longevity as in
its originality. Less was certainly more. Since then Calibre
has released for labels such as MIST's Soul:R label, including
collaboration work under the Mist:I: Cal moniker with the
Manchester duo. Other label contributions have included
CIA, 31, Defunked, V and Critical. Remixes have also been
a heavy outlet for Calibre's take on 21 st century blues
and soul, with commissions from the likes of High Contrast,
Badmarsh & Shri, and US R&B up-and-comer Jaheim.
Fast forward to 2003, and Calibre's own vision, Signature
records has come to light. This imprint is the home for
his own prolific studio output, offering an unprecedented
freedom to experimen t and release music on his own terms.
Signature offers regular Drum and Bass singles as well as
further artis t albums, remixes of his own work from fellow
boundary pushers such as Omni Trio and Klute as well as
further collaborations, including MIST's ST Files. Signature
will eventually also showcase Calibre's House and down tempo
work, which has already seen the light of day thanks to
John Tejada's US house imprint, Palette. 2004 continues
apace, with Radio 1 D&B chart topping releases such
as 'Feeling Happy' (Signature), 'Mr Maverick / Highlander'
(Signature), 'PUR' (Revolve:R) and 'Drowning' (Liquid V)
and the massive 'Drop It Down (feat. Fats)' . Calibre's
project with ST files under the St.Cal moniker saw its first
release on Soul:r in September 2004 with 'Red Light / Little
Man'. Calibre has completed two mixes of Zinc's 'Flim' for
Bingo Beats as well as remixes for 'Silent Witness &
Break' on Critical.It's now 2005 and this has truly been
the year of Calibre. Spending less time djing and more time
in the studio he was able to finalise his new album, the
first for his label Signature. Early work such as 'Kiya',
'Is it You?' and 'Second Sun' got well supported across
the board from Fabio, Grooverider, Friction, Zinc, Bailey,
High Contrast, Flight, Marcus Intalex etc.. Calibre's hard
work paid out and the result is what can only be described
as a phenomenal long player, for many dnb fans, easily the
album of the year. With the album release in November, Calibre
has given in to the overwhelming demand for dj work and
spent the last few months of 2005 touring solidly across
the UK, Europe and Japan. 2005 also marked the return of
the St.Cal partnership (ST Files & Calibre) with their
single 'Losing Ground' / 'Henshaw Dub' on Soul:R. This was
a first taste of forthcoming Mistical LP project which is
being worked on at the moment. The LP will feature tracks
from Marcus Intalex, ST Files and Calibre in their various
combinations and is due for release on Soul:r in April 2006.
Other plans for the first half of 2006 include tours of
the USA, Australia and New Zealand . Beyond those, Calibre
will cut back on dj work and once again spend more time
in the studio, where he feels most a t home. Whatever the
doubters may say, Drum and Bass isn't going anywhere; and
neither is Calibre. |