I could spend ages on this introduction, given the wealth of quality records that dBridge (aka Darren White) has put out over the years. Starting with Bad Company back in the day and more recently through a variety of solo projects and collaborations he remains one of the most consistent and interesting DJs/producers on the scene.

Both as Exit Records label boss and as one half of Autonomic, he’s been instrumental in leading Drum & Bass into more experimental territories. Driven by a desire for forward thinking beats, Exit has spent the last few years putting out some of the best quality bass music from a range of producers. Disinterested by musical fads or fashions, the label focuses instead on releases that are full of creativity and soul.

I caught up with dBridge on the eve of the release of ‘Mosaic’, the labels brand new compilation, to find out a bit more how it all came to be.

First up congratulations on the Mosaic compilation, it’s a really strong release. Can you tell us a bit about how the project came together? You’ve got a real mixture of producers on board…

I was signing up 12” releases by artists and whilst waiting for B-Sides it dawned on me that I had a great collection of music of differing styles that worked really well together.

Is the name ‘Mosaic’ a reflection of the general mentality behind this release?

I felt the name summed up what I was trying to convey with this project, a combination of diverse elements that together made a whole.

Is there a general ethos behind Exit Records? Alot of the stuff you put out seems to be more experimental and perhaps less obvious than a lot of drum & bass around these days?

I’m glad you think so, obvious music bores me. I like to release music with character and soul. I need to be able to hear something of the artist in their music, not just a track that ticks all the boxes that they think people want to hear.

Which other labels/producers are doing stuff that excites you at the moment? Listening to your Autonomic podcasts would suggest your tastes are a lot more diverse that just D’n’B and dance music generally.

I seem to be looking backwards a lot more these days, there still so some much music yet to listen to. I’m working my way through Warp, 4AD & old school Jungle at the moment.

What about the bass music scene in general in the UK. There is an awful lot of chatter and hype around the supposed ‘genreless’ melting pool that we seemed to have reached over the past couple of years. Is that something you’d agree with?

It would seem that way, the lines are definitely blurring which is good in regards to audiences, they’re a lot more open minded and open to new ideas and cross genre nights. I see in the fact that I get a lot of bookings outside the traditional D’n’B night.

mosaic vol1 track to stream by Melissa

What’s you production set up like? Any bits of studio gear that you particularly like?

I’ve recently moved into a new studio space and finally got all my hardware set up. I’m a big fan of synths, my fav at the moment is the Korg Mono/Poly.  

Do you have a particular creative process or workflow when making a tune?

I used to start with beats but more often than not I seem to have melody ideas first, I think it’s turned this way since I moved away from sample based production and moved more towards synths and building my own sound sets.

We ask this one to everyone… Where are you at on the digital vs analogue debate? Is it something you think consider important?

I love analogue. I embraced the digital aspect of production as it came along but more and more I find myself going back to the roots of my music making. I missed the tactile nature of outboard, live effect & eq sweeps on the mixing desk, sculpting a sound on a synth and then routing it through external outboard. The convenience of the digital realm is the only thing it has going for itself, it doesn’t sound half as good as analogue and even if only I can tell, its enough.

Who are putting on the best D&B nights in the UK at the moment?

Hit & Run in Manchester, Torque in Bristol, We Fear Silence at Cable and Autonomic at Fabric.

Whats 2011 got in store for dBridge and for Exit?

More LP’s. I love the format theres so much more scope to express yourself so I’ve got artists such as They Live, Consequence (2LP), Dan HarbarNam, Loxy & Resound & myself all coming with albums this year.

You can catch dBridge live at the Nest on Tuesday 1st Feb. He’ll be playing alongside Instra:Mental, Skream, Code 3 & Loxy for the Mosaic album launch party. Click here to buy tickets.

Mosaic is released on 31st Jan, click here to pre order a copy.