May Dubplate features one of our core team members, Sagar Deshmukh. An experienced writer who has been working in the industry for a few years now, Sagar has done innumerable interviews and has been instrumental in covering international & Indian DnB music with the same level of passion and zest. A couple of years ago, he decided to take this love and involvement with the genre to the next step - to give Djing a shot, and after honing his skills for a while, he is finally out with his music alias 'Fragment'. Over the last couple of years, we as a community, have been able to grow further, specifically because of Sagar's contributions, his well thought pieces & enthusiasm and we couldn't have been more proud to see him move further following his passion.
So, continue reading further to know more about our feature, also, do hit play before that, to give this top-quality set a listen, an exclusive one by him.
1. When and how did you get into Drum & Bass?
A - I got into electronic music back in 2009. I started with Trance and then moved to House. I was introduced to Drum & Bass back in 2011. I started exploring the genre deeper and deeper, and I was hooked to the pulsating energy of the genre. Since then, Drum & Bass became my favorite genre and fast forward in 2020, it is something I live and breathe every day.
2. Tell us a little about 'Fragment' and your journey with Djing.
A - As I started exploring the genre deeper and deeper, I got my friends into it and soon I became the “you take the aux bro” guy. I started with random DJ softwares and pretended that I could DJ without knowing a thing about DJing, and that certainly didn’t age well; but back in 2018, I decided to give DJing a real shot. I learned DJing and spent my 3 AMs practicing and mixing all the subgenres of Drum & Bass. Eventually, I realized that I was getting better at mixing the deeper and grittier side of the genre. Spectrasoul’s and Kyrist’s DJ sets had the biggest influence on my style. I think there’s a lot we can learn from these guys and observe how they keep their sets so simple yet to so effective. Finalizing on ‘Fragment’ was down to my writing style and my knack of picking influences from different tones of writing. Other than Drum & Bass, I like to listen to Afro House, Garage, and Breakbeat.
3. You've been a writing about music for a few years now, tell us how that has panned out for you?
A - After years of following the genre passionately, I realized that Drum & Bass didn’t have the online presence it deserved. I started writing about Drum & Bass in 2015 and started writing for T.H.E Music Essentials. Slowly and steadily, I got a hang of how the online Drum & Bass community functioned and I started curating my articles accordingly. I grew into my role and had conversations with some of the biggest names in the Drum & Bass scene; but a couple of years back, I realised that it was time to push the local scene. After 2 years with Drum & Bass India, I am proud to say that we are the sole online promoters of the genre in the country.
4. You've spoken of this dream that you maybe want to pursue when it comes to Drum & Bass and India, please share more about that.
A - When I started listening to Drum & Bass, I realized how big the community is and how people got together to celebrate the genre. No DnB head is stranger to SUNANDBASS; but for me, more than a festival, SUNANDBASS is an emotion. It is absurd to even think about it, and that is why it is my pipe dream to host a festival like SUNANDBASS, here in India.
5. Thoughts on Drum and Bass as a genre and the scene?
A - Drum & Bass, at the moment, is bigger than ever. In the last 10 years, the genre went through some serious reinvigoration, and it has firmly consolidated itself as one of the innovative genres of electronic music. Drum & Bass in India has seen a series of ups and downs. It is funny how the genre reached Indian shores nearly 20 years ago, but never really picked pace in terms of its following and popularity. It did experience a purple patch for 4 years until early 2015, but since then, the following has gone downhill. Baby steps, but we have seen some resurgence in recent years and I hope it gets bigger and better from here.
7. tunes you are digging at the moment?
A - Machinedrum – Berry Patch (Halogenix Remix) Ikonika – Your Body
Throwing Snow - Rheged
Need For Mirrors – Thugga
Addison Groove – Dreamscape 12
Tracklist
1. Artificial Intelligence feat. Steo - Forgotten Truths (Deft's '15 Remix) [Razors Edge] 2. Nomine - Blind Man (Om Unit Remix) [Tempa] 3. Commix - Japanese Electronics (Instra:Mental Moog Remix) [Metalheadz] 4. Bop & Subwave - Clair De Lune [Microfunk Music] 5. Skeptical - Pitch Black [Exit Records] 6. Mystic State – Wormholes [Delta9 Recordings] 7. Black Barrel feat. KSR - Elevate with Me [Metalheadz] 8. Adred - New Soul [Metalheadz] 9. Ezor & Osmas - Break Of Tomorrow [Citate Forms] 10. Objectiv & Retrakt – Congestion [Addictive Behaviour] 11. Lynx & Kemo – Global Enemies [Soul:r] 12. M-Zine – Crepitate [P Lab Recordings] 13. Philth, Bredren – Butterfunk [Flexout Audio] 14. M.Justa, nScape & inva – Switch [Vandal Records] 15. Arkitech - Convulsion (Revaux Remix) [Lifestyle Music] 16. Kumarachi & RMS – Pulley [Program] 17. Kasra & Enei – Parallax [Critical Music] 18. Talkre - Into Darkness [Overview Music] 19. Tyler Frost – Exorcism [Drum Army] 20. Dave Owen & Jaybee - Hyper Flux [Exiled Recordings] 21. Whiney – Komodo [Hospital Records] 22. Enei - The Moment (Feat. DRS) [Critical Music] 23. Dillinja - Hard Noize (Break Remix) [Valve Recordings] 24. Think Tonk - What A Ting (L-Side Remix) [V Recordings] 25. A.M.C & Sixblade – RocknRide [Titan Records] 26. Audio - Headroom VIP [Virus Recordings] 27. Apex - Same Old Blues [Lifted Music] 28. Mind Vortex - Hotbox VIP [RAM Records] 29. Friction - Music House [Elevate Records] 30. Tantrum Desire - Get With It [Technique Recordings] 31. Shy FX & UK Apache - Original Nuttah (Chase & Status Remix) [Cult.ure]