Calibre
Soulful, liquid drum and bass that feels like a warm embrace in a cold city. Deeply melodic, rhythmically sophisticated, and perfect for late-night introspection.
Soulful, liquid drum and bass that feels like a warm embrace in a cold city. Deeply melodic, rhythmically sophisticated, and perfect for late-night introspection.
Calibre creates music that feels less like a club track and more like a private internal weather system. While his foundations are built on the 170 BPM framework of drum and bass, the result is startlingly organic, trading aggressive synths for submerged piano chords, warm upright bass plucks, and dusty, soulful vocal fragments that drift in and out of the mix like half-remembered dreams.
What sets him apart is a relentless commitment to space and subtlety. He is the master of the 'liquid' sound, but his version is never sugary or cheap. Instead, it possesses a sophisticated, jazz-inflected melancholy. His tracks roll with an effortless, liquid momentum that feels as natural as water flowing over stones, prioritizing emotional resonance over dancefloor pyrotechnics.
For those new to his massive catalog, start with the 'Shelflife' series or 'Musique Concrète'. These works showcase his ability to make electronic music feel deeply human, making him the go-to artist for moments of solitude, deep focus, or the quiet comedown after a long night.
Dominick Martin, better known by his stage name Calibre, is a Northern Irish drum and bass music producer and DJ from Belfast. He is highly regarded for his influence on the liquid funk style of drum and bass, which was partially named after his distinct production style. He primarily releases his own works through his personal label, Signature Records, but has also released on labels such as Hospital Records, V Recordings, Creative Source and Soul:R. Many of his productions–some of which were unreleased at the time–became synonymous with liquid funk due to DJ Fabio playing most of Martin's productions on his BBC Radio 1 show, Liquid Funk, and at Swerve club nights (originally known as Speed, which was co-ran with LTJ Bukem) in the early 2000s. Beginning in 2007, some of these unreleased productions would be released under the "Shelflife" series of albums alongside other works by Martin on his personal record label, Signature Records. According to UKF, none of Martin's productions have been officially remixed by other artists, and he has stated that he is unbothered about bootleg remixes of his works. However, according to Fabio, Everything but the Girl were interested in remixing "Deep Everytime" from his debut album Musique Concrète in 2001, but by then he'd either destroyed or repurposed any recordings related to the song. In 2019, Martin was awarded Critics Choice in the Drum&BassArena Awards 2019.
Shares serene, contemplative, wistful (moods); breathy, processed, absent (vocal style)
Shares downtempo, ambient techno (subgenres); late night, urban night, rainy day (atmosphere)
Shares late night, urban night, rainy day (atmosphere); downtempo, ambient techno, dub (subgenres)
Shares melancholic, serene, contemplative (moods); late night, rainy day, urban night (atmosphere)
Shares late night, rainy day, urban night (atmosphere); melancholic, wistful, contemplative (moods)
Shares downtempo, ambient techno (subgenres); melancholic, serene, contemplative (moods)
Shares serene, wistful, soulful (moods); breathy, processed, absent (vocal style)
Shares melancholic, serene, contemplative (moods); breathy, processed, absent (vocal style)
Shares melancholic, serene, contemplative (moods); drum machine, keys/synth, upright bass (instrumentation)
Shares late night, rainy day, urban night (atmosphere); melancholic, serene, contemplative (moods)
Shares liquid, upright bass, ambient techno, soulful (signature)
Shares dub, ambient techno, analog warmth, serene (subgenre)
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