Drum & Bass in Focus: Drumskull

Drumskull’s music is the aural equivalent of taking a sledgehammer to the head. The Leicester-born and London-based producer has been an active participant in the jungle, D&B and UK bass scenes for decades, but has only recently unleashed his own productions. Real name Joel Harrison, his sharp, volcanic tracks are designed to make dance floors erupt. With releases on his own Drumskull imprint, Hooversound Recordings and Natural Frequency Records, he’s quickly built a reputation as one of the UK scene’s most forward-thinking producers, reinforced by a series of explosive gigs this summer for No Edits, Coalesce Festival and his own Drumskull Presents event series.

We caught up with Drumskull ahead of his Aaja radio show in South East London to chat about his D&B roots, how the scene has progressed over the years and the exciting things to come.

The Early Years

Joel Harrison launched his music career as a drummer. He played in punk and metal bands from the age of 15, including Tubesufer, who were so successful Joel found himself supporting Radiohead and Rancid before he’d turned 18.

Joel’s older brother was responsible for his shift to electronic music. He lent Joel his early Aphex Twin and Warped compilations, which inspired him to sell his drum kit, buy some decks and immerse himself in the UK underground. “It was the mid-90s, and I started DJing at free parties,” Joel says. “I founded a free party sound system with some friends in the Midlands called BWPT.”

He went on to study graphics at Central Saint Martins and buried himself in London’s record shops, DJing regularly and continuing to hone his production skills.

“I got incredibly into early Drum & Bass,” he says. “Metalheadz, V Recordings, Full Cycle Records. It was the mid-late 90s, and there was something about that style that really clicked with me. I think it was the energy and tempo; being a drummer, I couldn’t resist these syncopated drum breaks layered over each other. It sounded like four drummers playing at once, and it was a buzz. D&B felt like a level up, and it was the kind of music I wanted to produce.”

In the early 2000s Drumskull migrated left of D&B and moved into early UK garage. “That turned into broken beat in 2001 and 2002, and I was inspired by a night called The Co-Op. They played an incredible melting pot of D&B crossed with jungle, rare groove and afro-funk.”

Years later, when Joel started making material as Drumskull, this mix of everything informed his style. “I wanted to free myself from tempo restrictions, and that’s why my first album Interlocked has a bit of everything – 140 breaks, some weird half-time dubstep tunes and some jungle.”

The New Era

Drumskull’s debut album Interlocked came out in 2019 on Seagrave. “You kind of had everyone’s ears, because all the DJs were at home, listening to promos,” he says. “It was a very useful time to start a new project in that sense. The album got some good responses, and it was very motivational and gave me momentum to keep going.”

Since COVID-19, Joel says a new generation of fans, DJs and producers are coming through, referencing music that’s 30 years old with a fresh twist. “I think they see the ‘90s as a bit of a golden era,” Joel says. “And I do feel lucky to have lived through it, but I don't like to fetishize certain times or genres, because I've always been about pushing forwards. For me, music’s always been about progression.”

Drumskull’s music is definitely not stuck in the past. He’s constantly referencing new artists, sounds and scenes. Take his recent Scrolling Shooter EP on Hooversound Recordings for example. The title track combines 160 jungle with bass and club music, while “Unknown Structure” harnesses old-school D&B breaks with a rare groove twist.

Joel sees the new era of D&B as two distinct scenes. “There’s the conventional D&B scene with big artists like Andy C, Goldie, Fabio and Grooverider, and then you’ve got this new wave of what I call the modern jungle scene, headed up by Tim Reaper, Dwarde and Sully. And the modern jungle producers and DJs are very aware of the conventional D&B scene, but I don't think the conventional D&B guys are aware of the modern jungle scene.”

There’s a similar split in the US. D&B’s always been popular in America’s underground, but since 2020 it’s taken off commercially, too. Huge festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival host some of the world’s biggest names in D&B, and artists like Hamdi have popularized UK bass, dub and breaks – and Joel is experiencing that shift first-hand. “I did a compilation track for The Glitch Mob recently,” he says. “They used to be EDM but they’ve shifted into a very UK-centric rave sound.”

“D&B is much more accepted in the USA now compared to other underground UK genres,” he continues. “There are niche scenes in the USA for the stuff I make. The big commercial scene is obviously massive but that’s a little bit out of my orbit and I don’t cross into that world.”

That’s because he’s more interested in progressing the culture than sticking to what’s already out there. Drumskull doesn’t fall into the conventional D&B bracket because he’s so committed to bringing elements from other genres into his productions. And with plenty of remixes, EPs, collaborations and projects in the pipeline, there’s no doubt Drumskull will continue to push D&B into sonic stratospheres yet to be explored.