Fallen: “I’d Be Lost Without Drum & Bass at This Point”

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Ahead of his sets at EDC Las Vegas, Fallen swung by to dive into his passion for drum and bass, share his thoughts on the scene, and give everyone a taste of the past with a vinyl-only mix.

When you dive into the ethos of an artist who is truly passionate about the culture, you’ll quickly come to realize that their career isn’t all about money or fame. While those aspects are certainly great and can undoubtedly reap rewards, the real goal becomes preserving the community they love, guiding the next generation, and having some fun along the way. That, in essence, is a snapshot of Fallen’s story within the drum and bass scene.

Drum and bass and its community hold a very special place in my heart. A community where I was once an outsider soon became one that I call my family. Community is what makes drum and bass as a whole. I’ve been a part of it for such a long time that I think I’d be lost without it at this point.

Fallen

Fallen had begun cultivating a career for himself in Indiana, where he had played small shows while running Icarus Audio, a drum and bass vinyl label that he co-owned with his friend Brandon. Yet he had ambitions beyond the Midwest. He wanted more opportunities and to do something bigger than what he had already done musically.

“I felt like we had reached the height of what we could do where we were located, and I wanted more opportunity,” Fallen shared. “I had no idea the magnitude of opportunity I was about to get, and from that moment, life would literally change forever.”

In 2009, Fallen moved to Los Angeles, where he landed a job with the fast-rising Southern California promoter Insomniac and its Bassrush brand. At the time, Insomniac was still a relatively small company — the EDM boom hadn’t hit yet — but once it did, he blasted off alongside them on their rocket ship and hasn’t looked back since.

It has been an insane ride [working for Insomniac and Bassrush]. Going from a young kid with a pipe dream to going far beyond what I had ever imagined doing was literally mind-blowing. My life revolved around that company and the scene I had become a part of, and I loved every moment of it because I had been given the opportunity to have a job where I loved what I was doing and the people I was surrounded by.

Fallen

Fallen has had “countless incredible experiences” over the years, from working alongside artists who influenced him to meeting his closest friends and, most importantly, his wife, Akiko. “Needless to say, it wasn’t just a job for me, which I think can be said for a good number of people who are a part of that company as well,” he said.

During this time, Fallen became a frequent face on lineups for Insomniac-hosted events, regularly dropping some serious heat to help open festivals, perform on art cars, and team up with other artists like Richter, Fury, and MC Dino. That carries into this year’s edition of EDC Las Vegas, where he’ll take the stage twice during the weekend, at bassPOD on Saturday and the Takis Rave Hangar on Sunday. Yet that’s not all he’s excited for.

It’s always awesome watching a company like Insomniac try to outdo themselves, especially at a show like EDC Las Vegas. I’m especially excited because there are a lot of influential acts for me personally from so many years ago playing the show to represent what Insomniac was 30 years ago.

Fallen

Fallen pointed out that the Insomniac Fridays stage is an “absolutely awesome addition,” along with bookings like The Prodigy, Underworld, Frankie Bones, and Robert Hood. “These acts were at the height of their careers before the main demographic of this show was even born,” he said.

“All these little exploratory aspects of the show, including the secret stages, provide something different and more intimate compared to the massive stages that EDC Las Vegas is commonly associated with,” Fallen continued. “The festival is so much more than just big acts on big stages, and I hope people take some time and go experience it for themselves because it’s one of my favorite parts of the show.”

While there’s plenty of buzz about what’s to come at EDC Las Vegas this year, there’s also hype surrounding the resurgence of drum and bass in the States as well. Recent years have seen the genre explode in popularity and crossover into other reaches of the community, but to many in the scene, like Fallen, it’s always been present.

“There’s a long-running joke that whatever year it happened to be at the time was going to be the year for drum and bass. We all knew it was only a matter of time before people finally got it, and they did,” he shared.

[Drum and bass] has always been here. Promoters all over the country have pushed DnB on a regular basis since the ’90s. We have put drum and bass on all things Bassrush since the beginning. It’s just hitting different now. The current trending sound in DnB, I think, is a bit easier to introduce people to compared to what it was years ago, maybe. Music trends are circular, and we’re back at that point where the genre is relevant again. No artist can take credit for it, promoters can’t take credit for it, etc. The stars aligned.

Fallen

Although many might hope that drum and bass will continue to reign as one of the fastest-growing genres in the scene, Fallen’s taken an optimistic but very realistic stance on its future. “I can sit here and say that drum and bass is going to be here forever in its current state, but that’s not true,” he said. “Everything has a shelf life, unfortunately, in the world of constantly changing trends that we live in.”

Yet while it might have a shelf life, this recent push, and the community as a whole, will keep it moving forward. “The DnB community will still be doing what it’s always done: supporting the sound and everything that comes with it, regardless of its popularity with the masses,” he continued. “I ultimately see the community growing vastly because of its current popularity, and drum and bass holding a bit more weight when it comes to shows in America.”

The road forward isn’t all sunshine and daisies, though. Fallen stated that working within the scene can be “extremely frustrating” and that there are many times when certain people and experiences make you want to walk away from it all, only for those feelings to dissipate after picking up the pieces and working on the next project.

Everyone within DnB, as a whole, has wanted to see the genre accepted on a larger scale, in some way, shape, or form. I think what changed for me from the beginning was that I never knew I would have the opportunity to be part of something that would actually have a greater impact on making that happen.

Fallen

Part of the bright future resides within the artists who are pushing the scene forward. “There are a lot of amazing acts out there right now, all over the globe, but I think what’s really cool is the emergence of a new wave in DnB talent in the US over the past few years,” he shared. “Let’s be real, the DnB representation has been rather lacking here for a long time.”

Fallen rattled off a list — Dieselboy, Ak1200, Dara, DB, Hive, Gridlok, Echo, Juju, Evol Intent, Ewun, Infiltrata, Gein, Mayhem, Karl K, Kaos, Jae Kennedy, and Bachelors of Science — who all helped guide the genre during those years. Yet looking at the present, he’s got his eyes on Reaper, Justin Hawkes, Airglo, Dr. Apollo, LMNOP, Skellytn, Soul Junk, Raydium, and Spectral Murda, among others, while also calling it an “exciting time.”

Chatting wasn’t all that Fallen had on his agenda, as a mix for the Drum & Bass Devotions series was in order. Although he emphasized that DnB has been, and will be, around regardless of its current success, for his entry in the series, he opted to buck the trend of playing what’s new and spin an all-vinyl mix filled to the brim with classics straight from his collection.

It would be really easy for me to crank out a mix with all the current stuff I’ve been playing plus what I’m going to be playing at EDC, but I chose to go a different route. Many years ago, I had my entire record collection stolen from a storage unit in Hollywood, and I’ve spent so much time and money trying to rebuild it. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to share what’s given me so much joy since day one and to do an all-vinyl mix.

Fallen

“You aren’t going to hear the new chart-topping DnB tune of the week or anything that’s less than 20 years old,” Fallen said, before explaining that many of the tracks are focused on a short-lived, extremely heavy era of drum and bass between 2004 and 2007.

“Some of those acts go by other names that are much more recognized now. Bro Safari, Kill the Noise, 12th Planet, and others were all drum and bass acts back then. In addition to that sound, there is just a bunch of my collection put together,” he continued. “It’s been about 15 years since I’ve done an actual vinyl set. Not Serato or anything like that. VINYL. I hope this opens some people up to an era of DnB that they may not know about. I had a lot of fun doing this and hope you enjoy it.”

Give this mix a spin on SoundCloud to bask in the vinyl glory of drum and bass, and don’t miss Fallen when he performs on Saturday at bassPOD and Sunday at the Takis Rave Hangar at EDC Las Vegas this year.