With an age gap of almost twenty years between them, Kmag writers Ewen Cook and Lorenzo Bishop run the rule over Calibre’s epic sellout show at HERE at Outernet – and what it says about the past and future of drum & bass.
EC: There’s something that quickens the blood when you’re in a roadblock rave queue in the beating heart of London – and it’s not just the 20-foot liquid screens enveloping the Outernet stairwells the moment you emerge from Tottenham Court Road Station. The foundation stones of breakbeat legend are right here in your field of vision: the Heat and Jungle Fever parties at the long-gone Astoria where the late, great Skibadee attended his first rave; echoing all the way down towards West Central Street where The End made your bones shake and the breath catch up high in your chest.
Co-ordinates are locked and set… We make the present and the future connect.
Many metres below our feet, SP:MC is joining the dots between crowd, DJ, music, roots and culture as only he can, Breakage dropping uniquely clean steppers to a 2000-strong dance. Some warm-up. And it is unmistakably The End which calls to mind as we descend four flights from mild October night onto the shimmering floor: the muscle memory of gliding down and wincing up those legendarily punishing stairs sparking memories and chatter of golden former days.
The similarities soon end, however: this is a venue cut from a different cloth, the vast mezzanine floor overlooking a high-ceilinged super-arena, soundsystem note-perfect and sharp yet easy on the ears – a far cry from the rattling basscage that was the spiritual home of Speed, Ram and many more. Here the lighting alone catches the breath, Breakage a textured red dot on a giant grey canvas, like the tendrils of an ancient coral reef illuminated by some brooding ocean-floor magic. (This is of course the work of Calibre’s vision rather than the venue, as we will discover later).
But the past only moves the soul; it is the present that moves the feet. Kmag is here tonight because of a history all of its own making: Calibre’s much-loved Shelflife series, the latest instalment of which added to seven previous LPs of rare, unreleased and fan-petitioned tracks, finally allowed to see the light of day – a niche back-cat adventure that started in 2007 following public demand. To be clear: Belfast’s firstborn son of drum & bass has eight albums of unreleased rarities alone, and can sell out a central London venue simply for a Shelflife celebration night.
It’s no exaggeration to estimate that most humans inside this impeccable complex have had their musical lives significantly altered by Calibre. The man the much-mourned Marcus Intalex called the “magical music machine” is most notably credited with immortalising liquid-funk drum & bass, after 2001 LP Musique Concrète was unveiled by Fabio on the legendary Creative Source. Seemingly limitless records of criss-crossing tempos later, Calibre’s multi-faceted, increasingly multi-genred voyage refuses to be pinned down, labelled, fully explained.
But we can give it a go right here: Calibre makes refined, musically textured, liquid and rolling D&B better than anyone ever did it. And as Breakage thunders down ‘Most High’, a rasping staccato workout speared with trademark distant ragga flecks, the anticipation for the main event is reaching its apex.
LB: It’s barely midnight and the night is already one of the most iconic of 2025. Before Breakage had destroyed the place we’d even been treated to jungle/techno scholar Tasha taking us back in time with a dazzling, strictly vinyl selection of amen-infused cuts.
And now, as Calibre the Grandmaster takes the stage to bone-deep adulation, the next 90 minutes brim with those unmistakable, elegantly crafted grooves that nourish the soul, ‘the type of tune to get you moving with your eyes closed’ to once again quote the set’s impeccable host SP; but they are deep, dark and moody in equal measure. In true Shelflife fashion, it’s nigh on impossible to predict where the music man will carry us next.
This is far from the type of Calibre set you might experience at a wider audience event, in which he unleashes classic after classic from his unrivalled catalogue of liquid gold anthems – as both Kmag writers were treated to at Glastonbury this summer. Such sets are magnificent in their own right, but there is little need for the usual crowd pleasers here. Surrounded by an audience that worships his craft, Calibre is free to roam, delivering a masterclass in rolling drum & bass, mixed with a razor-sharp precision that keeps the subterranean colony of D&B heads in a state of complete trance.
Of course, there is also a generous dash of fresh heat from the main man, with glimpses of forthcoming Signature releases proving he has no intention of slowing down as a creative force of nature. A particular standout is ‘Badger In Forth’, a growling yet soul-tinged number that sparks an especially frenzied reaction on the dancefloor. It slots perfectly into a set that treats the senses: a spell-binding demonstration of the depth and range that have long defined Calibre’s unique corner of drum & bass.
EC: Rewind. Only an hour back, Kmag’s intrepid pair of writers are in the hallowed green room chewing the fat with breakbeat royalty. True to form, Calibre is that unique mix of zen and self-deprecating, telling Kmag of his continual gratitude and surprise that such a crowd would show up, and how pleased he is with the bespoke lighting for tonight’s event. Some digging reveals it’s legendary Metalheadz designer Jon Black who is responsible – just another refined angle that sets this artist, his catalogue, his vision, apart.
Smooth like silk, still sharp like a splinter…
Back up above, as SP’s unrivalled narration of Calibre’s immediate set and his wider scene contribution carry the night along, LB’s ‘impossible to predict’ line nails it. For just like that, as Calibre’s last tune gets a rare rewind, we teleport from the depths of his fathomless personal vaults right back to party mode. The Calibre vocal mix of Zinc’s bouncy 2004 cut ‘Flim’ arrows around the delighted arena, SP taking time to salute the great Slarta Jon’s delivery, and it’s a reminder that, above all, this thing is fun. Fizzy, unpretentious and one to throw shapes to: D&B can skin the cat any way you choose.
Calibre’s ability to twist London into new shapes continues. Like his midnight to six special at FOLD two summers ago, where only he, Bailey and SP took us from unreleased 120bpm downtempo to jungle smashers across one unforgettable night, he seems to only do things with a keen artistic deliberateness. And we ain’t done yet.
LB: Following on from such a sublime rollout is quite the task. Not many can cultivate that same sense of excited suspense as they are handed the reins, let alone maintain the buzzing high that Calibre has left us with right up until the moment the lights come on.
Skeptical is one of a select few.
The master craftsman of sub-heavy steppers has long since cemented himself as a pillar of the scene, with an epic discography spanning prestigious labels including Exit Records, Metalheadz, Soul:R, and more recently his own imprint Rubi Records. As he takes to the controls, armed to the teeth with the most dangerous of cuts, and with none other than D&B mic royalty GQ in tow, all anyone in the dance can do is brace themselves for impact: when Skeppy steps in, it’s guaranteed to be a wild ride.
What ensues is a teaching in heavyweight dubplate pressure; the sheer amount of mind-bending unreleased music being showcased is something to behold. Pair that with the astonishing assemblage of more familiar dancefloor destroyers in Skeppy’s arsenal, like his stone cold, system-shattering opener ‘Process of Elimination’, and you’re onto a real winner.
But it is the effortless fusion of forward-thinking, new-school sonics with the raw, genre-defining sounds of years gone by that is truly mesmerising. As he digs deeper, drawing for timeless classics like Konflict’s legendary Renegade Hardware stomper ‘Roadblock’, or Fierce and Cause4Concern’s signature tech-roller masterpiece ‘Carrier’, that 20-year age gap fades into insignificance.
EC: And as if the lineup, venue, lighting, niche back-cat success story, main maestro playing solely a deep set, and uber-guest Skeptical drawing for foundation tech classics wasn’t enough, it’s not long before we see SP slide back onto stage, ready to back-to-back it with his inspiration and don dada of the all-night host-a-thon, GQ.
Got what you want; what you need, check the GQ-Skeppy-SP.
It’s no exaggeration to say that these two titans, who go back all the way to SP’s early days at the turn of the century making tapes with Jubei and hoping for local radio slots, were destined to roll over sharp tech cuts together. GQ’s throaty rat-tat-tat 8-bar bombs cut through like shimmering glass atop the spidery snares and warping subs – only for
SP to equalise the peaks and troughs in trademark lithe, dextrous style. As SP’s own vocals on Skeptical’s remix of Break’s howitzer ‘Box Clever’ serrate and destroy the dance, we’re taken to a high-point of past, present and future in one hit. Don’t forget: these are the good times, right here. To witness these two vocal cornerstones of the scene laughing and bopping in sync onstage, going bar for bar as the vast arena beams and cheers and shuffles, is why we love this thing so much.
There’s even time for a little nod to future mischief, as SP teasingly trails a ‘2026 link-up’ project for himself and GQ. It’s a heady time for MC combos of all stripes, and for our money there’s no-one to touch this one. We’ll watch this space with interest.
LB: This truly is an all-star cast, and the very definition of a perfectly curated lineup. Each artist carries us on a journey through their own corner of drum & bass, every set a flawless bridge to the next. To top it all off, 90-minute sets all night; in the age of short attention spans and constant changeovers, this feels like a rare gift, giving each artist time to dig deep and paint the full picture.
How to connect to London’s rave heyday in an instant? Simple: sell it out and smash it to bits. How to take it to a different level? Curate it like this.
The music man keeps rolling. We simply await what’s next.
