One of the most essential new names in electronic music, Bou has had a year full of progress and promise. Now Manchester-based, the Algerian-born DJ and producer moved to the city in the north of England at the age of six, and as he grew older was introduced into the world of DnB, quickly immersed within the world of production.

He’s been active on the release sphere for the last five or six years, but in the last 12 months, Bou has truly found his feet in the industry. Perhaps the biggest moment of his career to date, the rising beatsmith saw acclaim for his slick, adventurous and compelling collaboration with one of the most legendary names in the genre – Chase & Status. A passing on of the torch from the pioneering old guard to the evolutionary new, “Baddadan” merges both act’s respective style meticulously, with the track soaring Bou to newfound heights.

Fresh off the back of the highly successful link up, Bou has made his most cohesive statement of intent to date with a cinematic and carefully crafted new EP, “Swerve It.” Across the five tracks, Bou flaunts his production chops with eclectic sampling, impressive and assured use of rhythm and refined mixing. The stand out cut is the title track, a rousing D&B anthem that enlists a star-studded feature cast, which includes D Double E, P Money and Mila Falls.

We took the time to speak with Bou, discussing his production origins, the growth of D&B as a sound and scene, and the making of his stellar new EP.

Listen to “Swerve It”…

Read the interview…

Who and what inspires you?
I get inspiration from all types of music and artists, sometimes hearing something done in a completely different genre and trying to do something similar in DnB is a way to come up with stuff that has never been done before.

How has 2023 treated you?
It’s been one of the strongest years of my career so far, 2 top 40s and international sold out tours in USA & Australia have also been huge moments for me. it’s going amazing and I’m very excited for what next year holds.

How did you first find a love for music?
My friend brought me to an illegal free party when I was 15, this was where I first heard drum and bass and fell instantly in love with the sound. From there I went home downloaded FL studio and the rest is history.

What about producing drew you into its world?
I love producing because it gives me a chance to express my creativity, the same way artists decorate pictures, I feel producers decorate space and time.

How has your cultural background and experiences shape your outlook and the way you create?
My father was always heavily into IT and computers, and my mum was a musician from young, kind of makes sense that I make electronic music on a computer as a job haha!

DnB is on the rise in the UK scene, why do you think that is?
I think there’s a certain energy you get from DnB that you can’t get with any other genres, you can portray so many different vibes and emotions and I think that’s what makes it so special

Congratulations on your new EP, “Swerve It”. How are you feeling about it post release?
I’m super happy with it, I had these tunes sat there for a while and I just wanted to put out some raw music that isn’t super polished, and stays true to my original sound, I’m super chuffed with how well its being received.

What was the process of creating the EP?
Like I said these songs had just been sat there for over a year on my computer and they all had a similar raw and unpolished sound to them, I thought they worked great together.

What influenced the project sonically?
Just being true to my sound and not over complicating anything or doing too much, sometimes all you really need is some punching drums and a groovy bass line and not too much over complication.

The feature list is stacked! How does it feel to have such legends of your body of work?
It’s amazing to be able to work with legends like Camo & Crooked and Mefjus, these guys are real geniuses at what they do and it’s an honour to be on a track with them. Same goes for grime OGS P Money & D Double E, Mila falls just added the cherry on the top to glue the track together.

How did choose the features? Why those names?
I love collaborating with artists that people would never expect, it makes it something that’s never been done before and becomes a completely original piece of work, plus I’m a big fan of all of them and completely made sense.

“Baddadan” has been a huge hit – what do you think it is about that track that has grabbed the attention of listeners?
The vocals without a doubt, as soon as I heard what Trigga recorded on the track I knew it was going to be a moment, the top line that Takura for me glued the tray together perfectly. I learnt a lot from working with Chase & Status on this one, they have perfected how to turn an underground banger into a commercialised song, I rate it!

What’s to come from you in the new year?
Loads of new music, new big collaborations with people you don’t expect, and the start of my new concept ‘Bou’s House’!