Seba

Every genre has its own characters, so does drum and bass - e.g. Fabio and Hospital Records crew were innovators and/or founders of liquid funk, we have Kemal & Rob Data was the duo who had to deal with the infamous shady things around Messiah, everyone's favourite DJ Andy C, some guys who have sold out in the past years (I assume you could name a few), or left the scene permanently or temporarily (Corrupt Souls, Usual Suspects) - I think you got the idea.

So who is Seba in drum and bass? Where is his place?

In my 10+ years experience of drum and bass (ranging from hardcore Barcode material to LGR/GLR to techstep and neurofunk essentials) it somehow became obvious that Seba is one of the most overlooked, or ignored artists of drum and bass. This applies to the whole Scandinavian/Nordic scene as well.

Okay, Seba is not that overlooked as I say, you might be right. But think about it. Sebastian is rock solid when it comes to quality. Like he has never ever failed to amaze me with his releases. LGR, Horizons, Hospital, it does not matter for him - he always finds the perfect structures for various settings. No homo shit, but when I listen to Seba (or Future Prophecies, Teebee, Polar), I actually feel like he put his soul and true effort to his tunes.

I perfectly remember the days when I raved on discogs about how amazing Subtle Audio and Scientific Wax are, they are one of the last true, genuine fortresses of drum and bass. I think it's time to add Seba / Secret Ops to this humble list. If drum and bass was an epic fantasy movie, I think Seba would be a great protagonist.

Tunes of interest: Stone Cold (ft. Paradox), Planetary Funk Alert, Camouflage, Move On, and his EP on Idioma. Planetary Funk Alert is a reference track for atmospheric dnb.

p.s. with its early '00s Critical-esque sound with incredible ambient soundscapes as well, External Reality is one of the best tracks I have ever heard. By a long-long mile.

For my money this guy is one of the best, if not the best, DnB producers out there. Virtually every cut is deep atmospheric and musical, alongside razor sharp drum edits and cone destroying bass lines. Absolutely essential if you like your proper drum and bass...

In this day and age when we are living in the information overload, thus in music overload, producers must go over the edge in terms of quality and ideas. I think Seba has done that. Recent years have been the most exciting times in music history with countless talented producers popping up pratically every day. Seba is definately one of them. Can't even point out the best releases coz there are so many of them. Welcome to his world!