Blu Mar Ten

Blu Mar Ten emerged from London’s 1990s drum and bass scene with a sound that gave equal attention to breakbeats, atmosphere, and arrangement. Their first single, The Fountain, arrived in 1996. LTJ Bukem subsequently signed them to Good Looking, linking their early work with the label’s more spacious side of the music.

Their interests soon stretched beyond drum and bass. Releases for Naked Music, TCR, Guidance, and Big Chill explored other tempos, while two albums for Exceptional Records developed their non-drum-and-bass material. Returning to the genre, they also recorded for Hospital, Med School, and 31 Records.

Establishing Blu Mar Ten Music in 2009 gave them a home for albums including Natural History, Love Is the Devil, Famous Lost Words, and Empire State. The label also became a platform for artists such as Kimyan Law, Frederic Robinson, Stray, and Conduct.

For Chris of Blu Mar Ten, the label’s role is personal: he has described releasing other artists’ music as a test of whether he is prepared to stand behind it. Speaking in 2017, he also recalled the unpredictable energy of early London clubs, where the DJ could be almost invisible and the focus was on people dancing with one another.