Dave Owen’s drum and bass reflects a childhood split between the UK and the United States. British dance music met American hip-hop and R&B, giving him two musical histories to draw on when he started making records.
He initially tried to recreate the heavier sound of Bad Company UK and Ed Rush, but sample-based liquid opened another door. Hearing Calibre and Zero T helped him connect D&B with the soul, funk, and jazz records behind the rap and R&B he loved. Finding the original samples became part of the work.
Releases on Liquid V, Formation Records, and Rubik Records helped establish that sound. Owen has also pointed to American producers including Random Movement, Submorphics, and Jaybee as people who showed him what was possible within the same musical territory.
His catalogue reaches beyond liquid. Rollin’, with Zere and Gabriel Habit, appeared on Mac 2’s Pieces Session II, while work with Jaybee explored heavier rollers and jump-up ideas. Owen has described those experiments as a way to bring fresh techniques back into his more soulful tracks, keeping the two sides of his music connected.
