Artist profile · Drum & bass
DJ Dara
Deep in the music.
Closer to the artist.
DJ Dara is Darragh Guilfoyle, an Irish-born drum and bass DJ and producer who co-founded New York’s Breakbeat Science and built a substantial mix catalogue.
Behind the music
About DJ Dara.
DJ Dara is Darragh Guilfoyle, an Irish-born drum and bass DJ and producer who moved to New York in 1994. Growing up in Dublin, he discovered the music through London pirate-radio recordings, drawn to its changing rhythms and rough edges.
In New York he met DJ DB, with whom he opened Breakbeat Science in 1996. The shop gave drum and bass a dedicated home in the city, moving from Ninth Street to Orchard Street before closing in 2007. Their friendship began around record deliveries, long before they became business partners.
His recorded output includes original productions as well as commercially released DJ mixes. Full Circle, issued through Moonshine in 1998, was part of the latter catalogue. Between 1998 and 2002, he released four mix CDs for the label, bringing his selections to listeners who might never have heard him in a New York club.
In a Village Voice interview, Dara described DJing as his first commitment and production as his second. He had made albums and singles, but choosing and presenting music remained the part he enjoyed most. The same interview traced his continued attachment to rave culture, where the connection between a set and the people hearing it came before strict boundaries between styles.
Artist styles
Source-reviewed associations with parts of this artist’s work. Individual releases may differ.
Jungle
High confidence · Longstanding jungle DJ identity and released mix catalogue
Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3
Techstep
Moderate confidence · Historical darker catalogue and DJ association documented in 2005
Darkstep
Moderate confidence · Historical darker catalogue and DJ association documented in 2005