skantia is a Newcastle drum and bass producer whose music grew out of a scene where jump-up and deeper rollers were meeting on the same dancefloors. He calls his approach “maximal minimal”: plenty happening inside tracks that still leave their central ideas clear. The description fits the way he moves between subgenres, rather than staying in one lane.
His route to RAM Records began with Balance on Lifestyle Music. RAM’s label manager got in touch, skantia sent more music, and Andy C began playing tracks including Cluster. Signing in 2019 was the next step in a story that had started much closer to home, selling tickets and becoming a resident at Newcastle night Dilate.
His debut album, Common Ground, arrived in 2022. Much of it had been written at his mother’s house with a laptop and speakers, and he saw the record as a snapshot of those early production years. Jump-up, rollers, and deeper material all made the cut; TeeBee helped finish the album by running it through his studio equipment in Norway.
The title also carries a personal connection. Heist, whose own track supplied the name, had encouraged skantia after hearing one of his first uploads. An album about finding common ground between styles therefore also nods to someone who helped him get started.
