Label Focus: Viper Recordings

Even in the hyper-evolving, multiple-subgenre world of drum ’n’ bass, there’s something to be said for the slow and steady strategy. Take Futurebound’s Liverpool/London-based Viper. Fourteen years deep and only just hitting their 100th release, it’s never rushed things, instead gradually rising to prominence, sculpting its own multiple-subgenre-eschewing dancefloor d’n’b sound in the process.

Check those 100 releases and you’ll find career-changers from some of this decade’s heavyweights such as Sigma, The Prototypes, Camo & Krooked and Nero. But it’s what’s ahead that excites Futurebound the most. In recent years it’s put on parties from Austria to Australia, and consolidated a tight family of diverse artists including Brookes Brothers, Jaguar Skills, InsideInfo, Cyantific, Koven (above), Matrix & Futurebound and newer, next-gen talent such as Dossa & Locuzzed, BMotion, Dub Elements and Toronto Is Broken.

As time goes by, we’ll hear serious artist albums from the Viper family. InsideInfo’s remarkable debut LP earlier this year is an example of the creative weight Viper is punching at, and four more major LPs are set to follow in the coming months, with more on the cards after that. Viper’s slow and steady strategy is beginning to pay off.

Label boss: Futurebound

If you had to sum up the source of the Viper sound, what would it be?

Film scores. When I saw ET, it was the music that grabbed me the most. And that’s the feeling and energy I’ve always wanted from Viper; nurturing emotions that really pull you in and blow you away.

What do you look for in a Viper artist?

I like to meet everyone we sign and look them in the eye. I want to understand their work ethic. Are they prepared? What’ll they be like when they hit a rut? They must know what they’re getting into. Musically, I’m looking for a creative spark. Technical skills can be taught; originality can’t.

When did things really take off?

With 2009’s five-year anniversary album ‘Acts Of Madmen’. We had Ed Rush & Optical, Sigma, Nero, Camo & Krooked, loads more. All huge tunes. I remember going to Fabric and hearing 20 Viper tracks from room to room. I was like, ‘Jesus!’. That was when I knew we were in it for the long haul, and that I had to do things properly: not bang out releases and hope for the best, but have a bigger scale and a strategy.

What’s the strategy for the future?

Artist albums. We’ve not done many, but we’ve never wanted to rush our artists – or ourselves. Everyone has to go that extra mile on an album. They’ve got to be something you want to listen to in all sorts of places and moods and still want to hear in 10 years’ time. After InsideInfo’s we’ve got another four from Brookes Brothers, Koven, Toronto Is Broken and Cyantific. I’m excited to get them out. It sounds like a fresh new form of d’n’b is about to happen. Neuro-funk has built over the last five years, there’s a big jump-up sound at the moment so now it’s time to bring in something new. That’s the future.

‘Drum ’n’ Bass Summer Slammers 2017’ is out now on Viper Recordings

10 key Viper Recordings releases

Matrix & Futurebound feat Louis Smith ‘Coast To Coast’

“Taken from ‘Universal Truth’, this is the track that people thank Matrix and I for the most. An uplifting guitar-led d’n’b track with a punkish vocal”