Everything you know, understand and love about the past, present and future of drum & bass, smelted down into the raw essence: T>I’s sounds and selections smoulder with the original jungle spirit while locked firmly into tomorrow. The end result is a timeless fusion that’s resonated with fans from all corners of the dance and the biggest names in the game.
Rewind to 1995: Mat South’s vision of integration began almost 20 years ago when he was drip-fed tape packs from his older brother. Immersing himself fully into rave culture as soon as he could pull of a fake ID stunt, he progressed from the dancefloor to the decks to promoting major club events on the English Riviera within a matter of years. Production was the final piece in his widescreen high definition snapshot of our scene. Instead of bombarding every label on the planet, he aimed high and sent his distinctive inventions solely to the scene’s biggest ambassadors: Hype and Andy C. The two heavyweights have represented the T>I sound since the mid 2000s and remain his biggest supporters to date.
The same high level of DJ praise was scored with his work outside of drum & bass jungle. In 2010 his thick, bass-tickled breakbeat brew ‘Tokyo Terror’ won love from Rennie Pilgrem while his paranoid, subverted dubstep cuts ‘Howard’s Note’ and ‘Mindless Torture’ enjoyed heavy airplay from none other than Flux Pavillion and Doctor P.
D&B being his first and foremost love, it’s here where T>I was determined to make his biggest dent. Which he’s done so since 2012 via Marky’s legendary Innerground. Hazard dropped his then-unsigned ‘Freak’ at Innovation and Brazil’s finest D&B diplomat went bananas, demanding to sign it… Weeks later a label deal was signed with Innerground introducing T>I as one of the leading artists to develop the label’s fresher, slightly darker sound. Several EPs and album contributions later – plus appearances on Silent Type & Sativa’s heavyweight Hangar imprint and Hype’s heavyweight Playaz brand – and T>I’s reputation has developed unavoidable momentum.
Heavy, funky, warm and moody, the T>I sound rumbles, rolls and steps sharply into the future… Not only via premiership playlist support but via Mat’s own appearances at the most discerning D&B events across the UK. A DJ long before he was a producer, whenever T>I performs we guaranteed all crews, all corners, all fans and all flavours will enjoy total integration. And we mean Total.
