What started as a small idea in 2018, has now grown into a nice community full of sick producers and amazing raves. We’re talking about the label Overview, founded by Energy and sub-antics.
Last December, they were celebrating their 100th release, and it’s not just a regular one. With this milestone, the label takes us back through all its back catalog. Ranging from gyrofield’s ‘Fallen in Deep’ to skantia’s ‘2Drill’, Overview is treating both new ears and regular listeners to a full-on remix buffet.
We took the time to look back at what the past six years have meant to Overview, what their highlight moments were, and what they have in store for us in the future.
Congratulations on your 100th release!
Energy: Thank you! I’ve always believed we’d make it to this milestone, I intend on being here as long as possible but the surprising thing about this is more how quickly we’ve done it. It’s a challenge but we’re constantly looking to strike the right balance between quality and consistency.
sub-antics: Our releases have definitely ramped up in the past couple of years. Looking back to 2018 when we started the label, we didn’t have a whole schedule of releases, and we were taking it one release at a time, so I wasn’t thinking this far ahead. But I’m happy we’re here now.
With what intention did you start Overview?
Energy: This story has been told before, but long story short is that Overview was never meant to exist. I was with another record label, I was kicked out of that label, and I found myself with nothing to do. I started thinking, I’ve got all this experience, I’m not going to let this bad moment stop me, so let’s start a record label myself. I never intended to fund Overview before that point, Oli (sub-antics) never intended to work at one. Circumstances just made it happen.
sub-antics: There wasn’t a sit-down, it happened very organically. Within three months, it was there, from the inception of an idea.
Energy: It was crazy, within three months we had launched Overview and had our first-ever release. We plucked this thing out of thin air almost. The only goal was to create something cool, keep momentum, and we had some reasonable success quite early on. One of the goals was always to try and be self-sufficient, to be able to do this full-time. I can now say that that has happened, but it took a good 10 years to reach that goal.
sub-antics: Initially you want the artists you respect and look up to support, to play the music. Then they start doing that and it grows and then you want the artist you look up to and respect to feature on the label and then that happens. It’s really cool to see all of it unfolding.
So it’s essentially true passion that led you to start Overview. That’s cool!
Energy: I was fortunate to know a lot of very talented people. And Oli did as well. Between us two, we can do a bit of everything. I’m an event promoter and a graphic designer. Oli is a video animator, and it felt like the right time, right place. We felt that there was a bit of a gap in the market, in our sub-genre. You had a few of the bigger guys, but there were a couple of labels jostling to be the next label to come through. There was a lot of good music and there were a lot of very talented upcoming artists around at the time.
sub-antics: Yes, the core artists on our label now really were emerging at that point.
Energy: They were all quite young, bringing in a different sound, and a different vibe. To give you an example, I was kind of an honorary member of Music Squad. I somehow managed to worm my way in and a lot of those guys have either released with us, continued to release with us or they have gone on to be really good artists. The Caracal Project, IMANU, Buunshin, Skylark, GROUND & Rueben, were all part of that Music Squad. We’re also very internet-based in some respects, because of the time that we’ve come through. Obviously, we are a UK label, but drum & bass is a cross-continent thing. It’s a worldwide thing, and there are so many talented producers from Switzerland or Austria or Germany or Australia or wherever and we’ve always been very open to that.
Overview has quite a unique sound because of that. Was this your purpose from the get-go?
sub-antics: We started out with a pool of people, and we were already very online. It wasn’t a local kind of thing because our network was already very international at that point. My influence was a bit more UK jump-up and Pete’s was ‘Music Squad’ and real techy. When you combine those, you already start with a really diverse sound. I have to credit our artists as well, none of them are ever satisfied with doing the same thing for too long.
Energy: With the internet and the way the world works today, it’s opened that door up to be able to work with people all over the world. Good music is universal. It doesn’t matter what country you’re from, good music is good music. We’ve never gone with just UK artists, and always kept our mind open to working with artists from all over the place. I think it has made us stand out. We’re arguably getting booked more in Europe now than we are in the UK. It’s great, don’t get me wrong. We can get more bookings at the moment in the Netherlands than we can in England which is a funny place to be in but I wouldn’t change it at all.
With the 100th release now ticked off, let’s look back at some of the highlights of Overview. What are some of your favourite moments along the way?
Energy: The first release was a VA, ‘Overview Part. 1’ and we followed up with parts 2 and 3. They got progressively more successful and hold an important place. I liked our ‘Zone’ releases as well, which was another various artists’ release series. Looking back, I’m really proud of those trilogies, because they are real landmark moments. If you want to get a good snapshot of Overview, those two VA series are a good starting point. Another thing I’m grateful for is that so many people we’ve given a chance to are now doing amazing things. One of my definite standouts, release-wise, is putting out gyrofield’s first release, that was a special moment. From the moment we signed the EP to now, Kiana has touched almost every genre there is. The sky’s the limit.
We also released our first-ever artist album this year, ‘Ghost’ from Wingz, this was another important chapter for us and the album is a genuine masterpiece. A real listening experience from start to finish, just how an album should be!
sub-antics: At the very start of Overview, we released Klinical’s ‘Around Me’ EP, then Waeys’ ‘Ropple’ EP, and then Wingz’ ‘Sorrow’ EP. This run sticks out to me, they’re arguably three of our most core people who defined the Overview sound, and they shaped what the label is today. I love those three EPs and the fact they were all in a row at such an early stage… I’ve got a special place in my heart for the ‘Violent Castles’ EP from Klinical as well. This was the first time we’ve done a full EP that wasn’t drum & bass, but dubstep. Dan (Klinical) has been making dubstep for a few years now, and I’ve always told him I thought it was way better than what everyone else was making in the space. And if he actually put them all on an EP, it would do ridiculously well, not at the time thinking that we’d put it out. He kept playing them out at shows and they kept going off, so we thought, why not take on the risk and release this?
And then it came down to, do you guys have the links? Do you have the audience? It was a nice challenge. I love doing all the drum & bass releases but you do get comfortable. You know what to expect and what to aim for. It was nice to find all the new emails and speak to all these new promotional agencies. To see the success of it afterward, how well it was received, and how happy Dan was, that was super rewarding.
Energy: We want to push the boundaries and try new things. We don’t always tread familiar paths and we want to support the artists that we work with in their ambition. Klinical’s release is a real turning point for him and for us. We’re now pushing a bit more into the dubstep, 140 realm, and we’ve already got a project shaping up for 2025.
That sounds amazing! Taking risks really does pay off.
sub-antics: For sure, I love so many genres, and especially right now, there’s like a big rise in garage and dubstep. Everything seems to be popping off and everyone’s listening to not just one genre. I like that everyone’s experimenting and then you’ve got all the producers from drum & bass trying those genres and bringing new ideas. It’s very good for the scene.
Energy: You’ve got to take risks and push yourself. That’s one thing we really try to do. We don’t want to be resting on our laurels or feel like we’re just doing the same thing over and over again.
For your 100th release, you’ve chosen to do remixes of earlier Overview releases. Can you tell me more about this VA?
Energy: Our first single out was a Calyx remix of skantia’s ‘2Drill’. It’s quite upfront music that we haven’t done, so again, we’ve dipped our toes and it’s very ‘in your face’ music. Calyx has been amazing to work with, it’s pretty surreal. As Oli said earlier about these people that you look up to when you’re coming through, I was playing Calyx’s music when I first got into drum & bass 15 years ago. Now he’s calling me up on the phone to discuss the release! He definitely brings a different energy and sound. We just had to do a remix of this tune, because it’s been supported by nearly everyone in the scene. I had a quite surreal experience at Let It Roll. I was with Calyx and we were walking behind a stage, and out of nowhere, Dillinja drops Calyx’s ‘2Drill’ remix. Having someone like him playing that, it goes to show how far this music is going.
sub-antics: I like the idea of a remix album for the 100th release. You could do an album of originals, but I like the way it draws back from the 100 releases that make up the back catalog. It’s a nice way to celebrate a release milestone. Drum & bass is such a fast-moving genre and it’s growing so quickly. People listening to this might not have heard half the originals that are on there and that could be a bit of an education for them to go back. It’s also a bit of a treat for people who have been around from the beginning.
How was it, picking the tunes and pairing them with the artists remixing them?
Energy: With Calyx’s remix, it was quite easy, we both had a spark and an idea that Calyx would be a great person to send that to. A lot of other artists were simply artists we wanted to work with or have a release on the label again. We asked them what tunes they wanted to remix and then asked the original producer for the stems. We kept it very organic because that’s how you get the best results. It’s a complete mixed bag. We’ve been working on this for two or three years because we had set out this plan quite early. But then time ticks away and it’s there before you know it. It’s been one of the most challenging releases we’ve ever done.
sub-antics: It’s been tough. Lots of hands and people are involved when you’ve got originals from one, two, or three artists, and then you have another person involved remixing it!
Energy: Everyone’s different, and we wanted to make sure that everything had its own place and its own limelight and was cohesive as well. That’s why we chose to release this Remix VA in two parts. I’m really, really proud, as much of a labor of love as it has been, it’s very rewarding looking at what it’s become.
Let’s look forward now. What are your goals for the next six years?
Energy: Hopefully World War III hasn’t happened (awkwardly laughs). And for Overview, I hope we still get to do this as a label and I want it to become even more of a proper business.
sub-antics: Doing what we’re doing, but on a bigger scale. We’re still learning every day, but with how quickly the online space changes, you can’t predict anything. As soon as you get comfortable, something changes and then you have to learn and adapt again.
Energy: We want to get even more involved in the event space and put on bigger shows, fill bigger spaces and bigger stages, and play at festivals. We’re at a good level where we play quite regular shows, but we want to go to the next level. In another six years, we’ll be more established hopefully in that respect. We’re not an up-and-comer but we’re still not quite fully established right now. It’s hard to know what that looks like sometimes, however, especially from the inside. You compare yourselves and you know there is competition. We’re an incredibly DIY label, like I said earlier about me being a designer and promoter, Ollie being a video animator, and running most of the social media now… There are not so many labels on our level where the label heads are the ones in the trenches doing the hard work.
sub-antics: I also hope we’ll still work with the same artists and same people, with those core Overview artists that we brought through, and they brought us through and defined our sound. I just hope those names are still regular appearances on the label. There’s a saying, “A rising tide lifts all boats together.” We’re all part of it and all doing it together, and we can create this space to be able to rise. We’ve done pretty well at retaining people and creating a great environment, but that’s what you’ve got to do. Create an environment that people want to be involved with and it can be as simple as just doing cool stuff with your mates. That’s what it’s about.
Energy: A lot of places have bigger teams and a lot of delegation. But we’re choosing this DIY route, and maybe that’s a bit of a slower burn. Although we have done a lot in six years, we can’t help but compare ourselves to others, where you think, we could be doing this already or we should be there… Bit by bit we’re converting people, though, and I think people are realizing the quality level and the fantastic artists involved, and how good our nights are as well. I might be biased in saying this, but I love Overview shows. We have such a great atmosphere. Even if I wasn’t running Overview, I would still be going to the shows because I just love the people and the music on these nights. I’m confident with the trajectory that we’re on, and it’ll be interesting to see where we’ll be in six years.
Interview conducted in December 2024 by Annelies Rom.
Support Overview100 Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Read our latest feature with Sicaria here.
