Beyond The Tension: “Evolution” or “Fluidity”

A your thoughts about changes 

 Liquicity began as a YouTube channel and quickly grew into a movement. With slogans like “For the love of liquid drum & bass,” it offered a counterpoint to the harsher ends of the spectrum—techstep, neurofunk, and jump-up. For many fans, it wasn’t just about music; it was about emotion over aggression, connection over chaos. 

Geestmerambacht 2024

For years, Liquicity stood as the emotional sanctuary of the drum & bass scene—pure, melodic, and untouched by the darker subgenres like neurofunk. But in recent Liquicity festivals, something has changed. Artists like Black Sun Empire, IMANU, Buunshin or Synergy—with roots in neuro—have started appearing on the lineup. Although for soulful or dancefloor liquid DnB people can be difficult allowed the changes in the DnB genres, liquid DnB (once) stood as a different music genre with different vibes than was mainstream DnB scene, than is neurofunk, perhaps artist like IMANU (once known as Signal, signed to Noisia’s Invisible) represent this evolution. His sets are not pure neurofunk anymore—they’re a swirling mix of glitchy halftime, sharp bass design, and unpredictable emotional arcs. It’s a sound that doesn’t quite belong to any subgenre. A shifting towards neuro genres brings also its aggression, including a ravers— this a man can feel. 

And yeah, beyond programming logic, there’s a cultural shift at play. The drum & bass scene has never been more fractured—yet also never more interconnected. In Czechia, for example, neurofunk is the mainstream. Labels like Eatbrain, Hoofbeats, and events like Let It Roll dominate, pushing aggressive, high-speed tech into the everyday. For young Czech ravers, this isn’t fringe music—it’s just what drum & bass is. Meanwhile in the Netherlands, Liquicity’s home turf, the neurofunk movement was once led by giants like Noisia and Black Sun Empire. But after Noisia’s farewell in 2022, the neuro scene fractured into something more hybridized. Artists like Posij and [IMANU] now explore new sonic worlds that blur genre lines entirely. Neuro no longer exists in a box—it’s leaking into liquid, into halftime, into house and glitch and IDM. 

Due a roots of liquid DnB or liquid DnB policy, this can’t be advocate, but probably Liquicity can no longer afford to be seen as insular or elitist. In an era when inclusion, diversity, and openness are demanded from every cultural institution, sticking to a single subgenre becomes a branding liability.

Another 1000 Miles (Sidney SN SoulfulLiquidDNB Mix)

 In April 2025, Sidney SN released Leucanthemum (Leontyne), a spring liquid drum and bass mix.  

Although Sidney SN had no plans to release another mix, he spontaneously dropped Another 1000 Miles on BassBlog.pro. The inspiration for Another 1000 Miles came from Life Is But A Dream by London Elektricity. If it weren’t for that track, Another 1000 Miles wouldn’t exist. In Leucanthemum (Leontyne), Sidney SN mixed Life Is Beautiful by London Elektricity—and now, everything seems to continue with Life Is But A Dream in Another 1000 Miles. 

But Another 1000 Miles is a bit different from previous mixes on Sidney SN’s BassBlog.pro. It has a different vibe—maybe more similar to Sidney SN’s pre-2019 mixes, before something changed due to world events.

For example, Life Is But A Dream is blended with Velour by Koherent feat. Catching Cairo. I really love Catching Cairo’s vocals. Or there’s Swang Song (Calibre Remix) feat. Dua Lipa, mixed with Nostalgia by Icicle. Also, for liquid people legendary, Never Let You Go (Blu Mar Ten Remix) by Seba, and the instrumental Shattered Dreams by TS—this one really makes the mix stand out to me. Mixed with Waves by Linx, this is a poison of a smell by a red flowers, for me. And of course, 1000 Miles by Machinedrum and Sub Focus. 

Maybe this mix will get fewer plays because it’s a little different—but Sidney SN simply loves every track in it. Simply, not everything from Sidney SN needs to be understood—because his reality might exist beyond what others think his reality should be. Enjoy the summer!

Link; Another 1000 Miles (Sidney SN SoulfulLiquidDnB Mix) May 2025.

And for an Another 1000 Miles, thank you for this week. 

Passion for responsibility

 Because of my experiences with open-air Dutch techno festivals and a drum and bass festival in the Netherlands, I had a conversation with ChatGPT about safety and responsibility—sustainability. 

I don’t want to express pure hate or negativity, but I found myself thinking in a similar way to the insights that I verified during the research with ChatGPT. And maybe this result is interesting because someone could think that the DnB festival is more focused on the theme. But the techno festivals are organized by Dutch policy itself and by Dutch values itself. 

The techno festivals have a much stronger and more genuine sustainability policy than the DnB festival. The techno festivals operates fully on renewable energy from the national grid, minimizes fuel usage, enforces a zero-tolerance drug policy, and has a clear circular waste system. Their actions reflect real responsibility, not just pretty language. 

The DnB festival might have an initiatives like reusable cups and water-saving showers, but it’s mostly optional, symbolic, and without clear structure. No real public zero-drug policy, no transparent energy sourcing.  

The Dutch techno festivals— Safety: Apply zero drug tolerance policy, clearly communicated and enforced- Strong security presence and coordination with Dutch authorities- Professional infrastructure with decades of event experience. Strong festivals professionalism over community bonding. Sustainability: 100% renewable electricity from the national grid. They manage energy consumption through smart systems, serve local and sustainable food, and apply circular waste management. This isn’t PR—it’s practice, backed by transparent commitments. 

The DnB festival in Netherlands— Safety: No clearly stated drug policy- Friendly, DIY-style security with community policing. Emotionally bonded DnB fanbase—grassroots atmosphere—Less formal, more communal ethics. Sustainability: The DnB festival does have thoughtful touches: reusable cups, eco-showers, and post-event gear donations to charity. But these are mostly voluntary and symbolic. There’s no formal sustainability policy, and the festival hasn’t made public efforts to measure or offset its ecological footprint in a structured way. It’s well-intentioned, but lacks the system and seriousness than the techno festivals brings.