No one question on the stages

 I started researching how Russian drum & bass artists responded to the war in Ukraine—especially after seeing the backlash against techno and house artists like Nina Kraviz, for example, who was heavily criticized for staying silent. What surprised me, though, was that in the DnB scene, there was no such pressure—and I found no one statement from well-known Russian DnB artists; Artists with international bookings— Gydra, Cod3x, Teddy Killerz, Enei, Electrosoul System said nothing. 

I just know, after 2022, major UK-based DnB labels quietly distanced themselves from Russian artists. For example, noticeable absence of Russian names in releases, tour lineups, livestreams, and promo channels. For example, Enei, once a face of Critical Music, is now just… gone, I think. It’s not cancellation—it’s quiet disengagement. 

When I look outside the DnB, the contrast is immediate. In techno—particularly among Russian-born artists—the response has been far more pronounced. For example, Nina Kraviz, techno’s star, faced enormous backlash for her silence, including cancelled gigs and an industry-wide reckoning. In contrast, artists like Dasha Rush and Machine Woman, for example, took a stand: condemning the war, calling out authoritarianism, and standing with Ukraine. 

For example, I’ve liked Nina Kraviz’s music for many years, and when she faced rejection for staying connected to her place of birth—because, I think, she try to preserve something from her culture—I felt quite confused during that time of backlash. I never questioned Nina Kraviz’s identity, and for me, there are no borders in techno, because techno, at its roots, is an international culture. For me, Nina Kraviz belongs to the international spirit of techno music. And during hates towards Nina Kraviz, I was confused because before I had no one thoughts about it all. For me, she was just a good house-techno music producer, no matter on her born place. 

I think — before the war, whether on stages itself, enjoying, in the raw reality from a Russian artist, was something almost no one questioned. When the war began, man was genuinely confused. Nothing used to be a problem, and suddenly, I’m expected to rethink everything. An artist — a terrorist? Maybe someone, somewhere, even broke silence over their feelings about it on a livestream itself. But in drum and bass, I found nothing — no space where such questions could even be asked. In other genres, artists seem to confront these things, to search for our answers. In DnB, it’s like silence.

Little Wonders on Dutch Rails

 In the Netherlands, I find the efforts to make life more pleasant interesting—houses, urban design, greenery, Dutch culture in general, their sense of aesthetics. But it’s not just that. For example, on the bus it’s sometimes unforgettable—on the way back from festival, first of all, the night bus from Amsterdam to Rotterdam was free, and the driver started a chant: “Rotterdam!!! Rotterdam!! Rotterdam!!!” When he said into the mic, “So where are we going!?” everyone on the bus shouted “Rotterdam! Rotterdam!! Rotterdam!”, often with their hands in the air. 

And just recently in March, on a train from Rotterdam to Tilburg, when the train was approaching Breda, after the usual automatic announcement, the train driver got on the mic and started joking about the typical Friday night life in Breda. Or, for example, in August 2024 on a way towards festival, after boarding the bus from Rotterdam to Amsterdam, the second driver talked into mic about the beautiful experiences people had that day in sunny Amsterdam. This is a piece of many similar stories about the Dutch people. 

And when the train arrives exactly on time at night in Amsterdam, people on the way—like Sidney SN, back from a daylight Dutch summer festivals towards a homes, Hotels, for example, they sometimes applause and loud cheerfulness because it was punctual. Trains in the Netherlands are the most reliable in Europe. And they’re also faster than, for example, in more Eastern countries. But, for example, sometimes, trains across the whole country come to a stop. Most of the time, it’s announced in advance, days ahead, but sometimes it can happen at night that all train traffic suddenly stops.

Maybe, in advance, when I read all the a Sidney SN blog posts, I laugh, because I thinking about a Dutch review. 

Deep in my heart floating in the blue

 ‘My heart is brеaking off now you're the dancing in the dark I wondеr where you are and I wish…’

 ‘I move slowly in the haze of people pulsing like the sun Under glowing eyes of neon skies, spinning in slow motion Diving deep in the heart Floating in the blue….’

A weather forecasts often predict something far different than ‘nothing else’

 I feel the warmth of the sun and the warmth of a rich, caring community. Those days were more beautiful than anything seems possible today. All I want is to return to that reality — and nothing else.

‘I drive all night but still the truth Is none of these streets lead back to you.’

Like the dancer with bruises who gathers the cash When the music is through, no she don't look back. I've come to look for America too. But, perhaps, in another time. 

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.