Herbal Mafia 20th birthday part 4: Dillinja

For the 4th and final party in our 20th birthday series we invite one of our favourite artists to make his debut in York. Another pioneer of drum&bass and another bucket list booking for us. We are all very excited for this one!

We welcome the deep, dark and dirty don: DILLINJA!

Dillinja has shaped and influenced the drum&bass scene since 1991; from building sound systems as a teenager, before producing heavy bangers and running record labels since his early 20's. He went on to release tunes on Bryan Gee & Jumpin Jack Frost's V Recordings, Goldie's Metalheadz label and the legendary Renegade Hardware; before teaming up with Lemon D to create the iconic Valve Sound System - generally considered to be the loudest and best sounding drum&bass rig in the world - alongside their imprint: Valve Recordings.

He has an epic back catalogue of music, his collaborations read like a who's who of drum&bass, and his unique dark sound has resulted him remixing for artists as diverse as David Bowie, Bjork, Faith No More, Soul II Soul, Basement Jaxx, Amon Tobin, Artful Dodger and Jeru the Damaja. We are extremely lucky to be hosting him for an extended 2 hour set! More info on him below....

Supported by Herbal Mafia residents:

The weighty DEEP CRISIS, an explosive trio who blend hard lyrics and even harder beats, since forming in 2023 they're already signed to SERIAL KILLAZ, Benny Page's label DUB SHOTTA, Nicky Blackmarket's KARTOONZ, and SUBWAY SOUNDZ.

Plus the energetic yet smooth mixing of YESED, known for destroying dancefloors with the sickest basslines. YORKSHIRE TEA PARTY, also of Irie Vibes Sound System, bringing their fresh dubplates of reggae-soaked jungle.

Special guest OSC (Need4Speed) warming us up with some liquid drum&bass vibes.

Room 2: Dubstep, Grime, UKG, Dub powered by Herbal Mafia Hifi featuring:

GASTAH, HAZE-EE (One For Tea), JOE HELL (Lift Your Feet), LAQAI, SUBTALA (Mesh Radio), YENZ (Irie Vibes / Catch A Fire)

Early bird tickets only £8. Standard advance £10. On the door £12 before 11pm, £15 after.

18+ ID may be required. Last entry at 2am.

Dillinja biography:

Dillinja's earliest influences: funk, jazz, reggae and rare grooves are evident in his production, but it was the sound system culture and the explosion of hiphop, electro and electronic music in the 1980's that really defined his path. Inspired by King Tubby's and Jah Shaka's huge, earth-shaking sound system he learnt the trade from Jah Shaka's ampflier builder and by the age of 15 was building his own custom amplifiers and bass bins. After the Criminal Justice Bill was introduced which clamped down on sound systems and parties, Dillinja went into production of the music instead.

A keen drummer and electrical engineer he was able to transition into the studio with relative ease, the Digidub Studio in Camberwell providing the space and resources for him to acquire the nescessary skills. Soon he was making tunes at a prodigious pace, releasing new vinyl as often as twice a week, channeling all his profits back into his studio equipment. By the time he was 23 he already had 50 releases! In his words:

"I WASN'T MAKING ANY MONEY FOR YEARS, I JUST HAD SUCH A LOVE FOR THE MUSIC. I WAS
KNOCKING TUNES TOGETHER IN MY ROOM, GETTING A HUNDRED WHITE LABELS PRESSED AND
RUNNING AROUND WITH THEM TO RECORD SHOPS MYSELF. IT WAS A GREAT LEARNING PROCESS
AND I LOVED IT" 

All of his early releases were 'white labels' - self-released tracks without a record label. Within a few years he set up many record labels to showcase various elements of his sound. Notably: Cybotron, Logic, Target, IQ and Deadly Vinyl. He also released music on Bryan Gee & Jumpin Jack Frost's V Recordings, Goldie's Metalheadz label and the legendary Renegade Hardware as well as Philly Blunt, Hardleaders, Lionheart Records and Prototype. This enabled him to collaborate with countless artists and expand his repetoire of production resulting in seminal tunes that still sound fresh 30 years later.

During this time he met Lemon D, they would go on to form a partnership, a record label and an internationally acclaimed sound system which rivals the best in the world. Valve Recordings was named after the old-skool valve amplifiers used in the original reggae sound systems, known for their sonic power and warmth. Having toured in many clubs with inadequate speaker systems that didn't reproduce the bass frequencies properly, they built the world's first sound system designed specifically for drum&bass - the 96kW Valve Sound System. It's first outing was in Fabric in 2001 and it's still regarded as the best in the world 25 years later.

He continues to produce, remix and release music, find and develop new talent for Valve Recordings, and tour with his legendary sound system the world over. And now he's coming to York for the first time ever!