Calibre

Dominick Martin, a reserved Northern Irish producer who performs under the name Calibre, shapes a polished and emotionally resonant strain of atmospheric drum'n'bass that incorporates elements of jazz, blues, folk, and further traditions. Although frequently linked to the liquid funk movement, he has never confined himself to a single approach, regularly exploring downtempo, house, and dubstep productions instead. Across tempos and styles, his output stands out for its meticulously crafted percussion, melancholic melodic lines, and intermittent, restrained vocal contributions from Martin himself. Most of his albums have appeared via his Signature Records imprint, yet he also co-managed Soul:r alongside recurring associates Marcus Intalex and ST Files while placing material on additional outlets including 31 Records, V, and Digital Soundboy. His first long-player, Musique Concrete, surfaced in 2001 and inaugurated an extensive sequence of releases stretching from the dub-inflected Even If... (2010) through the enveloping atmospheres of Planet Hearth (2019) to the more dancefloor-oriented Feeling Normal (2021).

A musician with classical training, Martin was born in Belfast and started making drum'n'bass in 1995. Following initial singles issued as Calibre and Loose Dragon on the short-lived Quadraphonic label toward the close of the 1990s, he joined Fabio’s Creative Source roster, resulting in the 2001 arrival of Musique Concrete. The album title drew inspiration from John Cage, whose work affected Martin during fine-arts studies at Belfast’s University of Ulster. That same year Calibre placed one of the earliest releases on Marcus Intalex’s Soul:r label. Martin soon formed the trio Mist:i:cal with Intalex and Lee Davenport (ST Files) and worked with Davenport under the St.Cal alias.

While continuing to issue singles through Eastside Records and Defunked, Martin established his own Signature Records in 2003, releasing tracks such as “Peso” and the High Contrast collaboration “Mr. Majestic.” His second album, Second Sun, followed in 2005 and included vocal contributions from Diane Charlemagne, DRS, and Lariman. Mist:i:cal delivered their album The Eleventh Hour in 2007, which again featured DRS and Charlemagne along with Robert Owens. Also in 2007 came Shelflife, the initial installment in a series of volumes collecting previously unreleased material from Martin’s archives. Overflow, containing a Steve Spacek appearance plus Martin’s own vocals and artwork, emerged in 2008. Shelflife 2, comprising dubplates and downtempo pieces, appeared in 2009. Martin emphasized song-based material on Shine a Light, his debut release under his given name.

Calibre explored dubstep through two singles for Deep Medi Musik, while portions of the 2010 album Even If... and 2011’s Condition reflected the genre’s influence. His first mix CD, Fabriclive 68, was released in 2013. Shortly afterward came the drum'n'bass album Spill and Valentia, Martin’s second project under his own name and one marked by jazz inflections. Additional Shelflife volumes preceded Grow, a house-leaning full-length issued in 2016 on Craig Richards’ The Nothing Special. The vocal-centric The Deep arrived in 2017, followed by Shelflife 5 in 2018. That year also saw 4AM, a set of darker drum'n'bass tracks, appear on Doc Scott’s 31 Records. Planet Hearth, an ambient and downtempo collection long in preparation, was released in 2019. Shelflife 6 followed in 2020, and Feeling Normal, built from road-tested 140 BPM cuts, arrived in 2021. The album was preceded by the 12-inch Bad/Badder, which presented Mark Ernestus (Basic Channel, Rhythm & Sound) reworkings of the track “Badman” featuring DRS.