Quadraphonic, Creative Source, V Recordings, Soul:R, Signature Records, Br:nk
Musical artist
Dominick Martin, better known by his stage name Calibre, is a Northern Irish drum and bass music producer and DJ from Belfast. He is highly regarded for his influence on the liquid funk style of drum and bass, which was partially named after his distinct production style.[1][2][3] He primarily releases his own works through his personal label, Signature Recordings,[4] but has also released on labels such as Hospital Records, V Recordings, Creative Source and Soul:R.[5]
Many of his productions–some of which were unreleased at the time–became synonymous with liquid funk due to DJ Fabio playing most of Martin's productions on his BBC Radio 1 show, Liquid Funk, and at Swerve club nights (originally known as Speed, which was co-ran with LTJ Bukem) in the early 2000s.[2][3] Beginning in 2007, some of these unreleased productions would be released under the "Shelflife" series of albums alongside other works by Martin on his personal record label, Signature Records.[6]
According to UKF, none of Martin's productions have been officially remixed by other artists.[7]
In 2019, Martin was awarded Critics Choice in the Drum&BassArena Awards 2019.[8]
Career
Martin started producing drum and bass in 1995, after being inspired by artists such as Goldie and LTJ Bukem. His first single was released in 1998 under the now-defunct Quadraphonic record label,[9][10][11][5] which was closely associated with U2's The Kitchen nightclub located under The Clarence Hotel.[12][13] During this time, he gave a tape demo to LTJ Bukem, who never sought an official release after reaching back out to Martin.[5]
Through Quadraphonic, he came to the attention of drum and bass DJ Fabio, who signed Martin to his record label, Creative Source, and later released his debut album Musique Concrète in 2001, named after the musique concrètecompositions of John Cage, who he was influenced by while attending the University of Ulster in Belfast.[11] Although 21 songs were chosen for the final release of the album, 300 songs in total were created by Martin.[1]
In 2003, Martin was commissioned by Warner Music Group for a remix of "Put That Woman First" from Jaheim's Still Ghetto album (2002). Despite Jaheim's disapproval of the remix, 1,000 limited-edition white label vinyl records were pressed with permission from Warner due to the underground popularity garnered by the remix. In 2023, the remix was included on a compilation album for purchase on digital storefronts.[3]
In 2005, he released Second Sun, which is considered to be Martin's best album according to Beat.[14]
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