We Speak Music

Producer Dr. Apollo pushing the boundaries of Drum & Bass globally

Published

3 years ago

August 23, 2023

Music producer Dr. Apollo hails from Los Angeles but has embraced the very British sound of drum’n’bass. A classically trained musician, Dr. Apollo counts Quincy Jones and Drumma Boy as mentors and his new single ‘Remedy’ features legendary UK ragga star General Levy. Here he talks about working with his idols, finding new sounds, and how Renaissance art can inspire dance music…

Tell us about your musical style?

“My production style is about creating dance music that feels like a brand new experience – inspired by all my favourite artists, from Renaissance art to modern EDM, from heavy metal to hip hop.

“I love pushing DnB into new directions while remaining true to its authentic UK sound. Creating a cinematic soundscape is also a very important aspect of my music.”

The more it feels like you are entering a different world, the better.”

What are your latest releases?

“‘Elevate’ recently came out on Ram Records, and my EP, ‘Genesis of the Singularity’, dropped on Drama Club Records, Boogie T’s label. My latest release is ‘Remedy’, featuring the legendary MC General Levy. He did the song ‘Incredible’ with M-Beat that rocked the jungle world back in the 1990s and became an anthem for today’s DnB fans, young and old. It truly is an honour to have a song with him and he’s been an inspiration since the beginning of my drum’n’bass journey.”

What’s your connection with the London music scene?

“My debut album, ’The Simulation’, is the first full-length LP from an American on ProgRam (Ram Records/BMG), which is based in London. All my music is heavily influenced by the originators of DnB, as well as the London tech house and garage sound. Right now in Los Angeles it feels like DnB is bigger than ever and I feel lucky to be a part of a scene that understands the importance of UK culture. Brands like Insomniac, Respect, Play Me and Timeless have been pushing the movement out here for over 20 years now. I try to take a trip to London whenever I can. It’s one of my favourite places. The mixture of history and culture with modernity and technology is unlike anywhere else on earth.”

What inspired you to become a musician and producer?

“When I got my first drum set, I knew it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was in bands for many years, releasing songs and playing all over the Sunset Strip and LA. It always felt like we were waiting for producers to finish our music, so I took it into my own hands and started to teach myself how to produce.

“I fell in love with dance music and started making house/electro/dubstep every day, and after only a year I won the Insomniac Discovery Project and played at EDC in Las Vegas.”

It then took a few years to truly understand drum’n’bass and all its sub-genres before I could even try to make something worthy of the DnB scene. I feel very blessed to live in the heart of the entertainment world, which has taught me so much about what it takes to become a successful musician.”

What have been your best music projects?

“The best is always yet to come. Great projects come out authentically and have to be true to my sound. Drum’n’bass is such a forward-thinking genre that I’m always trying to level my sound design and create something that has never been heard before.”

Remedy feat. General Levy: https://music.playme.to/drapollo/remedy

Genesis of the Singularity: https://outnow.io/t/drapollo

Elevate: https://open.spotify.com/track/6A9fAtxoGnJZwAf1HThbGf?si=90f1635b68344e8e

Featured photo credit: Kim Hardy

We Speak Music

Mané’s ‘The Goddess in the Room’ Turns Self-Discovery Into Sonic World-Building

Published

4 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Philomena Marie

There is a remarkable sense of intention running through The Goddess in the Room, the latest project from Swiss artist Mané. Blending alternative electronic pop with ritualistic percussion and spiritual symbolism, the album presents itself as both a personal statement and a carefully constructed narrative. Across its nine tracks, Mané explores identity, healing, queerness, and empowerment with impressive clarity of vision.

The opening track, “The GODDESS in the Room,” functions as both invitation and thesis statement. It introduces listeners to a world where intuition and self-trust become guiding principles, while establishing the atmospheric production style that shapes much of the record. The song’s spacious arrangement creates room for reflection, a quality that becomes one of the album’s defining characteristics.

That introspection deepens on “perles de sang” and “sappho.” The former grapples with inherited pain and bodily experience, while the latter offers a moving celebration of queer identity. Throughout these songs, Mané avoids reducing complex themes to slogans, instead allowing emotional nuance to emerge through carefully crafted songwriting and evocative imagery.

Musically, the album reaches some of its most intriguing moments on “)O(” and “moonstones.” Both tracks highlight Mané’s growing confidence as a sonic architect, blending electronic textures with organic rhythmic elements inspired by shamanic practice. The resulting sound feels immersive and transportive without losing its emotional immediacy.

Meanwhile, “j’serai tjr là” and “chocolate con sangre” provide some of the record’s most vulnerable moments. Here, Mané strips back some of the conceptual grandeur to focus on connection, memory, and emotional endurance. These songs reveal an artist equally capable of intimate storytelling and ambitious world-building.

The penultimate track, “Witches,” injects a surge of collective energy into the album’s narrative. Drawing on themes of resistance and feminine power, it stands as one of the project’s most direct statements while retaining its atmospheric sophistication. It is both politically resonant and emotionally charged.

By the time “ALIGNED” closes the record, the journey feels complete. Not because all questions have been answered, but because the search itself has become meaningful. The Goddess in the Room succeeds through its commitment to authenticity and vision, establishing Mané as an artist unafraid to follow her own path, wherever it may lead.

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