Magnetude

What is a story without a plot? A journey without a destination? A movie without a soundtrack? A song without emotion? These are the questions that carve Rustam Mansurov and James Peacock’s unique dynamic signature as Magnetude, an act with one of the most distinctive, exciting and dramatic sounds in contemporary drum & bass. On a much deeper level, these questions are what magnetised the Anglo/Russian duo together in the first place. Born thousands of miles apart - and seemingly kept apart through an array of life complications - they remain kindred spirits connected through a series of shared passions, visions and creative ideologies. Both sharing rich histories in music – Rustam was playing piano aged 9, James was playing violin aged 12 – they’re both heavily inspired by the importance of detail, orchestral dynamics and story-telling in music. Moved by the works of composers ranging from Ennio Morricone and Danny Elfman to Amon Tobin, John Williams to Ilya Beshevli, no amount of distance can quench the duo’s synergy and energy. It’s a synergy that began in 2010 when they met on VKontake, and developed when Rustam was signed to Close 2 Death, a label James was A&R for at the time. In 2015 it evolved into a much stronger energy when the pair left Close 2 Death and started to collaborate on their own music. By 2016 the ‘Hyperdrive’ EP was born and Magnetude was ready to reveal to the world. It was delivered by one of most influential, innovative stables in the heavier D&B pastures at the time – Lifted Music. Quickly appearing on some of the most prominent imprints in drum & bass culture such as Eatbrain, Renegade Hardware, Viper and RAM Records, their music has gone on to appear on games such as Project Cars and Freaked Fleapit, and between them they’ve torn dancefloors apart from Creamfields to Let It Roll, Pirate Station to XOYO. Most recently, they’ve co-founded the exciting forward-thinking, community-minded collective Evolution Chamber alongside like-minded fusionists Task Horizon and Receptor.