BEACON Label: A New Era in the North American Drum & Bass Scene

The North American Drum & Bass scene receives a massive collaboration between Bensley, Justin Hawkes, and Kumarion.  The ‘Carry The Fire’ EP is groundbreaking project as it amplifies the rich history of the genre, while pushing it’s reach into the electronic dance music community. Such a collaboration deserves a elevated platform for it’s release! And now, the newly launched label BEACON, in partnership with AEI Music, steps onto the scene with their commitment to nurturing fresh talent within the genre.

With the releases, come the announcement of the trio’s The ‘Carry The Fire’ tour. Bensley, Justin Hawkes, and Kumarion will hit stops at Los Angeles, San Francisc, Las Vegas, Atlannta, Vancouver and more, across a 24 city showcase. Whether you’re a longtime fan of DNB or just scratching the surface of the electrifying genre, this a can’t miss event of the year. 

With this annoucementL Bensley shares:

Carry The Fire is a long-shared vision to help showcase North American Drum & Bass in a fresh new way. I’m so proud to be bringing this project to life with two of my best friends and some of the best producers I know! It wasn’t easy getting a perfect balance of our diverse styles into this EP, but I’m so satisfied with the result. We can’t wait to play these bangers in 24 cities across the US & Canada!” 

Kumarion, Justin Hawkes, Bensley

Then, Justin Hawkes adds:

Omar (Kumarion) and I were playing Star Citizen one night and wondered why we had never all banded together to make music. That was the instant this idea came into play, a couple months after myself and Pete (Bensley) had been playing back to back shows. I am about 13 years into making Drum & Bass and was really used to having only a few spread out friends in this music, such as Audioscribe, Capturelight, and others in our small scene. The Carry The Fire idea is more of a memory of what mine and our mutual experiences have been, of isolation and internet friends getting better together to make awesome music. Omar and Pete are two of my greatest friends, and it was the perfect opportunity to combine our strengths. The music really carries itself on this EP, and it builds into this tour concept we have as well, where all of our set times are random throughout the entire tour. We’re pushing ourselves on the production level, reacting to every set and crowd as a DJ, which presents a flight of styles in different contexts. I love that we did this kind of thing, and I really hope more North American drum & bass artists, people who want to throw cool parties, and fans who really love this music get together to create cool things.”

And Kumarion closes with:

When I began my professional career as an artist, it was during the peak of the pandemic. It involved a lot of trial and error to figure out what worked for me. I constantly felt like I was competing with my own song that had brought me initial success, “Want It.” Honestly, it was a one-off song that I never fully connected with. Once it gained popularity, I felt pressured to stick to that particular style and scene, which overshadowed my true passion for drum and bass. I tried not to succumb to the pressure and instead pursue what I really wanted to do. However, in doing so, I feel like I’ve alienated many fans who loved that track. But in order to find genuine happiness in life, I had to make this change. When Bensley, Justin Hawkes and I started to work together on this concept, it made music fun again. Sure there were many seriously frustrating moments trying to get this idea off the ground and making sure we properly identified with what we were creating here, but ultimately I think we’ve succeeded in that respect. I think the best part about Carry the Fire is that at the end of the day we’re just a bunch of friends doing what we love and sharing it with the world.”