Captain Bass on His Rise and Mixing DnB with Hard Techno

We spoke with Captain Bass about his first North American tour, playing stages he’d only dreamed of, and the future of his music.

Let It Roll recently brought one of its signature drum and bass festivals to Puerto Rico, featuring an eclectic lineup of heavy hitters in the DnB and neuro realms. Making the list is Captain Bass, the Belgian-born phenom who’s taking the jump up world by storm.

Captain Bass, born Joran Alaerts, began his music career at 18, though his love of music started a lot earlier. He discovered jump up through his brother and raving, feeling drawn to both the music and the stage. He knew that one day, he’d be playing on the big stages at the most significant festivals.

Since that introduction, Captain Bass, or Capi as he’s known, has carefully crafted high-energy anthems with bold basslines. His innovative style and creative transitions keep his music fresh and the crowd interested. From his early raving days to his current performances on some of the world’s largest stages, Capi continues to be fueled his passion for forward-thinking music.

We spoke with Capi after his mesmerizing, bass-laden Let It Roll set, which was full of classic bangers like DJ Fresh‘s “Gold Dust” and a number of his own originals. He told us about his first North American tour, what it was like playing the stages he’d only dreamed of, and where he thinks the future of his music is going. He even opened up about a track he played in his set that marks his first foray into mixing hard techno with drum and bass.

Listen to his most recent release, “Irresistible” featuring Primate, on Spotify, and keep reading for our interview with Captain Bass.

Hey Captain Bass, thanks for chatting with us today. You just finished playing at the Discovery Dome here at Let It Roll Puerto Rico. How was that?

Feeling very grateful. I never expected to be in Puerto Rico to play music. It’s my first time playing my own music out here, and this is the first time I’m playing in North America ever.

Since it’s your first time playing in the States, what has your experience been like so far?

I literally came from Los Angeles. I played Apocalypse Zombieland before this festival, and that was absolutely crazy. I love LA because I’m from Belgium and we love to go there. Playing a show in LA is absolutely crazy. I cannot even describe how cool it is to play in the States. So yeah, I really love it.

You once said there was nothing like playing Pukkelpop. You’ve since played Rampage, Tomorrowland, Apocalypse, and now Let It Roll. How would you compare those to playing Pukkelpop?

The thing is, I was born in Belgium, and Pukkelpop is the biggest festival there. Not the biggest drum and bass festival, but commercial, like everyone’s playing there — even the biggest names, like Drake. So I was there at 16 years old, because that’s legal there. [Laughs]

But I went there, and the Boiler Room is like a big-ass dome. It’s the biggest hall, one of the biggest electronic stages at that festival. It was there that I saw DJ GUF for the first time, and I had just started making jump up. I said to myself, “I want to play this stage,” and that’s why I played it last year. It’s one of my favorites, just because of the memory, the feeling I had when I was first there.

How does Let It Roll compare?

I can’t compare them. I feel like I’m introducing something new to these people, and I love that. It was 2018 when I started making this music; people went crazy over it. And they’re doing that again right now. I played a show in Chicago, and I had crowd reactions that I hadn’t had for years. I mean, I do have them, but it’s different. They’re reacting differently to the music I’m playing here. I’m really grateful for this kind of festival; it’s really good. I’m really glad they accept the music that I’m making in Belgium here.

Everyone loves jump up! It’s pretty classic.

Yes, it’s getting bigger, and I love that. I always wanted to play in the States; it was in the cards for years. And now I’m here.

You only have today to enjoy the festival since you fly out early tomorrow. Who are you most excited to see?

I’m going to give props to my Belgian friends. I’m excited to see Basstripper and Andromedik, both really close friends. It’s the first time all week that I’m seeing some friends I’ve known for years. So it’s really nice for us to play at the same festival. But I’m looking forward to their sets, yeah.

You had a lot of releases come out in 2025. What do you have coming up for 2026? Is there anything in the pipeline, or any secrets you can share with us?

Well, I’m kind of experimenting with combining hard techno with drum and bass. I played it today in the States for the first time, and people are going crazy over it. This is what I love, trying something new that has never been done before. So maybe I’m going to try to make a hard techno and drum and bass tune in one. I’ve done it before with dubstep, I’ve done it with bassline and psytrance, so now I want to try hard techno. I always think about what has not been done before, and then I do it.

When you put out music that you love, I feel the crowd can feel that love.

Trying new things is always an experiment, and it makes me wonder: Will people like it? It’s the same with the Belgian music that I’m making. I got into that melodic combination switching thing, and people seem to love it. I’m going to keep on doing it, and I’m glad I can do it.

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