Sakkura Dives Into Her Love for Brighton’s Drum & Bass Scene

Sakkura stopped by to dive into her unmatched love for drum and bass and share an exclusive listen to a recent set from her live band.

Brighton-based drum and bass DJ and producer Sakkura has been making waves in the scene locally and beyond. She’s been busy touring with her live band and is currently riding the high off the release of her debut album, Astral, which dropped earlier this month, but there’s so much more depth to her story.

Thanks to growing up in Brighton, Sakkura was immersed in the UK’s electronic music scene from a young age. Before she found a love for modern drum and bass music, she was introduced to its roots: Jungle.

“It was truly magical. I first heard jungle when my older sister would play it in her car. It felt otherworldly, something outside of my existence that I wanted to be part of,” she said, reminiscing about that early experience. “My friend o.C.Breaks, who is the drummer for Sakkura Live, was hearing the same things at the same time, so we both began our jungle journey together, and it has never stopped. It was such an exciting time; it felt like we were listening to the future.”

After joining forces as a live band, Sakkura and o.C.Breaks would then learn to mix on turntables, with live jungle and drum and bass being their natural progression. After all, it was the genre they’d come to know and love deeply after growing up listening to it together.

[Drum & Bass] is a source of sustenance for me, it’s like I need it. I have always made many types of music but I always go back to the DnB as if it’s a calling. I love how versatile it is, creatively it feels like my home. It is also personal to me in that it has brought together a special group of people that I collaborate with and who I call my friends, I feel very lucky.
Sakkura

(L-R) Sakkura, Riva, Miss Melody | Photo Credit: Dan Reid

The genre is one of the few electronic styles that can be performed live, an important aspect of Sakkura’s performances. “I think any live music is special,” she said, “especially if it’s a form of dance music done well. Having the drums performed live really works visually with drum and bass.”

I feel like it’s still quite rare to see live drum and bass acts which adds an extra layer of excitement.
Sakkura

Sakkura explained how much fun it is to perform live with drummer o.C.Breaks and her bandmates, saying, “We never do the same thing twice, and being able to bounce off each other is so much fun. To be honest, I’m amazed how (o.C.Breaks) copes with me mashing up his performance like that, it never seems to put him off even though it probably should. We also have three incredible vocalists: Riva & Dee Freer, who sing, and Miss Melody, who is the MC. They all sound so different, bringing their own sounds to the table.”

As someone who grew up in one of the cities that helped pioneer drum and bass, this style undoubtedly holds a special place in Sakkura’s heart. “Brighton very much feels like a drum and bass city; even though Brighton itself is not huge, there are so many events to go to every weekend without fail,” she said. “Whenever I am hanging out at the beach or in a park I always hear people playing DNB on their Bluetooth speakers, it’s everywhere! I love it, such a vibe.”

When asked where she would take us for a night out on the town in Brighton, Sakkura beamed saying that you can’t go wrong bar-hopping anywhere in the city. “For drinks, we would just go, with no destination, just walk around and dip in and out of random places. I love to do that here; we are truly spoiled by choice.” As for a meal, she shared a Mexican street food spot called La Choza that she would take us to. “For clubbing, it would have to be The Volks. Great atmosphere, great staff, awesome sound system, and to top it off, it’s on the beach!”

We were lucky enough to get an exclusive listen to one of Sakkura’s recent live performances as a part of our This Is Home series. The recording features plenty of new heat from their latest album, Astral, as well as their remix of Ed-Rush & Optical’s “Alien Girl” and plenty of unreleased music, so be sure to hit play to get your drum and bass fix with a unique live aspect.

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