Calibre / Biography

Origin:

Decades:

Signature Records

In 2003, Martin decided to launch his own record label, Signature Records, which became his primary vehicle for launching singles and full-length releases in both vinyl and digital media format. Martin states, "Signature has been set up as an outlet primarily for my own work and collaborations. There won't be any other artists on the label for the foreseeable future". For a few years the label's website ran of the back of Soul:R, the record label he ran alongside Marcus Intalex. With the Soul:R website receiving very few updates since 2006, Calibre has published most of his work and news through his own MySpace Page which he however deleted in early July 2011.

Second Sun

November 2005 marked Martin's second full-length album release, through the Signature label, entitled Second Sun. Second Sun was released after much anticipation following his 2001 release. He stated, "I look upon my move to Logic as a process in the studio to be a second part of the story. But having said that, the 22nd is my birth date, it's my second album, I'm the second son in the family, this is the second phase production wise but for me its nothing to do with numerology, its more to do with reinvention, a new life." The album Second Sun is regarded by those working in and those listening to drum and bass as a landmark release for the genre. On the 17th of September 2008, BBC 1Xtra drum and bass DJ Bailey gave special praise to the title track of the album, noting it as the tune of the festival for Sun and Bass 2008, a dedicated drum and bass festival which is held in Sardinia.

Shelflife

In October 2007, after numerous petitions, including one on MySpace started by international fans, Martin released Shelflife a retrospective album featuring 21 unreleased productions spanning from 1998-2005.

Overflow

Martin released Overflow in Spring 2008. Overflow features vocals from Martin himself, along with his signature artwork. Tracks from the album have been immensely popular with drum and bass DJs, the likes of Goldie, Zero Tolerance and High Contrast using tracks from Overflow in their live mixes.

2009: Shelf Life Vol. 2 & Shine a Light

Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelflife_vol_2

In January 2009 there were final confirmations from S.T Holdings and Calibre's MySpace, Shelf Life Vol. 2 was to be released on the 11th of May 2009. Another retrospective album including the long lasting dubplates "Life" and "Why Time". As with previous albums, this release featured few guest artists, but there were vocal contributions from Lariman and MC D.R.S..

Again, as with previous albums, this was a double album. It also includes many downtempo tracks.

Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shine_a_Light_(Calibre_album)

Very soon after the release of Shelf Life Vol. 2, Calibre stated he would be releasing his long anticipated downtempo album, Shine a Light. In October 2009 S.T Holding announced it to be released on Monday 16 November. Calibre stated that he has wanted to release a downtempo album for the last 2 years, but decided to release his second retrospective album first. "I have spent over 10 years writing music, the majority of my work being drum and bass, so i wanted to write an album that wasn't attached to a particular musical genre; to me it felt like feeling my way in the dark"

2011: Condition

Released in October 2011, Condition was described by Mixmag magazine as "a shape-shifting trove of wonders that leaps ambitiously from the serene to the brutal", awarded Drum ′N′ Bass album of the month and rated 5/5.

Biography from Wikipedia