The chart-topping producer blending d’n’b with lavish melodies and top tier songwriting
Blending d’n’b tempos with sumptuous electronic melodies and inescapable hooks reminiscent of names like Bonobo and Maribou State, Northamptonshire-based producer goddard. His collaboration with rising UK vocalist Venbee has already scaled the upper-echelons of the UK singles chart and racked up streams in the tens of millions, while he’s received support from key figures in the world of drum ‘n’ bass and beyond including Andy C, Sub Focus and Sigma. Growing up in the sleepy Midlands market town of Kettering, attending his first rave at the age of 16 set goddard. on the path to where he is today.
“It was a Hospitality event in Birmingham for Danny Byrd’s album launch,” he remembers. “We were there from the start because we were so keen but we were there right till the end too. I was hooked for life.”
Quickly buying his first MIDI Controller and toying with production and DJing, goddard. later headed to London and later Manchester to study music production. It was in these cities that he fully immersed himself in electronic music, spending countless hours learning production techniques from YouTube tutorials, while absorbing everything from house and techno to bassline alongside drum ‘n’ bass at clubs including fabric and Warehouse Project at the weekend.
“Getting into and learning to produce other genres alongside drum ‘n’ bass just taught me so much,” he says. “I learnt more about build ups and different production techniques and it helped make my music so much better.”
Launching his own imprint Culture Records in 2017, goddard. released a series of genre-spanning EPs alongside launching an event series. But it was when the Covid pandemic struck and a series of events he’d been working on got shelved that his productions really stepped up a gear.
“That’s when I really went back to my roots musically,” he explains. “I had all this time to immerse myself fully in music and I went back to producing drum ‘n’ bass. First it was quite sombre and ambient drum ‘n’ bass and as time went on, I began to produce more music with a bit of a kick to it.”
With songwriting at the core of his work, goddard. turned heads with a series of releases on DnB Allstars throughout 2020 and 2021, eventually getting booked to play everywhere from Printworks to Warehouse Project before being asked to tour New Zealand as main tour support to Sub Focus.
“I grew up on Sub Focus’ debut album,” he tells us. “So being able to go out on tour in support of him was an absolute fantasy.”
Recognised at the 2022 Drum&Bass Awards as Best Newcomer, the year also saw his inescapable collaboration with Venbee, ‘Messy in Heaven’ awarded Bass Track of the Year at the Radio 1 Dance Awards after receiving heavy rotation on the station and peaking at number three in the UK singles chart. With a brand-new collaboration with UK neo-soul singer Greentea Peng, plus plans to launch his own sub-label within Atlantic Records, the future's looking bright.
“I just want to keep creating the best music I possibly can and keep collaborating both with people within the d’n’b scene and outside of it too,” he explains. “I can’t wait for everyone to hear what we have coming next.”
