FD – From The Ashes

‘Big 6’ is one of many highlight tracks on FD’s latest album for The North Quarter. It’s either a nod to the years between LPs from the Zurich-based producer, or the smash-out-the-park accomplishment. ‘From The Ashes’ emerges as his strongest work yet: a collection DJs can mine for stand-alone favourites, or listeners can run end to end, again and again. While its construction echoes 2019’s ‘Better Days’, FD now feels even more assured in his style. Across 14 tracks he goes gritty with ‘Gorilla Glue’, carves up with the label boss on ‘Cold Neon’, and slows it down with ‘Dragon Fruit’. DRS, Fox, and Minx’s vocal features explicitly amplify the album’s emotional tone, mirroring the pressure and introspection behind the years FD spent writing. ‘From The Ashes’ sits comfortably among this year’s best drum & bass releases.