When we think of drum and bass and the biggest names within the genre, Ed Rush and Optical's name jumps quickly to mind alongside legends such as Goldie, Andy C, and Hype (like come on..  these are the guys that brought us the legendary Chubrub). The duo have risen to drum and bass fame for their pioneering skills within the niche of dark drum and bass, pushing boundaries that they helped originally craft themselves. Each came from their own beginnings before joining forces to create one of the most respected and often duplicated sounds within drum and bass, those being their releases on their own Virus Recordings.

Ed Rush, known within the industry and to friends as Ben Settle, began producing music after discovering the underground rave scene of London in the early 90s. With the help of his good friend and neighbour, fellow producer Niko Sykes, Ed Rush started producing the darkcore and tech-step sounds that would later influence an entire genre of drum and bass. Releasing music on labels such as No U-Turn, Prototype, and Metalheadz in the late 90's, Ed Rush had easily crafted a distinct sound for himself through tacks such as Guncheck (No U-Turn) and Kilimanjaro (Prototype Recordings.)

Optical, aka Matt Quinn, has also lead a successful solo career although it can be argued by some purists that Ben played a larger role in the creation of the the 'Ed Rush & Optical Sound.' Optical followed a similar path as his Virus counterpart, releasing tracks on both Prototype and Metalheadz. Optical worked closely with Goldie, assisting the label head in engineering his second studio album 'Saturnz Return' which was released on Goldie's own Metalheadz in '98.

Now, fast forward to 2013. Ed Rush and Optical are currently in the midst of their 15 Years of Virus Tour, which opened and will also close at London's legendary Cable Club set below the historical London Bridge. In these 15 years the duo have helped carve out a space for dark, tech-steppy drum and bass in an ever popularizing world of electronic music. Their distinct sound truly emerged with the release of Wormhole in November of '98, which has been argued by many to be one of the greatest full album releases in drum and bass... ever. Following on the dark, moody and brooding sounds of this release Ed Rush & Optical began sifting through the countless products surfacing which embodied a similar emotion and sound to add to the labels growing catalogue of releases. Optiv & BTK released one of my favourite EPs of last year on the label "Dirty Tricks" as well as bringing releases from Audio, The Upbeats and most recently a new single from Inside Info and Mefjus. There has also been talks of a new Ed Rush & Optical LP before years end!

Get to know the legendary Virus sound and the men behind the music before they come to the House of Boom stage on Saturday June 29th at Digital Dreams Festival. Stay tuned to our blog and Soundcloud page for more information on artists as we lead up to the event.

Make sure to contact any of your favourite Destiny Promoters for tickets to Digital Dreams or grab yours online HERE.

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