Junglist Royalty: Kings Of Bass’ Aresha & Kane MC Are Not Done Pushing The Tempo

Any jungle in guy? (Credit: Courtesy of Kings of Bass)

One’s a deck extraordinaire armed with a sprinting flurry of jungle and drum & bass selections. The other’s a master on the mic, whose silver-tongued salvoes instinctively hype up crowds like Simon Says on steroids. Like queen and king, the unbreakable duo of Aresha Krishnan and Kane Benjamin Cunico represents a partnership that’s been revered in the scene for over 20 years. The respective legacies of the Red Bull Music Academy alumna and Guerrilla Collective emcee have been distilled through the decades to form a bounty of event knowledge specialising in the bass-forward genre. That collective wisdom has now culminated in Kings of Bass.

However, the rise of Kings of Bass wasn’t an instant phenomenon. KOB was formed as a by-product of Side Hustler, the events-skewed unit initially formed by Kane and Aresha (listen to her 15-Min Flash Mix). And just like everything that attempted to emerge in 2020, KOB was brutally derailed by the bulldozing freight train of the pandemic. The seed of hype was planted, but it wasn’t until two years later when KOB could finally bust outta the ground. And was it worth the wait? You bet your junglist soul it was.

Kings of Bass finally made its physical debut in 2022 (Credit: Courtesy of Kings of Bass)

Kings of Bass 001 finally saw the light of day in May 2022, featuring what it aptly called ‘the big bass sound system’ at Projector X: Riverside. With frenetic tempos and Amen breaks in tow, it out-manoeuvred the erratic roller-coaster of restrictions to pull off a series that’s now gaining momentum amongst scene old-timers and fresh-faced revellers just getting into the genre. With lineups that’ve included A/K/A Sounds, Mr. Has, Nez Senja, SWTLKR, Kiat and more, Kings of Bass has presented a sweeping spectrum of sounds that share similarities with its formative jungle/d&b direction, tapping on bass-inclined disciplines like grime and juke. It’s through this funnel of exposure that’s helping to popularise the UK-birthed genre even more, in a tiny country halfway across the world no less. Who woulda thunk?

Keeping the rush of their renewed verve going, Aresha and Kane are now pushing Kings of Bass with full gusto. If the pandemic was considered a freight train, KOB is now a rocket that’s blasting off. The dynamic duo share more about their boomin’ baby in this interview.

Kane MC and Aresha have been champions of the d&b scene for over 20 years (Credit: Courtesy of Kings of Bass)

Hi Aresha. The reputation of you and Kane as champions of jungle and d&b in the local scene is legendary. Why did the two of you decide to launch Kings Of Bass after all these years?

Old habits die hard! Although, I don’t think either of us ever hung our creative boots up. I had moved to London, and while I was no longer on Singapore’s radar, I was still throwing summer drum & bass parties (and designing shit flyers) at London clubs like 333 Mother, Brixton Jamm and 93 Feet East. Kane, on the other hand, traded his microphone and Good Morning towel for the DJ console, exploring a range of music while also turning his passion for food and travel into pop-up kitchens.

Kings of Bass is us coming full circle – bringing people together and creating a moment through what we love most: MUSIC! And it’s hopefully the first of many things to come.

Since its launch, KOB has been taking place at Projector X: Riverside (Credit: Courtesy of Kings of Bass)

KOB was first launched in the thick of the pandemic which obviously presented logistical difficulties. Was it hard to keep the morale going when there was seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel?

We honestly thought COVID meant postponing KOB001 in 2020 by a couple of months. But as (bat)shit got real, it dawned on us that live events were not coming back anytime soon. But it never occurred to us to feel down about it. We decided not to be a bunch of old boomers and learnt how to live-stream. But we didn’t want it to just be a serious DJ-music-only stream; it needed to be fun and interactive where drum & bass meets the fine Singaporean art of talking cock. That was how ARESHA’S FUN & BASS FRIDAYS came about.

Once we could have groups of five guests, we began inviting other DJs to play on our ‘houseparty’ streams, so DJs without live-stream capabilities could play too, and their friends and communities could get a chance to hear them play again. I guess the little wins we were able to create during COVID mattered to us.

KOB has invited other giants of the scene including genre pioneer, Kiat (Credit: Courtesy of Kings of Bass)

As well as ATTAGIRL!’s A/K/A Sounds (Credit: Courtesy of Kings of Bass)

Now that parties have come back, what challenges has KOB been facing in the organisation of its events, and how have these been overcome?

We’ve had to pivot more times than Ross from Friends because the rules changed mid-way for both our events! (Lawrence Wong is clearly a fan of drum & bass.) May’s KOB001 was a table bar event sold in tables of five; however, this increased to 10pax two weeks prior to the event, so we had to deal with the sudden surge of additional reservations and reorganise the entire layout plan. And July’s KOB002 originally required a pre-event ART test at first, but since the announcement mid-June, it no longer required an ART test. So we had to arrange for refunds on the fees paid to the on-site ART test partner.

Each event brings curveballs, and there’s never going to be a totally perfect plan, so we always roll with the punches and that’s what keeps us on our toes.

When these two get together, always expect an absolute inferno (Credit: Courtesy of Kings of Bass)

Do you see a heightened appreciation for these sounds present amongst younger generations? Or is the junglist community more filled with veterans?

Absolutely, and it’s what Kings of Bass is about – keeping Singapore’s junglist community growing by showcasing a range of what the genre has to offer. Globally, the sound has evolved considerably from its purist-only days in the noughties. It is now an even more accessible and diverse genre of music, showcased on many of the veteran labels like Hospital Records, Digital Soundboy and Critical, as well as newer labels like Souped Up Records and Jungle Cakes. DJs are also embracing multi-genre sets. Drum & bass has even found its way into the setlists of many multi-genre electronic and techno DJs like Peggy Gou, Mall Grab, Kettama, Overmono and Special Request.

And so, Kings of Bass is about moving away from the purist stigma but retaining the junglist culture of sirens, emcees and, most importantly, a big f*** off bass sound system!

On the DJ front, do you see any new youngbloods who are rising up with these bass-centric sounds?

That’s the quest for us – and we’ve got a few up our sleeves, such as POLEECE, who will be making his debut in September for KOB003. We welcome demos. So bedroom DJs and emcees, get in touch!

“Kings of Bass is us coming full circle – bringing people together and creating a moment through what we love most: MUSIC!” (Credit: Courtesy of Kings of Bass)

Aside from jungle and d&b, what other sounds does KOB explore? Where do you draw the line?

Grime, dubstep, garage, juke, techno, breaks, and rave are some of the sounds explored in the first half, which then progresses to d&b and jungle for the rest of the night.

The line? Easy. It’s very thicc, like my thighs and Kane’s eyebrows. We don’t delve into disco, Balearic, house, indie, trance, hip-hop, industrial techno, and EDM. Not because we don’t like it, but just because there’s enough strong support and spaces for those styles of music.

And lastly, the two of you have had a long working relationship. How has this strong relationship influenced the dynamic and identity of KOB?

Kane and I have been doing our little thing for more than 20 years, since we were undergrads. I bring my knowledge of playing heavy sets and bringing an event together, and he brings his knowledge of working the microphone to complement our DJs and guide the massive on the dancefloor.

Kings of Bass currently happens every two months, with the next one happening on 2 September 2022. Follow their Instagram page for more updates.