Vio.let has got everybody on strings. Literally. Fusing classical violin with drum & bass, she’s already got a reputation for pushing boundaries. On stages, she’s wowed crowds across the UK and Europe from Hospitality shows to major festival sets. Her classically trained sense of drama and suspense can also be felt on many productions thanks to collaborations with the likes of Fred V, Cliques, pyxis and many others. Now she’s started her own line of releases with Worlds Apart; her debut release on Keeno Music.
Written with vocalist Lauren Paige , this track dives into grief, loss, and perseverance, wrapped up in beautiful string arrangements, heartfelt vocals, and Keeno’s production magic. It’s a track that feels like a journey—and you’ll want to come along for the ride. We caught up with Vio.let to chat about her path from classical stages to the dancefloor, how she blends live violin with D&B, and what’s next now that 2025’s shaping up to be a big one for her.
Get to know and listen as you do so with this incredible violin and DJ mix from Vio.let as she shows us how she brings her two worlds of classical and contemporary cutting edge electronic music together. We’ve run some mixes in our time but this is in a world of its own!
Your fusion of classical violin and drum & bass is something we don’t see every day! How did that journey start for you?
Violin has been my passion since I was a child and I was always encouraged to perform, write music and express myself creatively. I decided to pursue music as a career and studied classical violin at the Royal Welsh College of Music but after going to my first rave in Bristol I ended up spending more time there than at university! I became obsessed with the scene and worked with promoters in events management for a while after graduating… but I missed performing so much. A colleague at Hospital Records made a casual remark one day that I should combine my two skills and bring live violin to drum and bass, and the thought stuck in my head. I was lucky enough to reach out and make connections shortly after, which led to my first collaboration with Fred V!
Growing up, who were the artists that really shaped your sound—both in classical music and electronic?
Growing up I was listening to and performing a lot of classical music, and was captivated by the emotional depth, expression and thought put into every phrase within orchestral textures. I particularly resonated with composers including Vaughan Williams and Grieg, who depict specific storylines and landscapes in their music. I could visualise these scenes perfectly as I listened and that felt like magic! I try to capture these techniques in my own writing and use subtle melodic and dynamic changes in my string recordings to put across these visual ideas to the listener.
When I discovered electronic music, I was drawn to artists with similar euphoric, evocative composition styles including Fred V & Grafix (their track Ultraviolet inspired my artist name!) and Wilkinson. Camo & Krooked’s Red Bull Symphonic album really ignited a spark within me and embedded the idea that classical music and Drum and Bass could work together. I immediately knew this was something I wanted to explore!
You’ve played some incredible shows—what’s been your most unforgettable set so far, and what made it so special?
Performing my Violin & DJ Live set for Hospitality Heidelberg in January was out of this world – the crowd in Germany gave it their all and the energy was incredible! Despite spinning slightly too many heavy tunes and breaking the sound system for 20 minutes in the middle of my set, the audience still stuck around to wait for the music to start up again and we closed the night at 4am with a full dancefloor… It was such a beautiful moment to bring something different to the rave and to such an amazing reception – orchestral drum and bass is on the rise!
Your upcoming solo track Worlds Apart dives into themes of grief and perseverance. Can you share the story behind it and what this release means to you?
Lauren-Paige and I wrote Worlds Apart as a journey through grief in any form, and it’s a track so close to our hearts. Written in November 2023, we channelled shared feelings of loss we were experiencing at the time into an emotional acoustic demo. It was a really cathartic process for us, co-writing lyrics and working together to create vocal and string harmonies that weave together to depict the twists and turns of grief. Keeno worked his production magic to put a spin on these dark emotions and bring an energy to the track that provided a
lternative meaning, suggesting perseverance in the face of any of life’s battles, despite the pain of having to do it alone.
You’ve worked with legends like Fred V, The Caracal Project, and Keeno. When you collaborate, what do you look for in a creative partner, and how do you blend your styles?
I love working with a huge variety of artists and styles within my collaborations – I want to showcase just how versatile orchestral soundscapes can be, and how much emotion a live performance can bring into a track, as opposed to using only plugins. Anyone who comes to me with an idea to incorporate live strings into a new sub-genre or genre-crossover that I haven’t explored yet – I’m on board! Challenging a listener’s expectations is always my aim… You may not expect strings to work in a jump up tune, for example, but juxtaposition and replacing traditional instrumentation with live strings can add so much additional emotion and develop a unique sound. Pushing boundaries and experimenting is the only way to create new, exciting music!
Your guest mix on Kiss FM had this amazing mix of orchestral DnB and future bass. How do you go about blending such different sounds so seamlessly?
I find my violin really helpful for transitioning between contrasting genres seamlessly – I look for string or piano moments that work harmonically between tracks for those transitions, and add my live violin over the top, mirroring vocal lines and melodic ideas! I really want my sets to feel almost like a symphony, with peaks in energy followed by reflective and explorative improvisation. I use BPM switch ups to help achieve this too, and I’m loving the 4×4 and techno influences in future bass tracks to bring even more variation to my sets.
Being a violinist, DJ, and producer is a pretty rare combo! What’s been the biggest challenge in juggling all three?
The biggest challenge initially in developing my live set was working out the best technology to use! I control my violin output through the DJ mixer, which gives me a lot of additional control over volume and EQ, alongside preamps and a reverb pedal. When I’m actually performing, I plan moments in my sets to pick up my violin and perform – but these transitions can be pretty quick sometimes! It’s a lot of different elements to remember for every track, and sometimes that means quickly flicking a fader mid-violin line… but I love the excitement of being able to improvise on the day – a performance never sounds the same twice, and I can react to what the audience are enjoying!
Drum & bass is evolving so fast—where do you see it heading in the next few years, and what role do you hope to play in that?
Live drum and bass is strongly on the rise and I’m really looking forward to being a part of this new sound as it develops! I’ve been performing for drum and bass orchestras since 2021 but smaller live ensembles are becoming more and more prevalent on the scene, from Ruth Royall’s Royall Sound, to Kimyan Law’s live percussion and the launch of Vibre Strings – my own electronic string quartet!
Live performance and the ‘human’, ‘imperfect’ elements in music are something that audiences are hungry for, especially with the worrying rise of AI.
It’s also really great to see more fluidity between genres recently, and these crossover elements help to cement drum and bass more in the public eye. I hope to continue to push boundaries between genres, whether that be classical, dancefloor, future bass or 140 and create space for my own unique, live sound in this ever-evolving genre.
2025 is looking up to be a huge year for you! Can you give us a sneak peek at what’s coming next—any exciting releases or collabs in the works?
2025 has been on the cards for a while as a big year – Worlds Apart marks the launch of my own solo releases and is the debut single from my upcoming EP on Keeno Music, a project I’ve been working on for a long time! You’ll be hearing my signature full string section sound across sub-genres this year as I explore all the aspects of electronic music that excite me, from neurofunk to liquid to 140.
I’m releasing on some new labels this year too, as well as performing my live show across the UK and Europe – I’m so hyped to bring my sound to new audiences and draw inspiration from these experiences.
Launching Vibre Strings is also a huge step for pushing my career creatively – I can’t wait to experiment with live performance in an ensemble form for our Keeno x Vibre Strings event in May. Performing my music alongside some of my favourite people is an incomparable feeling!
For up-and-coming producers and musicians trying to break into the scene, what’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you?
To persevere, and accept early on that rejection will be a huge part of your journey! Being turned down for a project, or a track not working out is part of the job and every ‘no’ will allow you to direct your energy elsewhere, fine tune your skills and find those that really resonate with your sound.
I’ve had triple the number of rejections as I have successes, but continuing to create and having faith in yourself and your ideas despite these, will help you develop a strong network of like-minded people within the industry who support you and see your potential.
So send those emails, reach out to any and every artist to collaborate, spread the word far and wide about what you do and why your sound matters, and the opportunities will come!
Buy World’s Apart on Bandcamp
Keep up with Vio.let
