When Chris Cruickshank, better known as Sicknote, came to prominence in the drum & bass scene, he was snapped up and became the DJ for the iconic Shabba D’s Higher Level crew. That prominence grew, but finding his own identity as an artist later became his focus.
With a move across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada and frustration building while working with labels releasing his music, Sicknote partnered up with good friend Chris Harris aka Erbalist, and Toxic Inc Audio was born.
With releases from Sicknote himself, Jaydan and Dreadnaught, Toxic Inc Audio are a label that definitely cover all corners of drum & bass. Their latest release comes courtesy of the aforementioned head honcho himself, The Sleeping Pills EP is out today and features 4 thumping tracks.
Returning with his second EP on the label, The Sleeping Pills is a sonic journey that rolls back the years with sounds taking you back to the 2010’s era of jump up coupled with a filthy change up of styles for final track, Acid House.
In this chat we find out about what made Toxic Inc Audio happen, how both Chris’s came together and formed the label, the difficulty of getting to and from Canadian gigs and so much more.
The story of Toxic Inc Audio highlights the importance of a strong and trustworthy relationship between label partners, thriving in each other strengths and moving forward to become more established.
So strap yourselves in and read on below, Toxic Inc Audio are here to stay and they’re not messing around…
How was Toxic Inc Audio born?
Sicknote: The label was born originally out of frustration on my part from experiences working with other labels in the past. I have a very good knowledge of the scene as an artist, and what I lacked was the business side of the label, to which Chris Harris obviously possessed the qualities that I wasn’t so great on. It’s a collective effort between the pair of us to have the complete package.
Erbalist: I was pretty much in the opposite situation; I was involved with a couple of labels that weren’t pushing things internationally on the artist and social media side so much. When they eventually dissolved, I was looking to get involved with a label that could provide what I felt was missing and get things out there a little bit more worldwide.
Love that! Is it just the two of you or do you have a wider team?
Sicknote: We do have someone that helps with the promotions and the label reach, Lee UHF. He is a great helping hand in the advising aspect, he gives awesome insight and knowledge in the running of the label. Having those parts covered by Chris and Lee has helped me tenfold.
That’s amazing to hear! Do you feel that helps you flourish more as an artist?
Sicknote: I wouldn’t say flourish more, I’ve been on the scene as an artist for a good while now, so I think I have that side of things nailed down a bit. Before I relocated to North America, I’d been coming out to do shows since 2011. When I was 21 or 22, Shabba D brought me on with Higher Level and for years it was just me and those boys before I went off and did my own thing. Since then, I’ve been pushing it over in the North American scene for a while now. So, I think having the label has given me more credibility as an artist. It’s also given me the opportunity to release music with none of the negatives involved from releasing on other labels in the past. If you want a job done properly, do it yourself. I took all the negatives from my own personal experiences, and we shaped a way that makes myself, Chris and the artists on our label happy.
Absolutely integral part of running a label! What’s your relationship like running the label together and how does it work between the two of you?
Sicknote: It started off as a friendship and built from there to what it is now. We both possessed our own individual qualities which together, gave the complete package for the label. Chris is incredible, I wouldn’t be able to do this without him. I’m more the face of the label, dealing with the initial interactions with artists approaching with tunes and putting on events. All of the behind-the-scenes stuff which is really hard work, Chris handles that and absolutely smashes it every time. We bounce everything off each other all the time and usually have like almost daily calls.
Sounds like you have a great relationship both personally and professionally! What are some of the challenges you’ve faced with the label?
Sicknote: Initially, I would say it was just trying to hit the ground running, we’re trying to make a statement and, not make the same mistakes that other labels have by just putting out any material out there. We’ve tried to maintain the quality of our releases from the get-go and set our sights on more recognised artists from the start. The negotiations that we’ve had with artists to secure the releases have been done in such a way that it’s about making us happy at the label. But also, making sure that the artists are well taken care of and are both excited and happy to be working with us.
Erbalist: We’re also looking to boost the profile of our artists by bringing them international bookings and features at our label night events and on our label tours.
What are some of the highlights running the label so far?
Sicknote: From the promotion perspective, in February we did label nights we had two back-to-back label events in two different provinces, one in Toronto and one in Winnipeg, both were sellout shows. We had myself, Jaydan, Dreadnaught and a couple of other UK artists that came for the exposure which they deserve to have. We like giving opportunities where we can, to build a good circle of people around us and doing right by people, that comes back around.
Doing good for people always comes back full fold! What made you move to Canada?
Sicknote: I’ve always had a really good support and following over here. I took a chance, and it was something I wanted to do for many years. My touring ability has improved highly, being a UK headliner In North America is a no-brainer to a lot of promoters. Relocating here has had a lot to do with the rise in my in my status as an artist as well.
Can you talk to us about some of the artists you’ve had the pleasure of working with on the label?
Erbalist: We started with Dreadnaught with a nice new school jump up release. Sicknote was our second release which was a liquid release, one of the tracks was a tribute to his daughter called Ellie and then the next one was the Jaydan release which was like dark rollers. We have Sicknote’s The Sleeping Pills EP dropping this week too which we’re excited about.
It’s a wicked EP! Can you tell us a bit about The Sleeping Pills?
Sicknote: The project itself began during lockdown, there was nothing else to do but just start mixing at home. I started having a little play around, getting back into the swing of things after a hiatus from music. The whole EP bar one of the tracks is revisiting the jump up sound from the years that I was coming up through. There was no intention to even put the tracks out at the time but fast forward a little bit, I returned to taking bookings again and everything started taking off really quickly. We launched the label, and it seemed like the right thing to do, the beginning me coming back into it all. The one that’s more recent is the Acid House tune which you can tell from the fake drop. If I didn’t put that on my own label, I had the idea of pitching it to Logan D at Low Down Deep. The whole EP has been really well received from people so far as well which is great.
Do you have a core of artists that you work with that you’d say you nurture?
Sicknote: We’re still very much a new label and we’re on release five next. I have a large network as it is, so we try to take the stress out of it by working with people that want to work with us. We’re not going out searching but at the same time we are vetting the quality of the music coming into our camp.
What would you like to see happen at Toxic Inc Audio in the next few years?
Sicknote: I want to see more of us as individuals and I want to see Chris putting out tunes on the label. Everyone in the camp needs to be working and elevating as artists, Chris is a super talented engineer, and he deserves to start getting some proper recognition. I want us to be the label that runs smoothly like a business. I want it to be the people’s label where we work for each other but like a family camp as well. I want us to be a label that artists want to work with because of the simplicity, transparency and how we run the label.
Erbalist: I just want to see the label keep growing the way it already has been, keep on doing label events and continue to make the label tours and events bigger and bigger. It’s all about staying consistent.
Consistency is key! Are there many differences between the UK and Canadian scenes?
Sicknote: When you’re in the UK, it’s lighter work, I’ve had nights where I’ve done three bookings in the night, and it’s done. One of the biggest cultural changes coming to Canada was the size of the country. 75 percent of the bookings I do now means I have to get on a flight because it’s just not driveable. There’s definitely no doubling up bookings so it’s a lot more leg work but I enjoy it. It’s also been a great feeling since moving here with my profile which has been raising slowly over the last couple of years. This year I did 9 shows in 10 days in Canada followed by a few shows in America. I did have shows planned in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Puerto Rico, which I had to cancel. Unfortunately, one of my best friends passed away while I was on tour, and I just wasn’t in the right place mentally to carry on. Thankfully, the promoters were in agreement with me, as was Leroy SS. The Miami and Fort Lauderdale promoters have already reached back out and rebooked me to go back down by myself. It’s just a lot harder graft out here, there’s a lot more going into the shows rather than just jumping in your car for a couple of hours, going and doing the dance, coming home and sleeping in your own bed, it’s hotel living.
This has been amazing! Finally, we’d love to hear your thoughts on drum & bass in general at the moment?
Sicknote: From my perspective, I wouldn’t be surprised if North America becomes like the hub for the super festivals where people want to go and play. Don’t get me wrong, things are on the up worldwide from my perspective. I think everything’s sort of becoming very commercialised, almost fashionable in some pockets of it. The underground scene looks to be thriving as well, which I absolutely love. I think everything’s in a really healthy place right now. I feel like it’s now branching out into a lot of other places, like Belgium has been thriving for years. You’ve got your Eastern European countries; they’ve got crazy scenes. North America’s scene is wicked. I wouldn’t be surprised if you start seeing more people relocate to North America and start chasing that side of the scene as well. I mean, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love it, right? North American promoters, they don’t get as much credit as they deserve because it’s not as simple as just your artist driving down. There’s a lot more work goes into it for the promoters logistically and they really deserve more of a pat on the back than what they get because they’re the guys running this, and they are appreciated.
In loving memory of Matt “Love Hz” Scanlan – CCDNB
