by RAF KATIGBAK

Over a decade ago, while much of the Ontario rave scene was getting lost in a snowstorm of crystal meth and a forest of giant pant legs, Marcus Sills knew there was something more to the music. At 15, he was already spinning hip hop, R&B, house, soca and reggae at 25-and-over clubs in Toronto, but soon after hearing breakbeat techno—the early prototype for what would become drum & bass—via DJ Malik X’s show Radio London on local station CKLN, Sills made the move to electronic music.

By ’92, he’d started the legendary Delirium rave productions and in ’95, searching for a name for his production team with Dave Whalen (aka Nemesis), Sills became Marcus Visionary.

“We wanted to be visionaries in our field,” he explains. “It felt right and it stuck. Ten years later and we’re still here.”

Over the years, Sills has heard drum & bass splinter into a multitude of variations and witnessed every high and low of the scene, yet he remains a pillar of the Canadian jungle community, with gigs across the globe, a multitude of releases and not one but two labels to his name (the dancefloor jungle of Lion Dubs and the more vocal-oriented Dance Rock).

Mirror: Here in Montreal, there are a few strongholds keeping the D&B flame alive, but there’s no denying that drum & bass isn’t as big a sound as it once was. What happened?

Marcus Visionary: I think with the big rave clampdown in most cities, it was a difficult transition. Once it moved into the clubs, it lost a lot of the appeal for some of the partygoers who would attend events. Personally, I think the change was positive, as it’s grown more worldwide and the events are now safer and better organized. There was too much negative baggage associated with the rave scene being so drug-oriented.

M: In an online interview, you said, “No matter what you do in drum & bass, people are always a bit worried that it’s gonna go mainstream,” which poses an interesting dilemma—how to keep something underground and also keep it alive with more exposure. Were you ever concerned about those things?

MV: Not really. I’m interested in spreading the music to as many people as possible. I don’t think the genre is in any jeopardy of going mainstream. If the odd track charts, more power to the artists that managed to reach a larger audience. I think that people who are afraid of some mainstream attention are definitely very narrow-minded. I think D&B producers have just as much to offer as any other genre and I’m looking forward to seeing producers branch out and do other things. For example, Goldie is directing his own film, and his next album will be downtempo. This could only help to put drum & bass in a positive light.

M: Speaking of going commercial, have you heard about Intune Ragga Sessions? A couple of Montreal producers are on this comp. It’s got major label distro, as in, it’s available at Wal-Mart.

MV: Big them up. For the music to survive it has to reach new ears. If someone buys a CD in Wal-Mart and gets deeply into drum & bass, then everyone wins!

With Rick Toxic, RCola, Corey K and the Hussler at the Re-Vision party at 400 Dowd on Saturday, Dec. 3, 10 p.m., $8

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