Audio: Xtrah & Codebreaker - FABRICLIVE x Critical Sound Mix

Yasin Elgohary, aka Xtrah (pictured), is one of the new wave of producers heavily impacting on drum & bass right now. Tied in tight to Kasra’s Critical imprint - he’s also graced respected labels like RAM, Subtitles and Symmetry - the link up makes total sense when you connect the fact that he’s capable of producing purpose built rollers like ‘Regain Control’. It feels like we’ve probably mentioned Critical’s knack of bringing through and incubating fresh talent somewhere before (sic) but on the strength of his forthcoming Modulations release for the label and this half hour promo mix, Xtrah’s definitely got the requisite chops to hurt a dancefloor. Ahead of Friday 11th May where he’s gracing Room Two for a back to back set with Foreign Concept, we’re proud to be able to present this mix, which also features the vocal stylings of emcee Codebreaker - the vocalist who appears on ‘Set The Level’, Xtrah’s aforementioned Modulations release. Download: Xtrah & Codebreaker – FABRICLIVE x Critical Sound Mix No Tracklist Given. Can you introduce yourself for those people who maybe haven’t heard of you or your music before? 
 My real name is Yasin, I'm 25 and I make drum and bass music under the name Xtrah. I live in London and I've released music on labels such as Ram, Subtitles UK and Symmetry Recordings What got you interested in making music in the first place? Well my sister has to be one of my main influences as she has always been into drum and bass and hardcore. I used to listen to all of her old tape packs from a young age plus there are a shed load of great DJ's and producers from my area of London. I've been DJ'ing from the age of around 13 and was always interested in how they were actually creating the music so I got a laptop and Fruity Loops and messed around for a year or so with no real outcome. Then I moved onto a mac, got Logic and things just started to click, so I stuck at it for about another 2-3 years and managed to get releases on the labels mentioned above. What got you hooked on drum & bass? As soon as I went to my first rave it was as if I totally understood what the music was about. I always liked listening to it on tape packs but actually going raving and hearing it how it was supposed to be heard added a whole new dimension to the music. You’ve released on certain other labels but you’re currently working closely with Kasra’s Critical imprint. What drew you to Critical? Well I’ve been following Critical for a long time and it's always been a personal goal to release with them. I feel like the label has achieved so much in the past couple of years and is one of the most exciting labels in the d&b scene right now. Kasra is also really professional when it comes to running the label too. What are you working on project wise? Well I have just finished the Modulations release 'Set The Levels (ft. CodeBreaker)' / 'Regain Control' which’ll be out on May 7th and I’ve also been working on a remix for Break that I have just finished, a remix for Ant TC1 and I'm just trying to finish up the next 12" for Critical at the moment. Oh, and a track with Riya too! Yes I am bloody tired... Can you tell us a bit about the mix you put together for us? It's basically just a selection of tunes that I'm really feeling at the moment, backed up with my good friend CodeBreaker on mic duties. I hope you guys enjoy it… Catch Xtrah go back to back with Foreign Concept on Friday 11th May at Critical Sound in Room Two. Photo: Phillip Newlands