In 2009, two London producers, dBridge (Darren White) and Instra:mental (Damon Kirkham and Boddika), launched a podcast called the Autonomic Podcast. The first episode set out a manifesto: drum & bass had become predictable, every record was structured the same way, and a different sub-genre was needed. They built one.

What autonomic sounded like

Sparse drums. Long pads. Atmospheric noise. Bass that filled space rather than punching through it. Most autonomic tracks had no traditional drop. The structure was more like ambient electronic music with DnB tempo and drum vocabulary.

Why it mattered

Autonomic gave permission to DnB producers to make records that did not follow the verse-buildup-drop template. The half-step movement, the deep liquid movement, large parts of modern minimal DnB all trace back to the autonomic moment as the moment when the template broke open.

The split

The original autonomic project ended around 2012 when dBridge and the Exit Records family went one direction and Instra:mental went another (Boddika launched his techno alias, Kirkham retired from production for several years). The records are still in print. The influence is still everywhere.

Where to listen

Start with the Autonomic Podcast back catalogue, which is still online. Then dBridge's 'Inner Disbelief' EP, Instra:mental's 'Resolution 653' album, and the Exit Records 'Mosaic' compilation. After that you understand half of modern deep DnB.