The story of Sherelle’s quick rise, and the sound she’s helped elevate
Do you remember where you were when you first saw Sherelle drop Fixate’s refix of Double 99’s classic “Ripgroove”? I sure as hell do. I’ve followed Boiler Room socials for years, and expect things to get rowdy with the DJ and crowd being so close. Never had I seen pandemonium quite like this when the tweet dropped back in February of 2019 after Sherelle destroyed Boiler Room’s London-based “Bass & Percs” special, especially when you see where she has ascended to.
Quick aside
Has anyone shared the story of Fixate’s “Ripgroove” refix? When Sherelle dropped this, real heads knew that Fixate had released a refix pack for free a few weeks earlier (it hit SoundCloud as early as January 22, 2019). One of the sides was the “Ripgroove” refix, while the flip was a refix of Hardrive’s 1993 classic “Deep Inside”. Before Sherelle (and Fixate fans like me, who were alerted to the now-dead Bandcamp refixes release back in late January of 2019) were going insane over Fixate’s refix, the mighty Toddla T was dropping it on BBC Radio 1.
So?
So, for a few weeks in 2019, Fixate’s “Ripgroove” refix made absolutely zero noise outside of his core fanbase, at least until Sherelle dropped it at Boiler Room in London, amongst a number of 160bpm-ish bangers. That bridge between footwork and jungle that artists like Fixate (who has recently released a pair of refreshing EPs via D-Bridge’s Exit imprint) occupies? Sherelle is right there, driving the boat and sewing together the strands of genres decades removed, sewing them perfectly into place.
That said, Fixate’s refix ended up disappearing quickly from his Bandcamp page after the above Sherelle clip went viral. Ice Cream Records, who released the original “Ripgroove” back in 1997, wasn’t dumb; they made sure Fixate’s refix received a proper, legal release in April of 2019.
[Ed note: There’s no word on if Strictly Rhythm, who released Hardrive’s “Deep Inside” in 1993, is up on Fixate’s refix. We’re also going to assume it’s OK to share this link, as it was given away for free by Fixtate and seems to have only been taken down due to being a part of the “Ripgroove” refix situation. If you want this link taken down, please let us know.]
Not only did Sherelle blow up Fixate’s spot (which ended up giving him a major feather in his cap), but she inadvertently got all of the spotlights pointed directly at her.
And then what?
At that point, the bass music world was Sherelle’s. Any mix she touched, it was a moment. Already affiliated with Reprezent Radio, Sherelle went on a tear, suddenly becoming one of the most in-demand DJs in the mix. She started a label, Hoover Sound, with Naina back in September of 2019, the same month she kicked off her BBC Radio 1 Residency.
She’s also dropped a grip of sick mixes. She described her Dekmantel mix from back in June as “80 minutes of pure angst”, and was “super gassed” for the “ragga jungle power hour” of a mix for Chase & Status’ RTRN II Jungle series, which found the ultra-successful duo digging back to the roots of jungle, recording real dubplates to then turn into drum & bass tunes. Sherelle’s back to the future style fits perfect into this mold.
No tracklist, but you don’t need it. If you can only spend 64 minutes today enjoying yourself, at least let it be with a mix like this. If you want more of this pirate radio style from Chase & Status, they have a grip of mixes ready for you to dive into.