How Vibe Chemistry Is Building His Label, Make Your Era, Around Artists Not Trends

Vibe Chemistry’s relationship with Drum & Bass has increasingly become about more than his own records. As his profile has grown from breakthrough producer to charting crossover artist, another project has been developing alongside it: Make Your Era, the label he founded to create opportunities for artists who might otherwise struggle to find a natural home.

That philosophy comes sharply into focus with Summer Mixtape 2026. The ten-track compilation represents an evolution from some of the harder, rave-focused music that characterised Make Your Era’s earlier output, opening the doors to more melodic, soulful and vocal-driven territory.

“Whilst we are always looking for a range of music our early days definitely included a lot of rave / underground songs,” Vibe Chemistry explains. “We define ourselves on the range of music we sign and 100% want to find more soulful/ melodic tracks which can be suited for different occasions like road trips, BBQ’s for example.”

That broader musical outlook runs through Summer Mixtape 2026, which brings together new exclusives from Medicine, Hypoxic and Vibe Chemistry himself alongside tracks from Feed The Fire, OHKAY, Maurizzle, Iskia, Danger and GU:STUFF.

Rather than simply gathering recent releases together, the compilation captures where Make Your Era finds itself creatively in 2026. There is club weight throughout, but also an increased emphasis on songwriting, vocals and music capable of living beyond the rave. “We are very seasonal at our label trying to cater for the UK weather and these tracks are packed with the summer soul vibe,” he says. “Make Your Era is definitely evolving with the hunt for songs that stand the test of time because they feed so much emotion.”

That search for longevity rather than immediate impact speaks to the wider philosophy behind the label. Make Your Era was never intended to represent one narrowly defined strand of Drum & Bass. Instead, Vibe Chemistry wanted to build somewhere artists could develop without having to reshape themselves to fit an established label identity. “I wanted a home for the artists that aren’t boxed in and might not necessarily fit into another label,” he explains. “A lot of labels tend to lean into one style where we try to not limit ourselves because of branding, we strive to be an artist first label.”

That artist-first mentality extends beyond A&R. Make Your Era operates on terms Vibe Chemistry hopes can create a healthier relationship between artist and label from the beginning. “We don’t do recoup going straight in at 50/50 splits with a push for artist development,” he says. “We don’t look at numbers we just listen and also only work with artists who are nice and friendly.”

His own experiences as an artist have inevitably shaped that approach. Vibe Chemistry understands the realities of releasing music from the other side of the relationship, and that perspective informs what he wants Make Your Era to offer. “I think being an artist myself I have that understanding from the people we sign,” he says. “I get why labels do that and from a business view it makes sense but for me it’s more than just the money.”

For him, success therefore isn't restricted to streams, sales or immediate commercial returns. “Giving artists a good label experience and helping people get to their next check point gives a great sense of achievement and reward which in exchange makes me happy.”

Artist development is an expression frequently used throughout the music industry but Make Your Era’s interpretation is refreshingly practical. Rather than simply signing records and scheduling releases, Vibe Chemistry sees the label as something capable of helping artists understand everything that surrounds their music. “Communication and transparency,” he says. “Making sure artists are paid and given up to date advise beyond ‘post 3 times a day’. It’s getting them to actually send content and build the habit to be marketing. It’s connecting dots with artists to collaborate. It’s filming DJ sets, doing shows and having artists on. It’s creating as many goal moments for an artist.”

Interestingly, that involvement doesn't mean endlessly interfering with the music itself. Vibe Chemistry is wary of an A&R process that can remove the instinct that made a record exciting in the first place. “It’s more about mentoring, we give only light feedback as from experience I’ve found the A&R process to be tedious from the producers stance,” he says.

Instead, his starting point is straightforward. “I love the music we sign and often struggle to make any changes if I like a song. Structural things and a bit of arrangement stuff I tend to stick to and we also send of to mastering engineer who if any real drastic problems will make us aware.”

The criteria for becoming part of Make Your Era are similarly uncomplicated. “They make bangers,” he says. “Then they have a chat with one of our team or me and you can just tell when someone is good natured. I like working with people that would also go on to help others along the way.”

The label’s development is happening against the backdrop of an extraordinary period for Drum & Bass itself. The genre is reaching audiences far beyond its traditional circles, while melodic production and vocal songwriting have created new points of entry for listeners discovering the music through streaming and social platforms. “I think the world is so much more connected through social media,” Vibe Chemistry says. “Every year there is so many amazing songs released which grab the ears of new fans.”

Rather than seeing the genre’s expanding vocabulary as something new, he views it partly as an extension of the way Drum & Bass has always operated.“Drum & Bass has always evolved by pulling influences from other genres, but I think people are more open to it now than ever,” he says. “You can have soulful, garage, house, hip-hop or even pop influences and still have that D&Bness running through it. I think that’s what makes the sound exciting the boundaries are getting wider without necessarily losing too much.”

Vibe Chemistry himself has become one of the clearest examples of how far that crossover can travel. His collaboration with Rudimental and Charlotte Plank, Dancing Is Healing, reached number five on the UK Singles Chart, while breakthrough single Balling reached number 35, spent seven weeks inside the Top 40 and topped both the UK Shazam chart and Beatport. Thirteen of his tracks have now surpassed one million Spotify streams.

Yet the relationship between mainstream visibility and underground culture remains complicated. “I think it’s all temporary,” he says. “Whilst it’s mainstream it’ll definitely be at the cost of the underground and you’ll have trend chases but once it’s no longer the trending music, the ones who discovered the music who really love it will stay, so then when it goes back to being underground it’ll be that little bit more healthy.”

A similar distinction exists between what succeeds online and what succeeds inside a club. Streaming numbers don't necessarily translate into dancefloor reactions, while devastating rave records don't automatically become streaming hits. “I’ve definitely noticed this, some tracks will be huge in the rave and not as many streams and vice versa,” he says. “I think the real win is if you can make something that does both go off in the rave and stream well.”

His solution is to avoid allowing those considerations to dominate the initial creative process. “For my own music I try not to overthink this part at the start. Once I get something cooking and can sense it’s either more for the rave or a chill one or a streamer I’ll take my next production steps based on this.”

Social media has added another variable. TikTok in particular has helped expose Drum & Bass to enormous new audiences, but its influence can also be heard in music specifically constructed with viral moments in mind.

“I think there’s definitely a lot of reverse engineered viral songs being made which does infect the music being made,” he says. “I’ve made a couple meme songs and it can be fun to do but it’s just one avenue with a lot of producers just making whatever they feel like.”

Now his own music is about to return to centre stage. On August 21, Vibe Chemistry releases YOU, the final single ahead of his forthcoming Serotonin album, which follows through Make Your Era on August 28. The soulful record combines dreamlike melodies and an emotionally prominent vocal with rolling drums and heavier bass weight, pointing towards an album rooted in melody and emotion while exploring the wider spectrum of Drum & Bass.

It arrives at a significant point in a career that has already travelled from Balling to UK Top Five success and millions of streams, while Vibe Chemistry has simultaneously been constructing an infrastructure designed to help other artists make their own journeys.

And despite everything happening around the label and his increasingly multifaceted role within it, Vibe Chemistry's description of Serotonin suggests the album remains rooted in the same instinctive relationship with music that informs Make Your Era. “It’s a proper summer DnB mixtape! expect soulful vibes, big vocals, feel-good/sad energy and a few surprises along the way,” he says. “It’s made for those long summer days, late nights and everything in between. A mix of some of my favourite new sounds, with a few tunes you might remember.”

MYE Summer Mixtape is out now. Grab it on Beatport HERE.

Vibe Chemistry – Serotonin is out on August 28^th. Pre-Order it on Beatport HERE.

Read the full interview with Vibe Chemistry on The Night Bazaar HERE.