Dead Man's Chest

Dead Man's Chest is Bristol, U.K.-based producer, DJ, and visual artist Alex Eveson's outlet for exploring the deeper side of jungle and drum'n'bass. His acclaimed releases for labels like Ingredients Records, Diamond Life, and his own Western Lore helped confirm his status as one of the leaders of the jungle and hardcore revival of the 2010s and 2020s. Eveson grew up in Glastonbury and initially broke into the music scene as a designer, providing artwork for releases on drum'n'bass labels like Renegade Recordings, Exit Records, and Metalheadz. His earliest productions received BBC Radio 1 airplay from Fabio in 2006, and a series of smooth, atmospheric singles were issued under his surname on labels like 31 Records, Creative Source, and Channel 82, receiving support from practically all of the scene's major DJs. His two-part single Dead Man's Chest appeared in 2010, and full-length The Last Summer of Love arrived on the influential V Records in 2012. In 2014, Eveson started releasing music under the initially anonymous Dead Man's Chest moniker. Debut release Darkness at Noon was a midtempo broken beat EP that had little to do with drum'n'bass, but he established the project's signature sound, filled with dubwise breakbeats inspired by the early days of jungle, with 2014's Dreamscapes EP on Ingredients Records. This was followed by 2015's Nautilus and 2016's Farseer, along with the 90-minute mixtape Trilogy. Additional tracks from the tape were issued as a series of Trilogy Dubs 10" singles in 2017. The same year, Eveson launched the Western Lore label with his EPs Throwing Shades and Darkness at Dawn. He also shared a split single with Coco Bryce, issued by Diamond Life. The third Western Lore EP, Trip II Eclipse, appeared in 2018, and DMC released tracks with producers like Otik and Thugwidow. Dead Man's Chest & Posse appeared on Sneaker Social Club in 2019, and Lo-Freq Soul was released by Western Lore later in the year. ~ Paul Simpson