Music
How UKF went from teenage dream to the global home of bass music
Celebrating a decade at the helm of everything sub 256Hz, UKF founder Luke Hood reveals how he built this DIY passion project into one of the world's biggest bass music brands.
It’s impressive to think that it’s been 10 years since UKF began, the DIY music channel-turned-bass music behemoth and home of the freshest sounds of the scene – and it’s a statistic that’ll immediately make anyone from 20 to 30 feel painfully old.
The YouTube channel was started by Luke Hood as a project to share drum’n’bass, bassline and dubstep bangers with sixth-form buds. But within its first year, it had gained one million subscribers and the UKF community became very real, very fast. Suddenly, it wasn’t just a personal channel. It was a global brand releasing out iTunes-charting compilations, hosting news and editorial on a popular website, and putting on parties across the UK. They even sold out the 10,000 capacity Alexandra Palace with over forty massive DJs in its earliest years.
Meet Luke Hood, founder of UKF
© Rupert Plumb
UKF has had a monumental impact on the world of dance music, becoming a firm-standing destination of music discovery and breaking some of the biggest tracks of the 2010s. To celebrate, they’ve released UKF10 – a celebratory compilation with names from past, present and future – and are throwing a massive party at London's Studio 338 with Dimension, Delta Heavy and many more on Saturday December 14.
But how did it get so huge? And what does the F really stand for? Luke spills some of the secrets to UKF’s success, and rounds up five key tracks that helped shape the brand into the beast it is today.
Being fearless can pay off
Knowing your stuff is key to starting a music movement. Sometimes, though, naivety can be a form of bravery, as Luke found out.
“It was very much a happy accident as to how UKF was born. It was initially meant to be for my friends from school more than anything, and also a way to share music with friends in the local common room. I first started to try to take [the channel] into the real world when I turned eighteen. I guess at that age, when you’re new to it, you’re fearless. It was so exciting.
“When I wanted to start going out, I knew what I wanted to see at my first club night – with UKF being an online community meant very little of it was guesswork. I was able to immediately speak to the community and pick out artists that I really wanted to book.
“Then [in 2011] there was the whole explosion of bass music. That year, there were artists like Wilkinson, Chase & Status, Doctor P, DJ Fresh, Nero – all these people with number one singles and albums. So we went from a 500 capacity night to 10,000 people at Alexandra Palace in November. At the age of 18, to be looking after and curating those sorts of skills, it was quite a culture shock. It’s always been a dream come true."
A 10,000-strong crowd at UKF Bass Culture, Alexandra Palace
© Ryan Dinham
Support what you know and like
UKF had a filter on what they posted and didn’t post. It wasn’t based on algorithms or audiences, but instead what got its head honcho’s head skanking.
“When I first started there was so much music I didn't like. My friends would be listening to tape packs from West Best and other big jump up raves in the West Country, and I wasn’t a fan of 80 percent of the music in those sets.
"But there were certain sets that stood out for me – whether they were overly melodic or had strong vocals or something else that made those tracks really appeal. That's why I started UKF in the first place. It was just my taste in music. That’s what powered pretty much every decision – should we put on something or should we upload it? Well, do I like it?
"At the time you build up an audience you then want to take on more of a responsibility for having more of an editorial voice, so as the years went on I started to treat it more as a brand. Through 2009 to 2012 the music was very much still curated by me, but back then I was just basically putting on nights for my friends.”
We always try to post emerging scenes we love, helping artists who have never put their music out before get heard
Streaming isn’t everything
As important as streaming is in the modern age, championing artists rejected by the mainstream is just as vital. Echo chamber music suggestions mean you have to shout louder to be heard.
“The thing I’d say against streaming services these days is you’re almost in this echo chamber of ‘if you like this song well you’ll probably like this song’. This process isn’t as seamless as it used to be.
"So at UKF we always tried to post emerging scenes we love, making sure we’re helping artists who have never put their music out before get heard. We make a really conscious effort to go through our demo box and work through all the record labels with all those first line artists who will go on to do bigger and better things.
"We worked with Holy Goof earlier this year. A lot of people hadn’t really clocked onto the [bass house] scene, but if you see what Holy Goof is doing – he’s about to sell out Printworks on his own steam."
Diversity is key
We all know bass music is ace – but it’s even better when it’s a more diverse scene. UKF have been working to break down barriers for minority artists, and acknowledge there's always room to do more.
“We’d love to have every other upload be by a female producer or DJ. There are a lot of female artists we do support but most tend to be vocalists, some DJs (Mollie Collins, Koven, Charlotte Haining with Hybrid Minds). There are definitely more than when we started but by all means not enough.
“We do try to make an active effort to support as much talent from any minorities and the more diversity of the people producing it, the better the end result. We’ve certainly found that with our team as well."
UKF have helped shape a new generation of bass music fans
© Rupert Plumb
Their parties have hosted some of the biggest drum'n'bass and dubstep DJs
© Rupert Plumb
This year, they held one big homecoming where it all began: Frome
© Rupert Plumb
There’s a story behind the channel name
The ‘F’ doesn’t stand for ‘funky’, ‘finest’, or ‘forward’, but something much closer to home. You wouldn’t ever guess...
“I initially went to register UK Drum ‘n’ Bass but someone had taken it – it was a very common name I guess – so I ended up sticking an F on the end for Frome [Luke’s Somerset town] which is what everyone would use for their clan tags for Call of Duty.
"It was always an interesting talking point because people would say it stands for Finest or Forward. Another publication said they always thought it stood for UK Funky. It’s quite a nice little easter egg; most people wouldn’t know it comes from a little town called Frome.”
Five tracks that tell the story of UKF
1. Sub Focus – Rock It (2009)
"One of the drum'n'bass tracks that started it all for me… This track I’d actually heard in various tape packs months before, before it finally came out. I felt like I’d waited a lifetime to hear it! Still sounds great today."
2. Blue Foundation – Eyes On Fire (Zeds Dead Remix) (2009)
"It’s funny how it’s the tracks you least expect end to go far end up going further than you could possibly imagine. I remember the Zeds Dead guys reach out to the channel via YouTube’s message box back in the day. They sent this bootleg and I thought it sounded great, not realising quite what it would become… 145 million views later and the guys are running an incredibly strong label and selling out tours across North America to this day!"
3. UKF Dubstep 2010 (Album Megamix)
"This was really the turning point from when it went from a YouTube channel into becoming something more. People questioned whether people from YouTube would happily spend money on music, and this album proved they would. It was in the US Billboard Dance and iTunes Dance charts for years, and really captured a special moment in the genre's history."
4. Jauz – Feel The Volume (2014)
"This was one of the first records we uploaded that took off on our UKF Bass channel from Jauz, who was based in LA but was releasing some great music that we loved. It was after this upload we decided to bring him over to the UK for his first ever standalone show at XOYO in London."
5. Wilkinson – Machina (2019)
"We’ve supported Wilkinson on the channel since 2010 so to be able to work with him and to release a track 10 years later was special. We’ve known each other a long time so it was a pleasure to work with him on this – out now as part of the UKF10 album."
UKF10 heads to Studio 338 on Saturday December 14, with Dimension, Delta Heavy and many more on the bill. For the full line up and tickets, click here.