Published
Mon, Aug 27, 2018, 09:35
- The highly-regarded figure passed away on Sunday.
Key drum & bass producer Spirit, real name Duncan Busto, has died.
Reports of the longtime producer, label owner and DJ's death emerged yesterday, leading to an outpouring of tributes among the drum & bass and wider dance music communities. Close collaborator Digital, AKA Steve Carr, reported last week that Busto had suffered a cardiac arrest on August 13th.
Busto emerged from the same Ipswich scene that produced the likes of Digital, Klute and Photek. Working in the town's Redeye Records in the mid-'90s, he became a full-time producer in 1997, quickly landing on labels like Timeless and C.I.A. and receiving DJ play from scene leaders like Goldie and Andy C. His Phantom Force project with Digital was a breakout success around the turn of the millennium, which led to the founding of the essential Phantom Audio label and his own Inneractive Music.
Busto maintained a prolific release rate, dropping multiple EPs per year throughout his career. His final solo release, Murderer / Cold Call, came out on Inneractive in April. The tragic news follows the recent passing of both Marcus Intalex and Tango.
Listen to "Phantom Force" by Spirit & Digital.