Xyde is a drum and bass producer and DJ quickly establishing himself as a well-respected artist in the underground circuit. 

Hailing from Italy, Xyde has spent the last twenty years dedicating himself to music. With a background in heavy metal, he has only relatively recently made the switch to drum and bass. He has already established himself as Phase Records DNB’s A&R manager, and one of their core producers. With a sound categorised by heavy, rolling and dark energy, he also boasts releases on TrES-2b, Trust Audio, Innerground, Incurzion, 4Corners. 

We sat down with him to discuss getting into making DnB, the scene in Italy and what’s currently on his record rotation. 

Could you introduce yourself for those that don’t know?

Hi, my name is Savino Salvatore Vasco, also known as Xyde. I’m an Italian Drum and Bass producer.

Before getting into the bass music scene, I spent 17 years as the guitarist of a hardcore/metal band called Backjumper. That experience gave me a strong musical background, especially in rhythm, energy, live performance, and songwriting.

Since 2022, I’ve been fully focused on Drum and Bass production, bringing influences from my background into electronic music. I like combining aggressive energy with atmospheric and emotional elements to create a sound that feels powerful and dynamic.

Music has always been a huge part of my life, and right now my goal is to keep growing as a producer, develop my artistic identity as Xyde, and connect with people through my music.

Who inspires you as a DNB producer?

Honestly, it took me some time to channel my hardcore and metal background into electronic music.

My first real Drum and Bass influences were artists like Chase & Status, Sub Focus, Metrik, Pendulum, and Noisia.

Over time, I started discovering more artists from the earlier Drum and Bass scene, like Break, Total Science, Enei, Kasra, Ed Rush & Optical and many more and yeah, they really inspired me a lot.

Since I only started producing in late 2021, my sound is naturally still connected to modern Drum and Bass. Right now, some of my biggest inspirations are Thread, Visla, QZB, Document One, T>I, Enei and Kasra.

But I listen to a lot of music outside of DnB as well. I also take inspiration from hardcore, hip hop like the Beastie Boys and rock/metal bands from the late ‘90s and 2000s, especially Rage Against the Machine, Deftones, Linkin Park, which I loved growing up with and still respect a lot today.

What’s the Italian DNB scene like?

Well the Drum and Bass scene in Italy is definitely not at the same level as the UK scene, or even some other European countries yet, but something is growing.

Especially in the northern side of the country, in cities like Bologna, Milan and Trento, there’s a good amount of movement and interest around Drum and Bass.

In the south, things are more difficult because the scene is still very small, but we’re trying to build something from the ground up with a lot of passion and commitment. Personally, I created a community called DNB PULSE together with Albees. We organize events, livestreams, and soon we’ll also start releasing free downloads on our SoundCloud channel.

I also think it’s important to mention Drum and Bass Italia, because they’ve become a central point for the Italian DnB scene through promotion, networking, and initiatives like last year’s awards.

So even if the scene is still developing, I think there are people who genuinely care and are working hard to help it grow.

What records are you into right now?

Right now I’m really into 3 releases in particular:

First one is the 2-track EP by GUI on Phase Records DNB, with “MK2” and “Two Left Feet”. Both tracks are absolutely crazy — super funky rhythms and pure freshness all the way through.

Second is the album “All My Life” by my big bro HLZ released on Metalheadz.

Plenty of emotions, embracing atmospheres and an mad work on the breaks. It really brings back that classic DnB feeling while still sounding modern and impactful.

Third release is “Revolution” by Qua Rush, Invadhertz and Flipz MC. Such a powerful callback to “The Revolution Will not be Televised” by Gil Scott Heron. I love that connection and the way they managed to create these dark atmospheres — and especially that halftime switch in the second drop!! Luvly!!

Finally, what have you been working on recently?

First of all, my new EP on Phase records DNB has just been released. It’s called “Feral” and it features collaborations with PACMAN, my buddy from my former hardcore/Metal band Backjumper.

Gifta and I have cooked up another track together and it’s something really special to me. IT also features MC SAS, who showed incredible versatility with his vocals.

I’ve also got a couple of more deep/liquid tunes to be released in June and October. I wanted to experiment a bit more with the liquid side of DnB, while still keeping my deep/techy roots at the core of the sound.

At the same time, I’m already well into planning my 2027 release schedule… and honestly, I’m really proud of the growth and evolution I’ve gone through. I believe people will have the chance to hear that clearly because I’ve always made music to share my feelings, i’ve always been an open book – easy to read!! :))

You can find Xyde on Beatport here, Soundcloud here and Instagram here.