The ‘War on Silence’ imprint from Crissy Criss is an amalgamation of his historic rise to fame. It spearheads a catalogue which has enabled him to become not just renowned for his DJing skills, but also his impeccable production standards. Launched in 2018, since its first release it’s become another monumental part of his journey. However, it’s not just his own output which has seen War on Silence rise to prominence, but also the artists he’s introduced into the roster, which in just over a year has seen some of the biggest drum & bass releases to have crossover success over recent years.
With names like TC, Upgrade and erb N dub having their take on the War on Silence signature, the diversity already demonstrated throughout its catalogue has garnered interest from tastemakers and like-minded DJs across the dance music spectrum. After Crissy Criss announced his album late last year, aptly named after his War on Silence moniker, the anticipation around its release slowly grew, only heightening with every time he revealed another part of its package.
The ground-breaking success of his single ‘Real’ later solidified the record label’s place within the dance music history books; translating across the radio airwaves and club spaces alike, ‘Real’ with trap duo WiDE AWAKEfound itself within the additions of Radio 1’s daytime playlist and MTV’s sought after video rotations. Impossible to get away from, it received weekly plays throughout the year on BBC Radio 1, 1xtra and Kiss Fresh alongside a host of other album tracks. With mainstay support from the likes of Mistajam, Annie Mac, Greg James, Maya Jama and Rene LaVice, it was an astounding feat for a imprint still in its infancy. Hitting number two on the Radio 1 Dance Chart and becoming BBC Radio 1’s ‘Track of the Weekend’, as well as sitting at number nine in the UK Shazam chart, it amassed over two million Spotify plays. War on Silencebroke down the the barrier between the underground and the mainstream, something not often done by labels with the same lifespan.
War on Silence are continuing their global dominance; with a worldwide tour on the horizon, featuring a range of festival stages as well as dates across Australia and New Zealand, it’s looking to become another twelve pivotal months for the label. Alongside a remix collection for the seminal album, as well as fresh cuts from Malux and Drumsound & Bassline Smith, War on Silence is looking to expand even further. This is something which will be a welcome move for fans, an audience which has exploded since the radio DJ, producer and now label head Crissy Criss unleashed his A&R skills onto the market over a decade ago. Since then, he’s retained his title – War on Silence demonstrates this fact.