Justin Hawkes Releases Newest LP ‘Now or Never’

Justin Hawkes presents a bold vision for North American bass music with his highly anticipated second album, ‘Now Or Never’, released via his newly launched Drumcaste Collective imprint. Moving away from traditional release formats, Hawkes categorises the 12-track project as experiential drum and bass, designed as a seamless continuous mix rather than a collection of standalone singles.

The album takes listeners on a diverse sonic journey, blending tech-driven drum and bass, future jungle, halftime, and progressive elements into one unbroken narrative. Following his 2022 debut, ‘Existential’, which contrasted life’s tragedies and harmonies, this new project deeply explores the concept of passion. Each track examines a different facet of this driving force, touching on themes such as resistance, attraction, healing, and self-realisation. The result is a club-focused record that hits hard on the dancefloor while remaining intricate enough for close headphone listening.

“‘Now or Never‘ captures a complete cycle of time and transcendence; it narrates a continuous path of transformation within my life, and asks deep questions about the nature of core passions and their place in the soul. While I was writing this album, I explored the feelings which brought me the core values I have always held – whether it was the mind’s strife against authoritarianism, our nature as humans to seek affection, or to explore and innovate, or to gather together and dance… All the way through the soul’s path of existential questions: Why Am I? The 12 chapters of this story walk a journey of discovery within myself, with each song as a lifetime leading into the next pivotal realization. Consciousness is an infinitely complex, yet infinitely interconnected experience, and I wanted this album to love and hold that wonderful mystery. In this turning point aeon of artificial intelligence, I chose explicitly to use human-only creative, and intentionally directed and created all audio, text, photo and video artwork with the help and eyes of Chase Yaws and Sadler Milbrath. I’m hopeful that anyone who listens can find a part of themselves within this album, and help them realize and love the beautiful dichotomy of light and darkness which exists within us all.” – Justin Hawkes

In an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, Hawkes explicitly committed to a fully human creative process for this release. He wrote and produced every song, provided much of the vocal material himself, and co-created the entire visual world accompanying the record without the use of generative AI. ‘Now Or Never’ ultimately stands as an ambitious, intentional project that challenges contemporary dance music conventions and highlights Hawkes as a unique creative force.