Today sadly marks the end of the ‘Downloads & Reloads’ drum & bass magazine.
‘Downloads & Reloads’ started out as a weekly email newsletter back in 2018, which was sent out to their subscribers every Sunday. After 2 years of sending these regular email updates, the concept evolved into an actual print magazine, the first of its kind aimed at D&B heads since the demise of the popular ATM & Kmag publications.
Big Plans
Speaking to Kmag on the launch of the first print edition Ben Hunter from ‘Downloads & Reloads’ intimated that “To consistently improve the coverage of the scene is why we started our weekly newsletter almost two years ago, and it’s a gap we hope we’ve gone some way to filling for our 650 subscribers. With the amount of not just quality music but general news and innovation, there is absolutely space for another outlet entirely focused on covering events at 170.”
This is a sentiment we at LoveThatBass can totally relate to.
In May 2021 the guys seemed just as enthused about the ‘Downloads & Reloads’ project when speaking to Millstreet on his Last Week Liquid Podcast
D&R Highlights
In the podcast they recount their highlights of running the ‘zine such as covering Hospitality On The Beach, being the first outlet to report that S.P.Y was releasing a jungle album, and having Andy C‘s team reach out to them for an interview… Ben even flew all the way back from Africa to conduct the Andy C interview
Deep Regret
In a message to all their subscribers this morning Ben & Max, the creators of ‘Downloads & Reloads’, made a heartfelt statement about why the magazine is coming to a close;
“After a lot of thought, time, and energy, we have decided that the Downloads & Reloads (D&R) project must come to an end. When we started in 2018, both of us were at uni, going to loads of nights, mixing in our spare time, and generally being involved in the scene.
Fast forward to now and the situation has changed.
We’re both working proper full time jobs, which leaves very space for D&R. On top of that, the pandemic has really taken it out of us; no club nights, very little socialising, and all the other weirdness adds up.
As such, and with deep regret, we think the time has come to end D&R’s zine project. The shift towards print media, which began in January 2020 and has seen us produce four-and-a-half amazing zines, has been difficult, involving lots of additional costs, learning, time delays, and everything else. It’s very different from writing a weekly email.
We had big, grand plans, like doing a new zine every few months, but time and fate have intervened and we find ourselves unable to meet our own lofty ideals.“
They also went on to thank everyone who has supported D&R in its various iterations and to state that they still love the drum & bass scene and feel proud of their small part in it.
We wish them all the best going forward.
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