Sigma

Formed while at university in Leeds, the U.K. drum’n’bass act Sigma soon relocated to London and initially comprised Cameron Edwards, Joe Lenzie, and Ben Mauerhoff. Following a spate of well-received singles from 2006 onward on labels such as Mampi Swift’s Charge and DJ Zinc’s Bingo Beats, Mauerhoff decided to leave Sigma, eventually establishing himself as a Shanghai-based sound designer for the video industry. Edwards and Lenzie went on to form their own Life Recordings label in 2009 as an outlet for further studio work, and its inaugural release was a V.I.P. remix of their early Bingo Beats single “El Presidente.” Before the end of the year the pair had won a Best Breakthrough DJs gong at the Drum’n’Bass Arena Awards. Remix work for other artists ensued, and summer 2010 saw them rework grime star Skepta’s U.K. Top 20 hit “Rescue Me.” In the same year, the duo realized a dream by issuing the two volumes of their Stand Tall EP on Adam F and Fresh’s influential drum’n’bass label, Breakbeat Kaos. Their late 2011 Night and Day EPs on Life paved the way for a successful year of international touring in 2012, which included dates supporting fellow former Leeds student Christopher Mercer, aka Rusko. A 2013 remix of DJ Fresh, Jay Fay, and Ms. Dynamite’s “Dibby Dibby Sound” helped to maintain their profile before Sigma scored their first U.K. hit single in the last days of the year with “Rudeboy,” a collaboration with the South London-based grime MC Doctor. In April of the following year the duo enjoyed a U.K. number one with “Nobody to Love,” a track that took inspiration from Kanye West’s Yeezus album-closer, “Bound 2.” The single that followed, “Changing,” featured Paloma Faith and became their second platinum chart topper. In 2015, “Higher” (featuring Labrinth), “Glitterball” (featuring Ella Henderson), and “Coming Home” (featuring Rita Ora) all did similarly well, leading up to the release of their debut album Life, via their home-grown label of the same name. In late 2017, the group issued the single “Forever,” which featured Quavo and Sebastian Kole. ~ James Wilkinson