Cappo Regime

Cappo Regime was born out of Belfast’s underground club scene, a creative partnership forged between Stuart Adamson and Robert Jess. Introduced by mutual friends immersed in the city’s nightlife, the duo connected over a shared love for genre-blending music and cinematic soundscapes. Their collaboration began humbly in a bedroom studio, where they set out to create drum and bass infused with diverse influences and bold, uncompromising energy.

From the outset, Cappo Regime’s sound was anything but conventional. Merging the atmospheric and gritty intensity of drum and bass with touches of hip hop, techno, rave, jazz, blues, and cinematic scoring, they created a unique sonic identity. Their love of mafia and gangster films inspired the name “Cappo Regime,” while their musical palette drew from an eclectic range of artists that included Metallica, Portishead, Wu-Tang Clan, Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis, and Aphex Twin to name but a few. This broad spectrum of influences found its home in the layered, emotional aggression of drum and bass.

Their breakout track, “Guillotine,” was a bass-heavy, amen break-driven anthem that captured the attention of Belfast’s key drum and bass figures. Local promoters and legends of the Drum and Bass scene in Belfast, Judge Dredd, DJ Kato, and MC Digiac quickly embraced Cappo Regime, offering them regular spots at some of the city’s most vital club nights including Drumology, Flava, and Solid. They also became a fixture on the pirate radio station Flava 105FM, bringing their evolving sound to a wider underground audience.

As word spread, Cappo Regime’s reach expanded within and beyond Belfast. They performed at seminal venues such as the Art College, Shine, Supershine, and Sandino’s in Derry. Their high-energy, immersive sets took them further afield to clubs in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and throughout Ireland, earning them a loyal following.

Their live reputation brought them to the stage alongside some of drum and bass and electronic music’s most respected names, including Goldie, Simon Bassline Smith, Scratch Perverts, Dave Clarke, Doc Scott, DJ Fierce, Roni Size, Josh Wink and London Elektricity.

Cappo Regime also made their mark in the studio, releasing original material and remixes for a number of labels. They collaborated with and remixed fellow Northern Irish artists like Spree, and were featured on compilations such as Apache Tribe and Digital T, both of which highlighted the vibrant local drum and bass, electronic and alternative talent.

Alongside Stuart’s work with Dominick Martin (with whom he originally formed, Calibre), Cappo Regime helped shape the trajectory of drum and bass in Northern Ireland. Their genre-defying sound, cinematic vision, and commitment to the underground laid down a legacy that remains a defining chapter in the region’s musical history.