Creating an atmosphere with your music is as important as the music itself. Releasing a tune that’s listenable is great, but once you have every element fleshed out, you begin to create an atmosphere to accompany the listening experience. Evgenii Khmel, better known as Leo Cap to the dubstep world, is an artist who has consistently been doing just that and releasing some mind-melting music within the short amount of time that he’s been contributing to the genre.
Now that’s not to say the Thailand-based artist hasn’t had his hands in other jars. You might recognize his name outside of the 140BPM space as Black Barrel, a menace to the drum and bass genre for about a decade now. Having an alias for a different genre allows restrictions to be lifted and new creativity to flow freely.
This past year has been nothing short of spoiled as far as Leo Cap releases go. Multiple singles, EPs, label releases, Patreon and Bandcamp exclusives, you name it. Even if you think you haven’t been introduced to Leo Cap’s music yet, you probably heard it via one of your favorite artists’ USBs. Since releasing under his dubstep alias, he’s received overwhelmingly positive feedback and support from artists like Distinct Motive, Chef Boyarbeatz, Torcha, Truth, and many more. The only question remaining here is, “When can we get the man himself over to the States?”.
Luckily for anybody else wondering, the time has come.. almost. While still going through the paintstaking process of getting a VISA, a dreadful process so many talented artists have to deal with, Sub.mission announced that Leo Cap is the roster’s latest addition with an October 2025 US debut tour in their sights. The goal is within reach! This announcement, along with having just been featured on Ternion Sound’s Digital Artifice Recompiled album, is keeping the momentum going strong. Just a few weeks ago, he gave us yet another two-track EP to keep all of the sub junkies fed adequately, Join The Signal.
“Adrenochrome” comes in unapologetically tense. Rigid and wavy frequencies are paired with a couple eerie vocal samples before a snare roll and a signature Leo Cap bassline. Something that always stands out is his ability to make tracks come alive. This is a great example. The first drop shows progression throughout with different elements being called back and forth during appropriate times and vocal samples scattered around. It becomes effortless to get lost before we hit the wind-down pre-second drop. The latter half of this track reclaims elements from the first half but punches much harder and takes things down a few octaves.
“Join The Signal” kicks off a bit calmer, albeit with a darker vibe similar to most of his intros. As soon as this one drops, it’s grimy low-end heaven. This one is a must on a system capable of doing lower frequencies some serious justice. The percussion cuts through so clearly and is tied together beautifully by the arrangement of the background mix. Halfway through the second drop, he incorporates some bird samples that really add to the atmosphere of the track and truly feel like a lost radio signal of sorts.
You can certainly count on seeing Leo Cap’s name pop up more and more over the coming months. His fanbase is steadily growing, he’s constantly releasing new music, and he’s soon to be touring in the US for the first time. You rarely see this type of momentum build so fast for an artist who doesn’t live stateside or in the UK. His exposure as Black Barrel may have helped, but we believe it’s truly a testament to his music and production abilities.
Follow Leo Cap:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Bandcamp | Spotify | Soundcloud | Patreon
Creating an atmosphere with your music is as important as the music itself. Releasing a tune that’s listenable is great, but once you have every element fleshed out, you begin to create an atmosphere to accompany the listening experience. Evgenii Khmel, better known as Leo Cap to the dubstep world, is an artist who has consistently been doing just that and releasing some mind-melting music within the short amount of time that he’s been contributing to the genre.
Now that’s not to say the Thailand-based artist hasn’t had his hands in other jars. You might recognize his name outside of the 140BPM space as Black Barrel, a menace to the drum and bass genre for about a decade now. Having an alias for a different genre allows restrictions to be lifted and new creativity to flow freely.
This past year has been nothing short of spoiled as far as Leo Cap releases go. Multiple singles, EPs, label releases, Patreon and Bandcamp exclusives, you name it. Even if you think you haven’t been introduced to Leo Cap’s music yet, you probably heard it via one of your favorite artists’ USBs. Since releasing under his dubstep alias, he’s received overwhelmingly positive feedback and support from artists like Distinct Motive, Chef Boyarbeatz, Torcha, Truth, and many more. The only question remaining here is, “When can we get the man himself over to the States?”.
Luckily for anybody else wondering, the time has come.. almost. While still going through the paintstaking process of getting a VISA, a dreadful process so many talented artists have to deal with, Sub.mission announced that Leo Cap is the roster’s latest addition with an October 2025 US debut tour in their sights. The goal is within reach! This announcement, along with having just been featured on Ternion Sound’s Digital Artifice Recompiled album, is keeping the momentum going strong. Just a few weeks ago, he gave us yet another two-track EP to keep all of the sub junkies fed adequately, Join The Signal.
“Adrenochrome” comes in unapologetically tense. Rigid and wavy frequencies are paired with a couple eerie vocal samples before a snare roll and a signature Leo Cap bassline. Something that always stands out is his ability to make tracks come alive. This is a great example. The first drop shows progression throughout with different elements being called back and forth during appropriate times and vocal samples scattered around. It becomes effortless to get lost before we hit the wind-down pre-second drop. The latter half of this track reclaims elements from the first half but punches much harder and takes things down a few octaves.
“Join The Signal” kicks off a bit calmer, albeit with a darker vibe similar to most of his intros. As soon as this one drops, it’s grimy low-end heaven. This one is a must on a system capable of doing lower frequencies some serious justice. The percussion cuts through so clearly and is tied together beautifully by the arrangement of the background mix. Halfway through the second drop, he incorporates some bird samples that really add to the atmosphere of the track and truly feel like a lost radio signal of sorts.
You can certainly count on seeing Leo Cap’s name pop up more and more over the coming months. His fanbase is steadily growing, he’s constantly releasing new music, and he’s soon to be touring in the US for the first time. You rarely see this type of momentum build so fast for an artist who doesn’t live stateside or in the UK. His exposure as Black Barrel may have helped, but we believe it’s truly a testament to his music and production abilities.
Follow Leo Cap:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Bandcamp | Spotify | Soundcloud | Patreon
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