Barrett Richards has been making himself a name in dance music. More than one, actually. Under the moniker B. Rich, he’s associated with guys like AC Slater and the Trouble & Bass crew, but it’s been his work over the last four years as Kastle that have really brought Richards into his own. The former east-coaster (Pittsburgh and Boston) made his move to the left coast a few years back, first to the mecca of everything odd and freaky in San Francisco, and then down to his current home of Los Angeles, where along with producing, DJing and touring, he runs his label Symbols.
Kastle the project, developed out of Richards’ need to fiddle with some of the deeper, more soulful elements of bass music. Kastle the name, meanwhile, is a nod to the personal nature of the project. “I decided on the name Kastle because it is a very personal project. Castles are a very fortified, secluded, personal space. Out of any music project I’ve done this is the most personal so it made sense.”
The mélange of house, techno, garage, and dubstep, got mixed with an R&B influence and the end result is something he refuses to slap a genre on, but he terms “soulful electronic dance music.” It’s a sound he consciously tried to make sound just as good at home as it does in the clubs. And it’s been a good effort. A slew of high profile remixes – Kaskade, Treasure Fingers, Blu Mar Ten, Example, a few EPs – Time Traveler, So You, work with labels like Ministry of Sound and Scion A/V, and his self-titled debut album released in early 2013, have all contributed to Kastle becoming a household name among discerning dance fans.
Fun Party Trick: you can be as cool as Kastle is by whipping up the tasty adult beverage he’s been making for his friends: sweet lime juice, grapefruit juice, muddled fresh basil, black pepper, and Cholula sauce with gin.
