# Exile, Medicine and Emma Banner take vocal drum & bass heavier

Published 2026-11-14 by OBSCUUR Records. Source: https://obscuur.io/blogs/news/exile-medicine-and-emma-banner-take-vocal-drum-and-bass-heavier

Exile, Medicine and vocalist Emma Banner released "Playing With Fire" on 13 November through Make Your Era, the imprint run by Vibe Chemistry, via [Magnetic Magazine](https://magneticmag.com/2026/11/exile-medicine-and-emma-banner-take-vocal-dnb-into-heavier-territory/). It is a vocal-led drum & bass single that leans towards the heavier end of the genre.

## What is Playing With Fire by Exile, Medicine and Emma Banner?

According to Magnetic Magazine, the track pairs Banner's vocal with rolling percussion, dense bass programming and synths from the harder side of current drum & bass. Melodic touches from liquid DnB keep the vocal at the centre while the instrumental stays built for the club.

Fills and short breaks add movement around the main groove. The vocal sits clearly on top of the low end rather than acting as another rhythmic layer.

It follows Medicine's "Just Walk Away" from September, which also paired songwriting with club weight. This one goes heavier.

## Who are Exile, Medicine and Emma Banner?

All three already have ties to the label. Medicine and Banner have each appeared on Make Your Era before. Banner featured on "Escape From Reality" with Vast.

Exile worked with Danny Byrd on "Higher", released on Byrdhouse in November 2025. The report says it picked up radio support from BBC Radio 1, Capital and MistaJam. He also runs the Banished platform and plays UK drum & bass nights including Equinox Festival, Jungle Cakes and DNB Collective. His sets take in jungle, rollers and jump-up.

## Why does vocal balance matter on a heavy dancefloor?

The question running through the story is an old one for any fast, bass-heavy genre: how do you keep a singer's performance intact when the track has to hold up on a loud system? Push the synths and drums too far forward and the vocal disappears. Pull them back and the energy drops.

House, hard house, trance, bounce and garage all deal with the same problem. The answer is usually in the arrangement, not the volume.

## Where does this connect to OBSCUUR?

Drum & bass is outside our lane, but the craft is shared. If you like vocals that carry weight at high tempo, start with our [house](/genres/house), [hard house](/genres/hard-house), [trance](/genres/trance), [bounce](/genres/bounce) and [garage](/genres/garage) pages. Our latest release is [DJ Mischkonsum – Inner City Echoes](/releases/dj-mischkonsum-inner-city-echoes), and recent sets are on the [live page](/live).

If you make high energy dance music of your own, the [submissions page](/submissions) is where to send it.

Vocal and weight can share a track, and the best club records prove it every weekend.