While Toronto has long been known for the grittier side of drum-n-bass music, the Romanian-born, classically trained Polaris brings an altogether different sound to the fore. At once melancholy and hopeful, jubilant and wistful, he has forged a musical identity that elevates drum-n-bass, on a cinematic scale. After rising in the ranks of the Toronto DnB scene, he entered the global awareness in 2016 in grand fashion. Since then he’s released on labels like Inner City Dance, Technique, Med School, Hospital, Pilot, Flight Pattern, 170+, and UKF. On his own, he’s put out such classics as “The Light In Your Eyes”, “Blue Sky Thinking”, “Distant”, “Empire”, “Lessons Learned”, and “Love Letter”. But he’s also collaborated with artists like Keeno, Stranjah, Nelver, Ritual, and the legendary Makoto. His most fruitful collaborations have come with long time friend Schematic, with whom he’s created a number of landmark compositions, including “Please Don’t”, “Bring the Heat”, “Conduit”, and “Inner Vision”, among others. Polaris remixed Whiney’s “Spheres (feat. Keeno and Pippa Violents)”, and “Well That’s A Switch” for London Elektricity, who said of Vlad, “He spends a lot of time on each track...when they’re finished…they’re absolute gems”. Gems indeed