UBBTA - Polaris

Since the very beginning of the rich history of drum-n-bass music, the city of Toronto, Canada, has been a consistent hotbed of talent. Many of these artists have gone on to conquer the global scene, with Marcus Visionary, NC-17, Gremlinz, Stranjah, RMS, and Rene LaVice just a few names that come to mind. But, the Great White North has yet to see anything quite like the artist named Polaris. In a region known for tunes that tend toward the grittier end of the spectrum, he has carved out an identity drenched in lush, warm instrumentation on a cinematic scale.

The story of Polaris begins on the banks of the Dambovita River in Bucharest, Romania, a city immersed in classical music and the performing arts. Fitting, then, that here is where a young Vlad Tiron untook classical piano training at the age of five. Five years later, his family would emigrate to Canada, where Vlad would continue his piano-driven pursuits. Being in the global dance music mecca of Toronto would alter that path, however, and he began to apply his piano talent to trance and ambient music before finally discovering drum-n-bass at a free rave in 2009. Afterward, a quick google search yielded a mix by Netsky, and a life’s passion was born.

He very quickly began developing his DJ skills, while his production interests shifted to drum-n- bass. Now known as Polaris, Prophecy FM boss Mr. Brown would take the blossoming young talent under his wing. As his DJ profile continued to rise, his productions began to find eardrums to tickle around the world. After self-releasing his debut EP on Bandcamp, entitled Bright Eyes, Polaris struck up a creatively fertile partnership with Toronto-based mastering engineer Dan Dubois, aka Schematic, that has lasted for years. Together, they would release “NBD” on Lush and Marcus Visionary’s Inner City Dance imprint in 2016. They also unleashed “Please Don’t” and “Bring the Heat” on the Technique Recordings Summer 2016 LP, and their goosebump-inducing stormer “Conduit” on Hospital’s Future Sound of Canada EP. The pair would continue to collaborate over the following years, including tunes like “Sculpture” for Hospital in 2018, “Steady” on Random Movement’s Flight Pattern imprint in 2022, and their anthemic “Inner Vision” on UKF, featuring Natalie Wood.

In point of fact, Polaris has garnered a reputation for having some of the finest collaborations in the business. In Toronto, for instance, Polaris linked up with the globally renowed Stranjah for a string of memorable songs, including “Aquarius” for Technique in 2016, “Way Back Home” for Hospital in 2017 with Tyr Kahout, and “Persephone” for Deviant Audio in 2018 with Totemic. He found a kindred spirit in Toronto’s own Ritual, with whom he released “Lullaby” for 170+ in 2022 with Vio.let, and the absolutely sublime The Approach EP for Soul Deep in 2023.

“Leviathan” with Keeno for Hospital in 2020 is staggering in its audacity. His copiloting with
Nelver of “Nexus” in 2021, and “EOS” on Liquicity that same year, are not to be missed, and his tete-a-tete creations with the mighty Makoto have yielded “Dive” on Makoto’s 2019 Hospital album, and the outstanding “Kinetic” on Liquicity in 2023. Polaris also happens to be a true visionary when it comes to the art of the remix. His renditions maintain the soul of the source material, while still displaying his undeniable sound in the most delightful ways. Just listen to his relicks of Keeno’s “Spheres” with Pippa Violets on Hospital, or “Lights On” for Keeno Music to hear how he does it. Deeply inhale his exquisite rework of “Well That’s A Switch” by London Elektricity. Even his self-reimagining in “The Light In Your Eyes VIP” is a must-listen.

Of course, the demand for Polaris as a collaborator comes from his uncanny ability to communicate emotion, light, and form out of thin air, completely on his own. Hospital Records saw this immediately, and so began an iconic run of solo material for the label:  “The Light In Your Eyes” in 2016, voted one of the label’s top-ten tunes for that year. Sister label Med School would also feature his exquisite “Found You” on their New Blood 2016 LP; “Blue Sky Thinking” in 2017; “Empire” and the brilliant “Lessons Learned” for the Forza 4 Soundtrack in 2018; “Alignment”, the fantastic Uncharted EP for Med School in 2019; “Distant”, “Eternal Conflict”, and “Computer Music” in 2020. The following year, Polaris left Hospital and immediately made waves with a fabulous pair of tunes for Pilot, “Deliverance”, and “Obsidian” with Natalie Wood, each of which garnered over 1.3 million plays on Spotify alone. He would then release a string of monumental tunes on a plethora of incredible labels, such as “Love Letter” and “Pool Hopping” on Liquicity, “History” on DnB Arena, “One More Time” on Innerground, and “La Selva” on Toronto DnB. In 2024, Polaris decided that the time had finally come to kick off his new label. Naming it Highland Recordings, its debut release is an ode to skateboarding featuring his fellow Prophecy FM cohost Valiant Emcee and the legendary DRS called “Keep Pushin’” With a new platform to explore the sonic realms in anyway way he so chooses, the world can bank on hearing his signature emotionally transcendent sound on full display for the forseeable future, and the best is yet to come.

The most striking thing about Polaris’s body of work is his range of mood and texture. Richly evocative, his tunes ebb and flow in distinct movements. Vlad’s classical musical training is always on display, with chill-inducing chord changes and a sense of melody that transports the listener to different locations across the imagination. The artist himself describes his musical approach by saying, “to some degree I’ve always searched for that ‘hurting’ feeling when I’m writing”, effectively summarizing how his tracks simultaneously induce nostalgia, longing, hope, melancholy, and jubilation. Indeed, like London Elektricity himself says, “He’s not the world’s most prolific producer, because he spends a lot of time on each track. But when they’re finished…they’re absolute gems”. Gems indeed.