North London-based childhood friends James Grant and Darius Ellington Forde began making a splash as iLL BLU in 2008 when they produced Princess Nyah's 'Frontline' and put out their remix of Shystie's 'Pull It'.
iLL BLU began their journey with bedroom mixes and releases through underground labels like Numbers, Hyperdub and MadTech before making their shift to the majors with an Island Records contract. Looking to influences Diplo and David Guetta, Grant and Forde have kept up a diverse output, creating their own music while producing, DJing and hosting an Afrobeats radio show for Kiss Fresh.
The pair have released tracks like 'BLU Magic', 'So Deep' and 'Chop My Money', collaborated with James Morrison, Jake Isaac, JP Cooper, Young T and Bugsey, Hardy Caprio, Tion Wayne, EO and Max Marshall, put out official mixes for artists including Sam Smith, Hot Chip, Kenny Allstar, Melissa Steel and Popcaan and produced on records for MoStack, Sneakbo and Geko.
