Justin Hawkes has a name for what he makes: Experiential Drum & Bass – music built to be moved through from start to finish rather than picked apart track by track. ‘Now Or Never,’ his second album, is exactly that: twelve tracks mixed continuously into one unbroken piece, moving through tech-driven Drum & Bass, Future Jungle, halftime, modern jump-up and progressive, anthemic release, with a clear narrative thread from the first bar to the last.
It’s high-impact and club-focused, but detailed enough to reward close listening – a record built as much for the warehouse as for the headphones.
It’s also his own work end to end. Justin wrote and produced every track, wrote and sang many of the lyrics himself, and co-created the visual world built around the DnB album.
The follow-up to his 2022 debut “Existential,” “Now Or Never” turns on a single question: when passion calls, do you answer? Where “Existential” explored the contrast between life’s tragedies and harmonies, this record treats passion as something carried through time – a force that shapes identity, memory and instinct. Each track stands for a different expression of it: resistance, attraction, discovery, dance, healing, love and self-realization. Rather than a set of standalone singles, the album is built as a full world, with its own visual language running through every chapter – and it cements Justin’s standing as one of the U.S. artists actively defining North American Drum & Bass and giving it a creative identity of its own.
At a moment when artificial intelligence is reshaping how records get made, Justin kept the entire project human-created, from the audio to the artwork.
“‘Now or Never’ captures a complete cycle of time and transcendence; it narrates a continuous path of transformation within my life, and asks deep questions about the nature of core passions and their place in the soul. While I was writing this album, I explored the feelings which brought me the core values I have always held – whether it was the mind’s strife against authoritarianism, our nature as humans to seek affection, or to explore and innovate, or to gather together and dance… All the way through the soul’s path of existential questions: Why Am I? The 12 chapters of this story walk a journey of discovery within myself, with each song as a lifetime leading into the next pivotal realization. Consciousness is an infinitely complex, yet infinitely interconnected experience, and I wanted this album to love and hold that wonderful mystery. In this turning point aeon of artificial intelligence, I chose explicitly to use human-only creative, and intentionally directed and created all audio, text, photo and video artwork with the help and eyes of Chase Yaws and Sadler Milbrath. I’m hopeful that anyone who listens can find a part of themselves within this album, and help them realize and love the beautiful dichotomy of light and darkness which exists within us all.” — Justin Hawkes
Justin Hawkes has spent the better part of fifteen years building an unlikely path through Drum & Bass – one that began in the foothills of Southwest Virginia in 2011 and has since made him one of the few American producers with a genuine foothold in a largely European genre.
His records move between widescreen, melodic highs and harder, more mechanical club material, a range that has earned him plays and support from Sub Focus, Andy C, Wilkinson, RL Grime, Knife Party, Pendulum, Porter Robinson and Black Tiger Sex Machine.
He spent his early career as Flite before adopting the Justin Hawkes name in 2020; two years later, his debut album “Existential” set out his willingness to ignore the genre’s usual boundaries, anchored by the country-rock-leaning single “Better Than Gold.” His catalogue has now passed 100 million streams, taken him through more than 14 countries, and led to sets at London’s Alexandra Palace, Electric Daisy Carnival and Tomorrowland in both Belgium and Brazil.
His music also appears in major gaming titles including Rocket League and Fortnite, and his live shows lean heavily on improvisation rather than a fixed set. Through 2026, he continues to tour across North America with festival dates at Shambhala, Bass Canyon, Electric Love and Friendzy Fest.
Forthcoming shows
Aug 15 – Bass Canyon Festival – George, WA
Aug 21 – Sunbar – Tempe. AZ
Sep 05 – 2026 Fiber Open Air – Nijmegen, NL
Sep 11 – Helios – Cologne, DE
Oct 10 – Tribal Roots – Wichita, KS
Oct 24 – Get Freaky – Salt Lake City, UT
CONNECT WITH JUSTIN HAWKES
References
Unfolded PR. (2026). One of American Drum & Bass’s Leading Voices, Justin Hawkes Returns with His Second Album “Now Or Never”. Retrieved from [Email communication].
Hi, I’m Erick Ycaza — a music blogger with a BA in Advertising & Graphic Design. I created this blog to keep you updated with daily music news. Surprisingly, I’ve been writing about music since 2007. If you’re an artist and would like to be featured, feel free to reach out: info@electrowow.net
