A teenage girl hears pirate radio, following toward fugitive geographies of garage, jungle, drum and bass, squat parties, and after-hours. Years later, as MANTRA, the London artist born Indra Khera, she would become one of the central figures in the contemporary underground jungle and drum and bass scene. Her work moves through the booth, label catalogue, radio, mentorship, and, of course, the club. On Saturday, May 16, the club is Control, and the city is Bucharest, as MANTRA and fellow Rupture co-founder Double O join Black Rhino Radio's 5th Anniversary celebrations.
MANTRA belongs to the old London network of pirate radio, record shops, and informal parties. Her older brother drew her to pirate radio, and she later moved into the city's rave culture, when women behind the decks were rarely visible to her. She learned to DJ, played on pirate stations, moved through parties, and studied music production in Islington, where she met Equinox, Louise Plus One, and David Henry, known to ravers as Double O. From that came Rupture.
Rupture began in 2006. Its early home was in Camden before it found its long-term habitat at Corsica Studios. The night's lineups joined emerging producers with foundational artists. Rupture notes support from Om Unit, Doc Scott, Special Request, Digital and Spirit, and has been noted as jungle's premier event, anywhere.
By 2012, Rupture grew from an event into an imprint. With Rupture LDN, MANTRA has helped define a space for deep drum and bass. The label's catalogue, including its planetary-themed mini-compilation series, has held to the slower authority of community and a carefully paced release history.
MANTRA's own production work goes back over a decade. Early traces include "Credentials" in 2012, followed by "Powder of Life" (AKO Beatz, 2016), and "Mindgames" with Clarity (UVB-76, 2016). "Nocturne" followed in 2018. The decisive public shift, however, came with the release of Damaged EP (Sneaker Social Club, 2023). Across "Damaged," "Murda," "Victory Dance", and "Ala," the record moves through broken rhythms, dubwise bass, jungle, and uneasy half-step space.
Her 2024 releases, like Burn & Heal (Ilian Tape), placed MANTRA within the Munich label's broad and respected ecology of breakbeat, techno, hip-hop, and experimental d&b luminaries. In September, Schemes & Dreams EP appeared on System Music, the London label run by V.I.V.E.K. , and stretched back to MANTRA's attendance at early System nights at The Dome in 2013.
In 2025, MANTRA brought that arc home with Shades of Rave Vol. 1, her debut EP on Rupture LDN. "Benda Brenda," "Come Undone," "Total Danger," "Rolling With Fabio", and "A Deep Shade Of Rave (Outro)" chart a sonic memoir around the emotional phases of a night, from early anticipation to the haunted tenderness of the final hours. The outro is dedicated to Rupture's all-night Ferry to the Underworld sessions at Corsica Studios.
Corsica Forever (Rupture LDN, 2026) gathered music by Double O, Skeptical, dBridge and MANTRA in tribute to Corsica Studios. The release paid homage to Rupture's long residency, which ended amid the Elephant & Castle club's gentrification-driven closure. Her own "Unit 4-5" closes the record as a spoken-word poem, asking what remains when a dancefloor disappears from the map.
On NTS, Rupture with MANTRA and Double O hold down a monthly broadcast from the grassroots of jungle and drum and bass. Her Groove Podcast from 2023 paired B-sides and classics with unreleased tracks, including music made with Decibella and Tim Reaper. Her Boiler Room Festival London appearance with GQ in 2021, DJ Mag HQ set, and the 0860 conversation with Fracture each extend MANTRA as a selector who respects a mix as both a social argument and a historical archive.
EQ50 remains one of her most consequential professional activities. Founded in 2018, the collective works toward fairer representation for women and non-binary artists in drum and bass through mentoring, workshops, label partnerships, and public advocacy. Its work is a form of practical activism, rooted in the often-glacial process of visibility and release-ready support. Its importance sits beside Rupture as both projects answer the same central question: How does a culture survive without reproducing the exclusions that once made entry so difficult?
MANTRA has produced records, yes, and the recent run from Damaged EP through Shades of Rave Vol. 1 has made her studio voice visible. But her deeper achievement lies in the infrastructure around the records. She has helped build a community where the music can continue to mean something, remaining committed to the inherent truths of the rave.
