Crissy Criss is Leaving BBC Radio 1Xtra

I absolutely hate hearing stories like this, especially when they effect the drum & bass community. BBC Radio 1 and its sister station 1Xtra have been

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I absolutely hate hearing stories like this, especially when they effect the drum & bass community. BBC Radio 1 and its sister station 1Xtra have been so vital to the globe, from the Essential Mix series to anything Pete Tong has done with his show to the volume of shows, curated by the world's finest selectors. Yet, it's still a corporation, and with any massive company, you can expect changes and cuts all the time. I was absolutely gutted when Fabio & Grooverider were removed from the station (although Friction has done a great job as the dnb man at Radio 1), and now it looks like DJ Bailey's Radio 1Xtra replacement, Crissy Criss, is among a new crop of DJs who will be moved out to make way for new programming (which starts on September 1). Joining him are Nihal, Rob Da Bank, CJ Beatz, and others. Ben Cooper, the controller of BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, had this to say:

"It means I have had to make some tough choices and say goodbye to some friends and respected colleagues. I believe these new schedules continue to innovate, reflect and celebrate the UK's youth and music culture."

This means that there will be no specialist drum & bass program on 1Xtra, leaving Friction as the only BBC Radio 1 DJ specializing in dnb. What does that mean for the genre? Who knows. They did note that Skream will not only be a part of their growing Residency rotation, but he "moves to a new three-hour slot at 10pm Thursday." You can get the lowdown via BBC Newsbeat.

UPDATE Crissy has posted some words on the situation via Facebook:

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