Flite

Justin Hawkes, formerly known on records as Flite, is an American producer and DJ working in drum and bass, drumstep, dubstep and liquid funk. He was born in Virginia and currently lives in Colorado, USA.

Hawkes launched his Flite alias in 2013 with the single "Blue Spark." He followed that debut with the 2014 release "Featherfall," which received support on BBC Radio 1. In 2017 he issued the EP The Cure on Liquicity Records. Over the course of the Flite period he released music on labels including Liquicity, and later appeared on labels such as Hospital Records and Monstercat. In 2020 he began releasing under his own name, Justin Hawkes.

As a producer, Hawkes works across several bass-driven formats. His output sits between liquid-style melody and bass-weighted halftime approaches: expect clear, melody-forward arrangements when the material leans liquid funk, and deeper, processed low-end textures when it moves toward drumstep or dubstep. Production techniques evident across his catalogue include tight break editing and emphasis on clean transient shaping for drums, layered pads and atmospherics to carry chord movement, and focused sub-bass or mid-bass design to anchor drops. He mixes elements associated with liquid (sustained harmonic content and vocal-style leads) alongside bass-production techniques drawn from dubstep and drumstep.

Key career markers are concrete: the 2013 debut "Blue Spark"; BBC Radio 1 support for "Featherfall" in 2014; the 2017 The Cure EP on Liquicity; subsequent releases on Hospital Records and Monstercat; and the transition to issuing music as Justin Hawkes beginning in 2020. Those placements and the BBC Radio 1 play are verifiable touchpoints that show his presence across both trade labels and broader electronic outlets.

Public information on Hawkes’s stated personal influences is limited. What is documented is a clear release history under the Flite name (2013–2019 era releases and label placements) and a shift to using his given name from 2020 onward while based in Colorado.