Billain (born ''Adis Kutkut'') is a
Bosnian drum and bass
Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
producer,
DJ and
sound designer
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
from
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
. He is mostly known for his distinctive style within the
neurofunk
Neurofunk (also known informally as neuro) is a dark subgenre of drum and bass which emerged between 1997 and 1998 in London, England as a progression of techstep. It was further developed by juxtaposing elements of darker, heavier, and harder ...
genre and his collaborations with
Frenkie
Adnan Hamidović (born 31 May 1982), better known by his stage name Frenkie, is a Bosnian rapper from Tuzla. The themes present in his music are often concerned with the political situation in Bosnia, as well as traditional hip-hop subject matte ...
and
Edo Maajka
Edin Osmić (born 22 December 1978), better known by his stage name Edo Maajka, is a Bosnian rapper, record producer and songwriter. His popularity brought his group Disciplinska Komisija to the mainstream. He lives in Zagreb, Croatia, with his w ...
.
Career
Billain was influenced as a pre-teen by the
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
. During the four-year-long
Siege of Sarajevo
The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav ...
he began to draw and later discovered graffiti and created his first
hip hop productions.
In search of new possibilities to express his feelings originating in the siege, at first Billain taught himself how to produce techno music and later neurofunk. Before he released his first music, Billain joined the drum and bass collective ''Kontra'' which organised many drum and bass events in Sarajevo with Djs like ''
Matrix
Matrix most commonly refers to:
* ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise
** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film
** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...
& Optical'', ''
Teebee
Torgeir Byrknes, better known by his stage name Teebee, is a Norwegian DJ and producer of drum and bass. He also runs the record label Subtitles Recordings. Teebee began DJing in 1990 and released his first record in 1996. He won the Knowledge M ...
'', ''Stakka & Skynet'' and ''
Konflict
Konflict, also known under their separate artist names ''Kemal'' and ''Rob Data'', were a musical duo that composed drum and bass music, consisting of Kemal Okan and Robert Rodgers. Their music had a strong techno influence, and it was influenti ...
''. His music has been played on
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
and has been featured on
UKF Music
UKF is a record label founded by Luke Hood and AEI Group that focuses on promoting electronic music. UKF Music was created by Luke Hood, who began sharing bass music through his original two YouTube Channels, UKF Drum & Bass and UKF Dubstep, i ...
.
In 2014, Billain, alongside composer Sloven Anzulović, created and composed the sound design and music for the re-opening ceremony of the 1992 destroyed and now rebuilt
National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina (NUL) (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Nacionalna i univerzitetska biblioteka Bosne i Hercegovine'' / Национална и у ...
.
In 2018, Kutkut designed sounds for the movies
Pacific Rim Uprising
''Pacific Rim Uprising'' is a 2018 American science fiction film, science fiction Monster movie, monster film directed by Steven S. DeKnight (in his List of directorial debuts, feature-film directorial and writing debut), and written by DeKnig ...
and
Hunter Killer and created the soundtrack of the horror game
Scorn.
Billain also releases shortfilms about
technological singularity
The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical future point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization. According to the m ...
and
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
.
With his side project ''Aethek'', he drifts towards the genre of
Noise music
Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...
, only focusing on sound design instead of melody and rhythm.
Discography
Albums
* Nomad's Revenge (2019, Renraku Global Media)
* Lands Unbreached (2022, Renraku Global Media)
EPs
* Broken Universe EP (2010, Citrus Recordings), with ''Future Signal''
* Kontra EP (2011, Citrus Recordings)
* #DNA EP (2014, Fmjam Records), with ''
Frenkie
Adnan Hamidović (born 31 May 1982), better known by his stage name Frenkie, is a Bosnian rapper from Tuzla. The themes present in his music are often concerned with the political situation in Bosnia, as well as traditional hip-hop subject matte ...
''
* Colossus EP (2014, Bad Taste Recordings)
* Binary Volume 3 (2014,
Critical Music
Critical Music is a British independent record label based in north London, England. The label is the owned and run by DJ and producer Kasra Mowlavi and releases mostly Drum and bass records. Since it was started back in 2002, Critical Music ...
)
* Colonize EP (2015, Eatbrain)
* 1991 VG (2017, Renraku Global Media) as Aethek
Singles
* Rhyno / Intrusion (2008, Breed 12 Inches), ''Rhyno'' by ''Receptor''
* Glome / The Solution (2010, Fatality Recordings), ''The Solution'' by ''High Maintenance''
* Coded (2011, Close 2 Death Recordings), on ''Blood Money LP Part 1''
* Phalando / Away we go (2011, Close 2 Death Recordings), ''Away we go'' by ''Para''
* Pranksters / Li (2011, Citrus Recordings), ''Pranksters'' by ''Dabs''
* Probes / Horus 8 (2011, Syndrome Audio)
* Soulmatter (2011, Rise Audio), on ''Rise Audio EP''
* Total Darkness / Fiber Twist (2012, Rise Audio)
* God Ribs (2012, Rise Audio), on ''RA004 EP''
* Batbots / Manifold (2012, Bad Taste Recordings)
* Blockfield / Boogie (2013, Bad Taste Recordings)
* Supertensor / Equilateral (2013, Mindtech Recordings), ''Equilateral'' by ''Allied''
* Wizard (2014, Bad Taste Recordings), with ''
Teddy Killerz
Teddy Killerz are a Russian and Ukrainian electronic music group composed of Grigory Cherekaev, Anton Mashevsky and Oleg Cholovskyi. They also perform under their individual stage names as Garud, Place 2b, and Paimon (in respective order).
Tedd ...
'' on ''Machine Room Level Two''
* Device Nine (2014, Rise Audio), on ''RA010 EP''
* Safety Hatch (2015, Underslung Audio)
* Metal Jaws (2016, Bad Taste Recordings), on ''MethLab, Vol. 2''
* Specialist (2016, Inspected Records), on ''Glados EP''
* Vertebrae (2016, MethLab Recordings), on ''Monoleth 001 EP'' as Aethek
Remixes
* Krakpot (Billain Remix) (2012, Close 2 Death Recordings), original by ''
Optiv
Optiv Security, Inc. ("Optiv") is a privately owned information security company based in Denver, Colorado. Optiv is a solutions integrator that delivers end-to-end cybersecurity services globally.
Optiv has served more than 7,500 clients across 7 ...
''
* Half Life (Billain Remix) (2013, Civil Music), original by ''Reso'', released on ''Tangram Remixed''
* Paradox (Billain Remix) (2014, Vandal Records), original by ''Opsen & Primal Therapy''
* Ambers Love Was Like A Marble (Billain Remix) (2014,
Med School Music), original by ''
Rawtekk
Rawtekk (stylized as RAWTEƎKꓘ) is a German electronic music duo consisting of Stefan and Christine Westphal from Hamburg.
Apart from composing electronic music, they also produce music for commercial spots, image films and sound logos under ...
'', released on ''Sprouted and Reformed''
* Tetsuo's Redemption (Billain Remix) (2014,
Owsla
Owsla (stylized in all caps) is an American record label and creative collective. It was founded by Skrillex, Tim Smith, Kathryn Frazier, and Clayton Blaha in 2011. Skrillex announced the label on August 17, 2011. The label's first release was ...
), original by ''
KOAN Sound & Asa''
* Mantra (Billain Remix) (2016, Mindtech LTD), original by ''AKOV''
* Rethink (Billain Remix) (2016, Othercide Records), original by ''
Current Value
Tim Eliot, better known by his stage name Current Value, is a German Drum and bass, drum & bass Record producer, producer and Disc jockey, DJ. Eliot began dabbling in electronic music in 1992, when he got a Casio keyboard for Christmas. Several y ...
''
Productions
* Odličan CD (2005, Menart Records), album by ''
Frenkie
Adnan Hamidović (born 31 May 1982), better known by his stage name Frenkie, is a Bosnian rapper from Tuzla. The themes present in his music are often concerned with the political situation in Bosnia, as well as traditional hip-hop subject matte ...
''; production of ''Outro''
*
Stig'o ćumur (2006, Fmjam Records, Menart Records), album by ''
Edo Maajka
Edin Osmić (born 22 December 1978), better known by his stage name Edo Maajka, is a Bosnian rapper, record producer and songwriter. His popularity brought his group Disciplinska Komisija to the mainstream. He lives in Zagreb, Croatia, with his w ...
''; production of ''Sretno dijete'', ''Za Mirzu'', ''Blažena tišina'' and ''Severina/Fm Jam''
*
Štrajk mozga (2012, Fmjam Records, Menart Records), album by ''Edo Maajka''; production of ''Panika'', ''Facebook'', ''Imaš li ti šta para, RaTaTa / Moj Dj'' and ''Gube Se''
* Prodike (2014, JabbaTon Records), by ''Fil Tilen'' and ''
P Money
Paris Moore-Williams (born 8 April 1989), better known by his stage name P Money, is a British grime MC, rapper and songwriter from New Cross, South East London, who is also active in the drum and bass scene. He is best known for his live per ...
''
* Igra riječi (2014, Fmjam Records), album by ''Kontra''; production of ''Velepodaja''
* Reexperience (2015, Fmjam Records, Menart Records), album by ''Frenkie''; production of ''Film'', ''S.C.A.'', ''Izgubljeni snovi'', ''Mali od Ede'' and ''Gdje god su moji''
Shortmovies
* Assembly (2014)
* Fugitive (2022)
Sound Design
*
Pacific Rim Uprising
''Pacific Rim Uprising'' is a 2018 American science fiction film, science fiction Monster movie, monster film directed by Steven S. DeKnight (in his List of directorial debuts, feature-film directorial and writing debut), and written by DeKnig ...
(2018), ''additional synth programming''
*
Hunter Killer (2018), ''additional synth programming''
*
Scorn (2018), ''soundtrack and additional sound design''
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Drum and bass musicians
Sound designers
Club DJs
Musicians from Sarajevo
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)