KOAN Sound ( ; named after the word ''

kōan A (; , ; ko, 화두, ; vi, công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen. Etymology The Japanese term is the Sino-J ...

'') is an English electronic music production duo from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, consisting of Will Weeks and Jim Bastow. A track from the ''Max Out EP'' is titled "One Hand Clap" – a reference to a well-known ''kōan'' with the implied answer of silence. They initially gained recognition as

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

producers, with earlier popular tracks including "Akira". Some of their many types of music includes glitch hop, neurohop, and Drum & Bass. The duo have since released music on various labels including Inspected Records and

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 ...

, and have worked with a number of other artists, including producer Asa and singer

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

Career

The duo cite bands such as

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...

and

Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...

as early influences. In 2005 the duo began to explore

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

through artists such as The Prodigy and

Noisia Noisia (stylised as NOISIΛ; "VISION" turned upside down) was a Dutch electronic music trio consisting of members Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger from Groningen, Netherlands. They produce a wide variety of music including ...

. On 23 May 2011, KOAN Sound released the ''Max Out EP''. The release was seen by many as a turning point in their production, gradually moving away from the

template of their earlier music and displaying a wider range of styles. On 1 November 2011, the duo released the ''Funk Blaster EP'' on

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead si ...

's label

. The EP reached number 1 in the

Beatport Beatport is an American electronic music-oriented online music store owned by LiveStyle. The company is based in Denver, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Beatport is oriented primarily towards DJs, selling full songs as well as resources that can be u ...

releases category. During 2012, KOAN Sound performed across Europe and North America. They supported

alongside Diplo and others on the ''Full Flex Express Tour'' in 2012. On 4 September 2012, ''The Adventures of Mr. Fox EP'' was released. The release includes remixes from Reso, Neosignal and Opiuo. A remix of "Introvert" by Vexisle, a duo of KOAN Sound's frequent collaborator Asa and Kursa, was released soon after as a free download. The EP track "80s Fitness" (music video by director Tim Hendrix and producer Filippo Nesci) featured on an advert for ''

The Radio 1 Breakfast Show ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week until February 1968 (seBBC Genome Project, then fi ...

'' with Nick Grimshaw and received airplay 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

1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been co ...

. Their songs have been played by

Skream Oliver Dene Jones (born 1 June 1986), known as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream was an early and influential exponent of the dubstep genre. After producing several singles, he released his first full-len ...

and

Benga Benga may refer to: Ethnonym * Benga people, an indigenous ethnic group of Equatorial Guinea * Benga language, spoke by the Benga people * Benga music, a genre of music originating in Kenya Places Romania * ''Benga'', the old name of Mo ...

MistaJam Peter Dalton (born 19 January 1983), known professionally as MistaJam, is a British DJ and radio presenter. He is known for presenting radio shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra from 2005 to 2020; since 2020 he has presented on Capital and ...

and Annie Nightingale among others, and they completed a ''Daily Dose: OWSLA After Dark'' mix for MistaJam. On 22 October 2013, the duo's collaboration EP with Asa, ''Sanctuary'', was released through OWSLA and Inspected. This was considered to be another turning point in their production, where they began to incorporate more orchestral, organic and ethereal elements in their music, as well as releasing various tracks that sounded almost completely acoustic. Their fourth OWSLA release, the ''Dynasty'' EP, was released on 1 April 2014. One of the four tracks, "7th Dimension", entered the

UK Indie Breakers Chart The UK Independent Singles Breakers Chart and the UK Independent Album Breakers Chart are music charts based on UK sales of singles and albums released on independent record labels by musical artists who have never made the UK top 20. It is com ...

at number 12. Their fifth release, ''Forgotten Myths,'' was released in 2015 through Culprate's Open Outlets label and Shoshin. Their sixth release, an album titled ''Polychrome,'' was announced on 1 November 2018 and released on 7 December 2018. On 20 September 2019, they became a featured artist on the rhythm game ''

osu! ''Osu!'' (stylized as ''osu!'') is a free-to-play rhythm game primarily developed, published, and created by Dean "peppy" Herbert. Inspired by iNiS' rhythm game ''Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan'', it was written in C Sharp (programming language), C# ...

''.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other appearances

Remixes

References

{{Authority control English electronic music duos Musical groups established in 2008 Dubstep music groups Owsla artists Musical groups from Bristol