Noisia (stylised as NOISIΛ; "VISION" turned upside down)
was a Dutch
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 ( electroac ...
trio consisting of members Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger from
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
, Netherlands. They produce a wide variety of music including
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
breakbeat
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...
and
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
. They have released music under several labels including
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
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 ...
,
deadmau5
Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produces ...
's
mau5trap
Mau5trap (stylized as mau5trap; pronounced "mousetrap") is an independent Canadian record label founded in 2007 by electronic music producer Deadmau5. The label was formerly a vanity label, hosting releases through labels such as Ultra Music, V ...
and
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
's
Roc Nation
Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...
. Noisia previously combined with the group
Foreign Beggars
Foreign Beggars were an English hip hop and dubstep group. Since their formation in 2002, the group's trajectory had seen them evolve from an underground hip hop group to an electronic crossover act. The group consisted of four artists individ ...
to form the
supergroup side project ''I Am Legion''. They released their collaborative ''
self-titled album'' on 2 September 2013. Noisia also have production credits under the pseudonym Nightwatch, such as for their work with
Alexis Jordan
Alexis Jordan (born April 7, 1992) is an American singer and actress from Columbia, South Carolina. Jordan rose to fame as a contestant on the first season of ''America's Got Talent'' in 2006 at the age of 14. After being eliminated from the sho ...
,
Hadouken!,
Wiley
Wiley may refer to:
Locations
* Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town
* Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S.
* Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany
People
* Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer
* Wiley Mil ...
and
Wretch 32
Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The M ...
.
They produced Hadouken!'s album ''
For the Masses
''For the Masses'' is a 1998 tribute album to the British band Depeche Mode, specifically the works of Martin Gore. The album charted in America and reached the Top 20 in Germany, making it the most successful Depeche Mode tribute album of all ...
'' that charted at number 19 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
.
Noisia have also produced numerous works for video games, notably a soundtrack for ''
DmC: Devil May Cry'', a ''
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Music Kit in 2014, and an original game soundtrack for the 2.5D multiplayer game ''Armajet''.
Career
2003–06: Record deals and formation
After a few collaborations with Martijn, who had been involved in music (hip hop production/classical piano) for quite a while before he joined Nik and Thijs, Martijn was added to the Noisia team. The first Noisia song that received interest from a label (Mayhem's Shadow Law Recordings) was found on a production message board. February 2003 saw the birth of the recording that was going to be the first Noisia release: "Tomahawk" by Noisia & Mayhem on Paul Reset's Nerve Recordings imprint. "Silicon" / "Tomahawk" was released in August 2003. For a time between 2005 and 2009, Noisia also released tracks as Drifter, encompassing
liquid funk, as well as releasing an EP under the name Hustle Athletics on Love Break Recordings. They later decided to go back to releasing all their music under the name Noisia so as to not confuse the audience and to avoid being pigeonholed into different genres with different names.
Noisia have released music on major drum & bass labels such as
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 ...
's Subtitles,
Goldie
Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ.
Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in t ...
's
Metalheadz
Metalheadz is a drum and bass record label based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1994 by Kemistry & Storm and Goldie.
History
Origins
Goldie's early experiences of the rave scene, especially the club ''Rage'' had a profound effect on ...
, Rob Playford's
Moving Shadow
Moving Shadow is an English breakbeat hardcore, jungle and drum and bass record label which was founded in 1990 by Rob Playford.
History
The label began in 1990, operating from Playford's Stevenage home. Playford had become a focal point for ...
,
RAM Records
RAM Records is an independent record label established in 1992 by Andy C with the help of his friend Ant Miles. It specialises in drum and bass.
The label and business is run by Andy C and business partner Scott Bourne (Red One). Ram Records ...
, Virus Recordings, Hospital Records, and Renegade Hardware. The Dutch collective has also received extensive 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, ...
. Eventually,
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
showed interest in working with Noisia, asking them to remix his cover of
Manu Chao
Manu Chao (; born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao on 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish singer. He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek, and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his mu ...
's "
Bongo Bong and Je ne t'aime plus
"Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus" (English: "I Don't Love You Anymore") are two pop songs originally written and performed by Manu Chao. In 2006, the songs were combined into one track and covered by British singer Robbie Williams. The track wa ...
", which they turned into a
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
track released on the major record label
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
. The Noisia remix of
Moby
Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
's "
Alice" has also been released to critical acclaim.
2007–09: Commercial breakthrough and productions
Early 2007 saw the release of
Tasha Baxter
Tasha Baxter (born 2 July 1981) is a South African singer-songwriter. Baxter won "Newcomer of the Year" and "Best Pop Album" at the 14th South African Music Awards for her album "Colour Of Me".
Baxter is most well known for her debut solo studi ...
's ''Colour of Me'', an album entirely produced by Noisia. They met Baxter and bandmate Andre Scheepers on the internet, and the two-member band was signed to EMI South Africa. It took more than a year to complete the project, the end product being a pop-oriented album influenced by
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
and
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 ...
. In June 2008, they released ''
FabricLive.40'', a mix CD on the
Fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
label that includes many of their own tracks. Noisia completed a remix of "
Omen" for
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...
to accompany its release in February 2009. In mid-2009, Noisia produced
Hadouken!'s second album ''
For the Masses
''For the Masses'' is a 1998 tribute album to the British band Depeche Mode, specifically the works of Martin Gore. The album charted in America and reached the Top 20 in Germany, making it the most successful Depeche Mode tribute album of all ...
'', released in 2010 which entered the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
at number 19.
They have also officially remixed
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 "
Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
''Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites'' is the second extended play (EP) by American electronic music producer Skrillex. It was released exclusively through Beatport on October 22, 2010 through mau5trap and Big Beat Records, while being released on ...
", as well as
deadmau5
Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produces ...
's "
Raise Your Weapon
"Raise Your Weapon" is a song by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5 featuring vocals from Faroese singer Greta Svabo Bech. It was released on May 23, 2011 as the fifth and final single from his fifth studio album ''4×4=12''. The song w ...
".
2010–15: ''Split the Atom'' and other ventures
Noisia's debut studio album ''
Split the Atom'' was released on 5 April 2010. The first single from the album, "Machine Gun", was released on 8 March 2010.
The second single from the album, "Split the Atom", was released on 25 July 2010. On 27 February 2012, Noisia released a special edition of their album ''
Split the Atom'' on
deadmau5
Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produces ...
's acclaimed label
mau5trap
Mau5trap (stylized as mau5trap; pronounced "mousetrap") is an independent Canadian record label founded in 2007 by electronic music producer Deadmau5. The label was formerly a vanity label, hosting releases through labels such as Ultra Music, V ...
, alongside 2012 remixes from the likes of
Munchi,
Kill the Noise and
Loadstar. In later 2012, Noisia also remixed Mark Knight's track, "Nothing Matters", and also "
Smack My Bitch Up
"Smack My Bitch Up" is a song by English rave group The Prodigy. It was released in November 1997 as the third and final single from their third album, ''The Fat of the Land'' (1997). In 2013, ''Mixmag'' readers voted it the third greatest danc ...
" for
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...
for the re-release of ''
The Fat of the Land
''The Fat of the Land'' is the third studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy, released on 30 June 1997 through XL Recordings. The album received critical acclaim and topped the UK Albums Chart and the US ''Billboard'' 200. I ...
''.
Noisia have also written music for short films as well as various video games, including ''
Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition'', ''
Wipeout Pulse
''Wipeout Pulse'' (stylised as ''wipEout pulse'') is a futuristic racing video game developed by Studio Liverpool and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable. It was released in December 2007 in Australia and Euro ...
'', ''
Wipeout HD __NOTOC__
Wipe out or wipeout may refer to:
Media Music
* "Wipe Out" (instrumental), a 1963 hit surf-rock song by The Surfaris
** ''Wipe Out'' (album), the 1963 album containing the song
Television
* ''Wipeout'' (1988 game show), an American t ...
'', and ''
Wipeout HD Fury''. They also produced "The Tide", which was featured on ''
Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2
''Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2'', sometimes abbreviated as ''Universe 2'', is a music video game for the North American Xbox 360. Published by Konami
, is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered i ...
'' and "Stigma" was used in the intro of ''
Gran Turismo PSP''. Their song "Groundhog" was featured twice in ''
DJ Hero
''DJ Hero'' is a music video game, developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision as a rhythm game spin-off of the '' Guitar Hero'' franchise. It was released on October 27, 2009 in North America and on October 29, 2009 in Europe. The g ...
'', first as a mashup with
Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...
's "
Ace of Spades '08" then later as a beat juggle by the
Scratch Perverts
The Scratch Perverts are a collective of turntablist DJs from London, formed in 1996 by Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts and DJ Renegade.
World DMC team champions in both 1999 and 2001. Additionally Prime Cuts won 2 consecutive ITF World Scratching tit ...
. A remixed version of "Groundhog" can also be found in the soundtrack of ''
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift''. The group also collaborated with
Klaus Badelt
Klaus Badelt (born 12 June 1967) is a German composer, producer, and arranger of film scores. He is known for his collaborations with Hans Zimmer, helping to write scores for dozens of critically acclaimed films including '' The Thin Red Line'', ...
to provide a series of remixes for the ''
MotorStorm: Apocalypse'' soundtrack. The
16bit remix of "Machine Gun" was featured in the "Stranded" Trailer for the video game ''
Far Cry 3
''Far Cry 3'' is a 2012 first-person shooter game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the third main installment in the '' Far Cry'' series after '' Far Cry 2''. The game takes place on the fictional Rook Islands, a ...
'', and "Could This Be" and "Machine Gun" were used on ''
SSX''. Noisia worked alongside Ninja Theory and produced over three hours' worth of music for them and their ''
DmC: Devil May Cry'' reboot; the 36-track soundtrack was released through Division on 15 January 2013.
Noisia curate two record labels:
Vision Recordings is intended for their
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 ...
work, including collaborations with other producers in the genre, such as
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 ...
, Mayhem, or
MC Verse. Vision's sister label Division Recordings is an outlet for their output in other genres such as
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
and
grime
Grime may refer to:
* Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust
* Grime (music genre), a genre of music
* ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity
* ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game
* "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...
. Invisible Recordings was launched in March 2010 focusing on experimental drum and bass, and was closed in 2019.
I Am Legion
I Am Legion is a
supergroup formed by Noisia and the British hip hop group
Foreign Beggars
Foreign Beggars were an English hip hop and dubstep group. Since their formation in 2002, the group's trajectory had seen them evolve from an underground hip hop group to an electronic crossover act. The group consisted of four artists individ ...
. They released their eponymous debut album ''
I Am Legion'' on 2 September 2013, following the singles "Make Those Move" and "Choosing For You".
2015–2018: ''Outer Edges''
On 10 June 2016, Noisia announced that the title of their second studio album was to be ''Outer Edges'' (2016), and released its lead single, "Anomaly", via digital retailers. On 30 June, "Collider" was released as the second single from the album, in the form of a promotional video. The same day, the album's track listing and pre-order were made available, and the release date announced as 16 September 2016. On the press release, the trio claim that the title was chosen because "all the songs are little islands that we take to their individual edge". The trio were notified that the album appeared online on 29 July 2016 just ten minutes before they premiered a brand new audio visual show at Let It Roll festival in Czech Republic. On 1 August 2016 official statement from the group was released that the album will be available on digital platforms on 5 August 2016. CD, vinyl and merchandise come out as originally planned in September same year.
2019–2022: Split and final album ''Closer''
On 17 September 2019, Noisia confirmed they would be splitting at the end of 2020, citing creative differences. They expressed a desire to continue releasing music until the end of the year, along with a farewell tour, and that they hoped to continue to work together on occasion. The group later postponed and expanded their farewell tour into 2021, citing the COVID-19 pandemic. On 3 June 2020, they became a featured artist in 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# ...
, meaning that some of their songs are now licensed and free to use in the game.
In the same year, the debut studio album ''
Killjoy
Killjoy may refer to:
Characters
* Killjoy, in Charlton Comics' ''E-Man'' series
* Killjoy, in the video game ''Valorant''
* Killjoy, in the Marvel Comics series '' Weapon P.R.I.M.E.''
* Killjoy, in the movie ''The Ice Pirates''
* Dr. Killjoy, i ...
'' by
Fox Stevenson
Stanley Stevenson Byrne (born 25 January 1993), better known by his stage name Fox Stevenson (formerly Stan SB / Stan SSB), is an English singer-songwriter, DJ and producer of bass music, mostly drum and bass and glitch hop. He has released t ...
, was released on 18 October 2019 with 11 out of 13 tracks were co-produced by Noisia (as Nightwatch) and
Fox Stevenson
Stanley Stevenson Byrne (born 25 January 1993), better known by his stage name Fox Stevenson (formerly Stan SB / Stan SSB), is an English singer-songwriter, DJ and producer of bass music, mostly drum and bass and glitch hop. He has released t ...
himself.
New side projects and aliases from the members have began releasing records since the announcement of the split; notably solo projects from both de Vlieger and Roos titled Thys and Sleepnet, respectively; and Body Ocean - a house duo consisting of Roos and The Upbeats' Jeremy Glenn. In 2020, de Vlieger acknowledged on Twitter his involvement in ILY - a duo consisting of himself and
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 ...
. Although no original records have been released currently, the duo previously performed an impromptu DJ set at OOST in February 2020.
On 26 November 2020, Bandai Namco Arts Channel on YouTube uploaded a video, "Obsolete - Opening Music Video", for their YouTube originals anime series, started airing on 3 December 2019. with music by Skrillex and Nik Roos (as Nightwatch).
On 28 April 2022, Noisia announced one final album called "Closer", which represents all the different directions they enjoyed exploring. Also on August 21, 2022, they played together for the last time before splitting up definitely.
Awards
In 2015, Noisia won multiple awards at the Drum&BassArena Awards, including 'Best Producer', a collab with the Upbeats on 'Best Track' (Dead Limit) and 'Best Live Act'.
In 2016, Noisia again won multiple awards at the Drum&BassArena Awards, including 'Best Video' (Mantra), 'Best Album' (Outer Edges) and 'Best Producer'.
Discography
* ''
Split the Atom'' (2010)
* ''
I Am Legion'' (with
Foreign Beggars
Foreign Beggars were an English hip hop and dubstep group. Since their formation in 2002, the group's trajectory had seen them evolve from an underground hip hop group to an electronic crossover act. The group consisted of four artists individ ...
) (2013)
* ''
Outer Edges
Outer Edges is the third studio album by Dutch electronic trio, Noisia. Outer Edges was released on 5 August 2016, by Noisia's own Electronic dance music, electronic music record label Vision Recordings. Outer Edges was later followed up by a 20-so ...
'' (2016)
* ''Closer'' (2022)
References
External links
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 2000
Breakbeat music groups
Drum and bass music groups
Dutch DJs
Dutch drum and bass musicians
Dutch electronic music groups
Dutch house music groups
Mau5trap artists
Moombahcore musicians
Musical groups from Groningen (city)
Record production trios
Roc Nation artists
21st-century Dutch musicians
Electronic dance music DJs