Noisia are really a class act. Without changing their uncompromising sound they’ve achieved commercial success beyond the imagining of many of their peers. They’ve produced for Korn, remixed Deadmau5 and Labrinth ft. Tinie Tempah, scored 3 hours of original music for a soon to be announced triple-A video game, had their tracks used on trailers for blockbusters such as Transformers 3 and released a special edition of their debut album ‘Split The Atom’ on mau5trap, one of the biggest independent labels in the world.
Throughout these career highlights the Dutch trio have managed to do something that not many artists can claim. Noisia always produce floor-shaking, ribcage-rattling drum & bass, dubstep and electro that is forever fresh and exciting, without holding to the same formula time and again. The ‘Imperial’ EP exemplifies this. At once a step back into their drum & bass roots, with all four tracks clocking in over 170bpm, but exuding fresh ideas and sounds with the expert precision you’ve come to expect from everything Noisia turn their hands to.
Noisia team up with long-term collaborators Phace on the title track. ‘Imperial’ is a statement of intent. Intensely edited loops are punctuated with sparse beats and a deliciously different build-up before a drop that’s harder than a bag of D&B nails.
‘Tryhard’ does anything but as Noisia effortlessly roll out more of their incredible sound. Paranoid synth plucks lead to frantic drums and a bassline that could strip wallpaper. Reminiscent of late-‘90s drum & bass but with modern production values and classic Noisia trademarks.
New Vision signing The Upbeats get involved with ‘Dustup,’ a track those with a keen ear will have heard on the Noisia Invites aftermovie. Packed with pounding drums and interspersed shouts underlain with a wall of bass that doesn’t let up the pace from start to finish this is an out-and-out dance floor killer
Finally Noisia close the EP with ‘Containment,’ starting out a washing-synth vision of some other world, as the intro progresses you’re pulled along by skipping beats and jabs of bass before this world is torn apart by interstellar war! Shrapnel-sharp drums are paired with explosive basslines and enough power to destroy a large planet.
1: Noisia & Phace - Imperial
3. Noisia & The Upbeats - Dustup
Release Date: 16th May 2012
Preview track below: NOISIA & THE UPBEATS - DUSTUP
