Remember when everybody was remixing Skrillex’s Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites? Seems like so long ago, but while browsing through my iTunes library I came across the Nosia remix, which has a production value that’s leagues above all the other remixes filling my hard drive. The drums were so clean; the drum ‘n’ bass rhythm so fresh and crisp. So naturally I asked myself, “what makes this group Noisia so good at production?”
What I found was that if you’re any fan of Drum ‘n’ Bass, Dubstep, or Techstep, Noisia should be in your vocabulary. In fact, you should be ashamed if you’re not following them on Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter and Beatport. From Groningen in The Netherlands (those damn Dutch), this trio of musicians has been producing some of the most well thought out Drum ‘N’ Bass out there, earning them awards such as Best Tech DJ, Best Producers, and Best Drum&Bass artist for 2009-2010 at multiple award ceremonies around the world (including Beatport).
But who are the masterminds behind NOISIΛ (vision spelled backwards for all you peeps that love symbolism)? The group was started by Nik Roos and Thijs de Vlieger. After a man by the name of Martijn van Sonderen played classical piano for a bunch of collaborations, he was fully brought onto the Nosia team. Then in 2003, the group had their first record out on SLR called “Tomohawk”. Fast forward two more years and Nosia had created their own label called Vision Recordings solely for Drum ‘n’ Bass. Do that one more time and in 2007, Nosia’s label for Electro, Dubstep, Breakbeat and House productions was formed: Division Recordings. 2010 rolls around and Noisia decided to create their label Invisible Recordings for experimental Drum ‘n’ Bass. But what about 2011-2012? Well, it comes as no surprise that they’re using their talents to aid video gamers across the world with road rage. (Aside from Motorstorm Apocalypse their tracks have also been featured in WipeOut, Guitar Hero and Devil May Cry.)
However, Noisia’s success isn’t based off of their three (count em, three) successful labels but rather their skill in production. With Drum ‘n’ bass as their main niche, Noisia has produced remixes for Moby, Deadmau5, and The Prodigy, just to name a few. They’ve had releases on numerous labels including Mau5trap (check out their special edition of Split the Atom below) and they’ve played just about everywhere from Los Angelas to Tokyo and Berlin. Oh and the best part? They’ll be performing in Mountain View tomorrow.
P.S Almost all of their artwork is done by Nik. Be sure to check out their website for all the latest updates!
