Subset Festival

We’re living in a world where genres are becoming progressively meaningless. Thanks to the advent of the MP3 and streaming age everyone listens to everything and the music actually being made is becoming more interesting, reckless and experimental as a result. One of the bands who genuinely get that these barriers between tribes are breaking down is a British and Australian band called Pendulum. These guys made the quite frankly genius realisation that the aggression and intensity of a heavy metal how isn’t that far removed from the anything goes anarchy of a rave, and decided to make music that combined the two extremes as best they could.

The band began with Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, two musicians who’d performed in a number of heavy metal bands between them. Both men were already fans of most forms of electronica, but only Swire knew how to create it on his laptop. So while he and McGrillen were playing in the band Xygen together, he decided to teach McGrillen how to make drum and bass tunes using only basic production software. The duo found that they had a lot of chemistry creating music together and formed Pendulum as a DJ act, but soon after they began performing in clubs together they were joined by Paul Harding to make the nascent band a trio.

2003 saw the release of their first single “Vault”, and with that they were signed to Breakbeat Kaos, a record label based in London, England. Riding a wave of genuine hype for their sound and their apocalyptic live shows, they released their debut album “Hold Your Colour” in 2005, which charted in the U.K and was a genuine hit in Australia, being certified Gold with aplomb. With their burgeoning success, the trio expanded to a sextet in order to perform with a full band, drafting in a guitarist, drummer and MC while Swire sung lead vocals, McGrillen played the bass guitar and Harding stayed behind a set of decks.

Ever since then, the band have been one of the most impressive live bands around. Three years into their career and they were able to play enormous shows at Glastonbury, T In The Park, Bestival and Download Festivals along with their own headline concerts at venues like the 12’000 capacity Wembley Arena. They also saw a great degree of commercial success, with their third album “Immersion” peaking at number one on the U.K album charts and going platinum in the same country. Their singles “Granite” and “Watercolour” were top ten hits there as well, and though they might be on hiatus currently, you can bet that when they return they’ll still be blowing the roof off every venue they play. Highly recommended.

Despite being active as a producer since 2003, Nick began to receive attention in the industry when his early release 'X Ray' topped the UK Dance charts and charted at #60 on the single charts in 2005. He continued to produce and record after this music and his 2007 singles 'Time Warp' and 'Rock It' topped the dance charts once again with the latter managing to break into the UK top 40 at #38. Before the release of his debut album he continued to build his reputation by remixing songs from dance heavyweights such as The Prodigy, Deadmau5, Empire of the Sun and Dizzee Rascal.

His debut self titled album was released in October 2009 through RAM Records and included a number of early singles along with new material. The following two singles 'Could This Be Real' and 'Splash' both peaked just outside the top 40 singles chart at #41. In 2010, Sub Focus was a support act for Australian drum & bass band Pendulum on their UK tour to promote their third album Immersion which gained him a greater exposure. The follow up album 'Torus' charted a lot better, peaking at #1 on the UK Dance chart and #11 on the UK album charts. It featured an impressive five top forty singles including his highest chart place to date at #10 with 'Endorphins' featuring Alex Clare.

Sub Focus became a massive name on the UK festival circuit, following the success of 'Torus' he headlined the Radio 1 Dance stage at the Reading and Leeds Festivals 2013. He also put in performances at Glastonbury, Bestival, Isle Of Wight and Global Gathering that summer. The continued support of Radio 1 amassed in him headlining the first Radio 1 Xtra Live event in Bournemouth in October 2013 before embarking on his largest headline tour to date.

His stage name he created actually refers to the computer virus also called 'Netsky', which is where he got the inspiration from, as he is quite a quirky character.

Daenen produces music that relates to what is known as the liquid funky style, drum and bass music genre, it includes the use of instrumental and vocal context to his music and he said High Contrast's remix of "Gold Digger" was a 'major influence on him', that links to his style of music and the genre he is involved in.

In 2009 Netsky signed with Hospital Records, which bands such as "High Contrast" and "London Elektricity" were also signed to alongside him at the time. He also went on to win a nomination as "Best Upcoming Producer" within months of his first release at the "Drum + Bass Arena Awards", which made his popularity grow as he became a more well known figure in the industry.

The record label “Hospital Records” who he was signed to at the time released his self-titled album in 2010, and his second album called "Title 2" was then released in 2012 with the labbel. The newer album includes three singles and a deluxe edition that was later released with the fourth single called "We Can Only Live Today (Puppy)".

He started his own live project in 2012 that he made himself, which he referred to as the "Netsky LIVE! Show" with a full band he has toured with and done work with since then, which he announced at Hospitality Brixton.The band includes member’s 'BABL' who is the keyboard player, alongside their drummer 'Michael Schack' and what's known as the master of ceremony 'Script MC'.

Both Rietsch and Wagner have been active as producers since 2002 yet they formed the duo now known as Camo & Krooked after meeting at one of Rietsch's gigs in 2007. Their first collaboration was the track 'Play It' from Camo's 2007 single 'Drop It' and things simply escalated from there.

The real turning point for the duo can be traced back to the release of 2010 EP 'Edge of Mind' which received international support from huge renowned DJs such as Pendulum and Grooverider. They picked up the accolade of Best Newcomer DJs at the 2010 Drum & Bass Arena Awards and their reputation on the scene appeared to be cemented as one of the most exciting new acts.

They continued to experiment with a minimal techno and house music sound and released another EP entitled 'Pulse Of Time' which gained support from further celebrated artists including Andy C, Subfocus and High Contrast. 'Cross The Line' was released in the UK in 2011 and achieved moderate commercial success, breaking the top 200 of the albums chart. It was the duo's relentless appearances on the festival circuit that summer which helped build their fan base substantially and brought their music to new audiences.

They released the follow-up 'Zeitgeist' in 2013 and have continued to develop new material and sounds. They have also remixed music for a high calibre of artist including London Grammar, Lana Del Rey and even Jefferson Airplane. The future appears to be very exciting for the young duo as their reputation and skill mounts at a lightning pace.

Hailing from London, England, Mundell began making music in 2007, debuting with the track “Your World” released on Intrinsic Records. Following the release, the producer formed a relationship with the Liverpool-based drum and bass label Viper Recordings who would release all of his music until 2013. In 2008 Metrik issued the singles “Moving On / Stranger” and “Technicolour / Zero Gravity”, and a year later the singles “Sunset / Forward Approach” and “Time To Change”, which despite proving popular in some circles failed to raise the profile of the young musician.

The following year however, with the release of the EP “The Departure” Mundell enjoyed his greatest success to date. Led by the recognisable single “T-1000”, the record hosts contributions from techno producers Christian Smith and John Selway as well as the Welsh electronic artist Jan Burton. 2010 also marked the the start of Mundell’s remixing career, notably crafting remixes of Funkstar Deluxe’s “Do You Feel” and Skepta vs. N-Dubz’s “So Alive”.

In 2011 the producer issued his sophomore EP “Between Worlds” featuring the singles “T-2000” and “I See You”, the latter of which with vocalist Kathy Brown. The free-download EP “Flightwave” followed in 2012, spawning the single “Engine Room” and “Freefall / Drift”, which marked Mundell’s final releases on Viper Recordings. In November 2012, the producer signed with independent drum and bass heavy weight Hospital Records, who issued his fourth, self-titled EP in 2013. The musician subsequently collaborated with Camo & Krooked on the track “Aurora”, before returning to the studio to record his debut full-length album.

Ahead of his highly-anticipated debut, Metrik issued the single “Want My Love” featuring Elisabeth Troy. It was Mundell’s first charting single, peaking at No. 61 on the UK Single Chart and No. 31 on the UK Dance Chart. The full-length “Universal Language” was released in September 2014, peaking at No. 13 on the UK Dance Chart and spawning the subsequent hit “Human Again” with vocals from Jan Burton.