Artist Of The Week: Nero

Photograph: Nero

No production team quite matches the zeitgeist of electronic dance music like Nero. The London based trio have been forging a unique sound in dance and bass culture since 2004, four years after that point really stepping up their output to deliver some of the biggest dance tracks not just nationally, but on a global scale.

The Nero story starts in Northwood, London, with childhood friends Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray. With both of them showing a keen interest and talent in music at a young age, using computers to put together tunes in their spare time, the duo teamed when they were seventeen to build a studio so they could make music. The primary goal was to expand on their jungle influences and their obsession with the London superclub Fabric.

Nero - Raggapuffin (2005)

The duo found a home for their intense liquid drum 'n' bass in the shape of Reformed records in 2005. Boasting an angsty, intense, frenetic sound, the duo released a number of scorchers that led to them achieving some serious recognition amongst their peers. Upping the tempo to breakneck speeds and the synth levels to deafening decibels, their caustic sound was being devoured by hungry deebee heads around the country.

But it was their move to Audio Phreaks in 2008 that really marked their arrival on the scene. The label responsible for some of the biggest and dirtiest dubstep snapped up Nero as they slowed down the pace and turned up the bass.

Nero - This Way (2008)

Game changing tune ‘This Way’ hit a chord with the dubstep uprising at the end of 2008 and led to the dancefloors going skank crazy in response. Whilst it was their second trip into the slowed down half time world of dubstep, the track introduced the vocal talents of Alana Watson to great effect. To this day Alana remains an integral part of Nero's sound, becoming the third component of the group.

Maintaining their slick irreverent production style, the trio went on to wade between jump up drum 'n' bass and weighty dubstep releases, all the while building on a reputation that had them pinned as one of the hottest production teams in the underground. With more releases and an ever increasing touring schedule, the London based duo were brought to the attention of industry heavyweights Chase & Status, they themselves leading exponents of the drum 'n' bass and dubstep crossover into the mainstream.

From then on there was no stopping Nero, who now boasted a slew of rapturously received records under their belts and an ever growing fanbase, alongside support from the likes of Radio One's Zane Lowe and DJing superstars like Skrillex. But it was their next release that was to cement their status at the top of the pecking order.

Nero - Promises (Skrillex and Nero remix)

'Promises' was released as the fourth release from their debut album, 'Welcome Reality', which incidentally went in at number one on the albums charts - proving itself to be crammed with hits. The song debuted at number one on the UK singles chart, becoming the group's first chart-topping single.

'Promises' was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award in the category of Best Contemporary Song, and most notably, upon remix with Skrillex, won a Grammy Award earlier this year. This lead to their conquering of America as well continuing to slay Europe, with them headlining at events such as Electric Daisy Carnival, Global Gathering, Pukkelpop, and V Festival amongst others.

However it's their appearance at Brighton's Shakedown Festival that has us most excited. The seaside festival is one of the most popular events in the south of England and has a line up crammed with the biggest names in the pop world. This is the last festival Nero will be playing in the UK this season, and if you've not caught them in the festival setting, check out their appearance at Radio One's Big Weekend below to get a feel for their powerhouse performances. Head here for Shakedown tickets.

Nero - Guilt Live @ Radio One's Big Weekend

Succesfully bridging the gap between pop music, drum 'n' bass and dubstep, Nero continue to lead the world in popular dance music, keeping things edgey whilst maintaing the sort of cutting edge savvy that has made them the success they are today. 

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