Music

Background Noise • 25th July 2022

Astronox Music & Arts Gathering: Reflections On The Impressive 2021 Event and A Promising Look Forward to 2022

Tucked away within the Texas drylands an hour west of Austin, the second edition of Astronox unfolded its festive wings. Since its inception in 2019, the multi-day gathering provides an imaginative space for communities drawn to the niche realms of downtempo, world, glitch hop, psydub and psybient. Nick Sumbles, the festival’s founder, strives to showcase the narrative-driven side of electronica.

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Background Noise • 10th July 2022

Artist Profile: IBARRA

Some electronic producers began their music-making adventures as members of bands. Maria Ibarra – aka IBARRA – is one such artist, with a breadth of experience drumming in multiple bands throughout her youth. This shaped the creative musician and community advocate she is today.

Background Noise • 23rd May 2022

Sol Fest Launches Successful, Meaningful First-Year Memorial Event In Loving Celebration of Life

Stacie Parsons could spend lifetimes writing about her late son, Quentin ‘Sol’ Rupp. He was her everything. Stacie recalls Quentin – the individual after whom the inaugural Sol Fest is named – imagined death like a light going out, a seamless parting of ways with the body in this cosmos where love, like matter and energy, is never truly gone.

Background Noise • 26th March 2022

Sol Fest: Preparing for An Inaugural Celebration of Life

Many festivals invite folks to create and express, to dream and transform; some encourage attendees to navigate grief and cherish memories, to move through mourning and find solace in change. The inaugural Sol Fest, a three-day music & art experience slated for May 6-8, 2022, will center its approach around this latter combination of themes in celebration of the life and legacy of Quentin 'Sol' Rupp.

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Background Noise • 20th March 2022

Artist Profile: ENiGMA Dubz

A 14-year-old cello student, James Vine aka ENiGMA Dubz, is walking home from his classical performance when his relationship with music is forever changed. He pauses outside a pulsating nightclub at city center, admiring the bone-rattling bass. In an instant, the seeds of ENiGMA Dubz take root as James’ lifelong love for music sprouts in a hundred new directions.

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Background Noise • 18th March 2022

WiddFam and Defy Culture Recognized with DUPLOC Awards

The DUPLOC record label annually recognizes a cohort of standout releases, artists, and collectives to celebrate the past year in dubstep and 140bpm culture. Read onward for insights into WiddFam and Defy Culture’s aspirations for 2022.

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Background Noise • 17th January 2022

Artist Profile: Teffa

Ernestas Ovcaruk aka Teffa was six years old when he started sifting through his father’s record collection. By young adulthood, Teffa developed a knack for rock music and mid-late 80s electronica. These genres inspired Teffa to cultivate the signature sound he is celebrated for producing today.

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Background Noise • 19th November 2021

American Grime presents: DnB ft. NECROMANCER

Although the legacy of DnB’s past and present is celebrated among soundsystem communities the world over, its future rests on music culture maintaining the genre’s recent surge in momentum. Producers like Tyler Hawkinson aka NECROMANCER are leading the way.

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Background Noise • 22nd October 2021

American Grime presents: DnB ft. AlphaXero

Having produced and mixed DnB for more than a decade, AlphaXero is no stranger to the genre’s most common elements – sampling, synthesization, rhythmic composition, sub-bass musical patterns, atmospheric padding, vocal instrumentation, and tempos clocking in around 160-180bpm.

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Background Noise • 15th October 2021

American Grime presents: DnB ft. Machete

An internationally-acclaimed, career-long champion of DnB, Rob Machete aka DJ Machete is an educator, producer, event organizer and label founder widely celebrated since 1991 for revolutionizing the west coast’s dance music culture. Hailing from Los Angeles, he’s harbored an intuitive knack for high-energy sounds since early childhood.

Background Noise • 12th October 2021

Sound Haven 2021 Marks Pivotal Inflection Point for U.S. Bass Music Scene

The third Sound Haven platformed a plethora of multifaceted audiovisual artists on a major scale. Read onward to revisit highlights from the four-day event and learn about Sacred Hive founder Jered Ardry’s promising vision for the festival’s future.

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Background Noise • 18th August 2021

American Grime presents: DUBSTEP ft. Onhell

Onhell’s artistic appreciation for music originating within Black communities is evident throughout his growing discography. In addition to creating original tracks, he remixes hidden and lesser-known gems from many of today’s renowned rappers and hip-hop artists, spanning 21 Savage and Yo Gotti to SZA and Gucci Mane.

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Background Noise • 22nd June 2021

Artist Profile: LitaLotus

In the wake of her family’s home burning down in late 2018, Lita Frazier aka LitaLotus faced a fiery set of challenges unlike any she’s braved before. She experienced total shock. Her parents were devastated. They lost mementos that held immense meaning. But like a phoenix rising from the ashes, one thing Lita never lost was the spark that ignites their inner being aflame.

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Background Noise • 4th June 2021

American Grime presents: DUBSTEP ft. Serious Jorge

Raised in Miami and residing in Colorado, Serious Jorge delivers a range of techniques accumulated across his time spent in many music scenes. He hopes this series will enlighten fans newer to electronic music, encouraging folks to dive deeper into dubstep’s niche origins.

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Background Noise • 9th May 2021

Artist Profile: SerpentEyes

Spending much of his youth immersed in online gaming spaces, TJ Hannon aka SerpentEyes discovered his expressive spark in digital art forums. Many creative gamers connect by designing signatures – the art banners that contain the titles of virtual gaming rooms. Developing graphics from an early age laid the groundwork for one of SerpentEyes’ many roles within the growing WiddFam label.​

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Background Noise • 2nd May 2021

Artist Profile: Jakebob

One afternoon as a young lad, Jacob James aka Jakebob was watching The Simpsons with his dad. Toward the end of one episode, a famous song caught his eyes - and ears. From individual to community: Juke and footwork champion Jakebob shares insights around the collective power of creative influence and inspiration.

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Background Noise • 16th April 2021

American Grime presents: GARAGE ft. KENNY99

Spending much of his youth in Pocomoke City by the beaches of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Kenny Fisher aka KENNY99 is no stranger to plentiful melting pots of multilayered music. Despite taking a decade away from DJing to drum in rock bands, Kenny found an indescribable joy in returning to the electronic space. Garage was the force that drove him back home.

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Background Noise • 4th April 2021

Artist Profile: Vandull

It’s a stormy night outside. The clock strikes 1:00 A.M. in a dimly-lit function beneath the bustling grounds of Nottingham, U.K. Soundsystem bass pulses through the dark depths of this dubstep dungeon. Rap vocalists complement each artist’s set, threading a human touch throughout hour-long strings of full-throttle tunes. Up next is the event headliner. The emcee? Vandull.

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Background Noise • 21st March 2021

Artist Profile: DJ Howl

At age 4, Marissa Kuchelyma aka DJ HOWL saw The Nutcracker live for the first time. She was instantly captivated by the intangible magic of Tchaikovsky’s layered melodies and complex compositions. Such enchanting memories shape Marissa’s passion for merging electronic music with meditation and movement.

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Background Noise • 20th March 2021

American Grime presents: GARAGE ft. Kozee

It’s summer 1978. You’re venturing through New York City with friends on a vibrant night filled with LGBTQ+ music festivities. Scuffling between secret queer-friendly safe spaces, your posse passes 84 King Street, intrigued by an electronic event emitting funk-infused vocals paired with soulful R&B sounds. The name of this legendary venue that birthed the name of an iconic genre: Paradise Garage.

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Background Noise • 11th February 2021

Artist Profile: Radiant

Hailing from Virginia Beach, Radiant’s discography spans a distinct set of tastes, revealing a standout formula. Merging his dark industrial take on leftfield tempos with experimental sounds informed by hip hop and soul, Garrett Williard aka Radiant reimagines the listening experience for electronic newcomers and veterans alike.

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Background Noise • 8th February 2021

Artist Profile: Dizzy!

When Dizzy!’s father immigrated to D.C. from Kingston, Jamaica in the ‘70s, he brought their family’s sound system: Emperor Sound. Dancehall and reggae colored the background of Dizzy’s childhood home, a place where music carried deep meaning. Being raised in this space shaped his long-term aspirations.