Noisia

Noisia
Also known as	Nightwatch[1] Drifter Hustle Athletics Frizz De Huilende Rappers
Origin	Groningen, Netherlands
Genres	Drum and bass (specifically neurofunk and techstep)[2] breakbeat electro house[3] dubstep grime
Years active	2000–2024[2]
Labels	Vision[2] Division Invisible[2] mau5trap Owsla Roc Nation[4][5] Spinnin'
Members	Martijn van Sonderen Nik Roos Thijs de Vlieger
Website	noisia.nl

Noisia^[2] was a Dutch electronic music trio from Groningen, Netherlands. The trio was composed of Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen, and Thijs de Vlieger.^[10] Their music spanned several genres, including drum and bass, dubstep, breakbeat, and house. They released music on labels such as Skrillex's Owsla, deadmau5's mau5trap, and Jay-Z's Roc Nation. Noisia collaborated with Foreign Beggars on the supergroup project I Am Legion, releasing a self-titled album on 2 September 2013. They also worked under the pseudonym Nightwatch, contributing to projects with artists like Alexis Jordan, Hadouken!, Wiley, and Wretch 32.^[4] Their production work on Hadouken!'s album, For the Masses, resulted in a number 19 placement on the UK Albums Chart.^[11]

Noisia also created music for video games, including the soundtrack for DmC: Devil May Cry, a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Music Kit in 2014, and the original soundtrack for the game Armajet.^[12]

Career

2003–06: Record deals and formation

After several collaborations, Martijn, who had experience in hip hop production and classical piano, joined Nik and Thijs to form Noisia. Their song "Tomahawk" (with Mayhem) gained attention from Shadow Law Recordings, leading to their debut release "Silicon" / "Tomahawk" on Paul Reset's Nerve Recordings in August 2003. Between 2005 and 2009, they released tracks like Drifter (incorporating liquid funk) and an EP under the name Hustle Athletics on Love Break Recordings. They later returned to using the name Noisia to maintain consistency and avoid genre pigeonholing.^[13]

2007–09: Commercial breakthrough and productions

In early 2007, Noisia produced Tasha Baxter's album Colour of Me for EMI South Africa. The album, completed over a year, blended pop, reggae, and drum and bass influences. In June 2008, they released FabricLive.40, a mix CD featuring many of their own tracks.^[14] They also remixed The Prodigy's "Omen" in 2009. Mid-2009 saw them producing Hadouken!'s second album, For the Masses, released in 2010. The album reached number 19 on the UK Albums Chart.^[11]

2010–15: Split the Atom and other ventures

Main article: Split the Atom

Noisia's debut studio album, Split the Atom, was released on 5 April 2010, preceded by the singles "Machine Gun" (8 March 2010) and "Split the Atom" (25 July 2010).^[15] A special edition, featuring 2012 remixes, was released on mau5trap on 27 February 2012.^[16] Later in 2012, they remixed Mark Knight's "Nothing Matters" and The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" for the re-release of The Fat of the Land.

Noisia also contributed music to short films and video games, including Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition, Wipeout Pulse, Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD Fury, Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2 (with "The Tide"), Gran Turismo PSP (with "Stigma"), DJ Hero (with "Groundhog"), and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (remixed "Groundhog"). They collaborated with Klaus Badelt on remixes for the MotorStorm: Apocalypse soundtrack. The 16bit remix of "Machine Gun" featured in the Far Cry 3 trailer, and "Could This Be" and "Machine Gun" were used in SSX. They produced over three hours of music for Ninja Theory's DmC: Devil May Cry, resulting in a 36-track soundtrack released through Division on 15 January 2013.^[3]

Noisia manages two record labels:^[4] Vision Recordings (for drum and bass) and Division Recordings (for other genres like house and grime). Invisible Recordings, launched in March 2010, focused on experimental drum and bass and closed in 2019.^[17]

I Am Legion

Main article: I Am Legion (album)

I Am Legion was a supergroup formed by Noisia and Foreign Beggars. Their self-titled debut album was released on 2 September 2013, following the singles "Make Those Move" and "Choosing for You".^[18][19]

2015–2018: Outer Edges

Main article: Outer Edges

Noisia announced their second studio album, Outer Edges, on 10 June 2016, releasing the single "Anomaly". "Collider" followed as a second single with a promotional video on 30 June 2016, alongside the album's track listing and pre-order information. The release date was set for 16 September 2016. The group stated that the album title reflected the individual exploration of each song's "edge".^[20]

The album leaked online on 29 July 2016, shortly before the premiere of a new audio-visual show at the Let It Roll festival. Noisia officially released the album digitally on 5 August 2016, with the physical release following in September.^[21]

2019–2022: Split and final album Closer

On 17 September 2019, Noisia announced that they would disband at the end of 2020, citing creative differences. They planned to continue releasing music and touring until the end of the year, with the possibility of future collaborations.^[22] Their farewell tour was extended into 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[23] In June 2020, some of their songs became available in the rhythm game osu!.^[24]

Following the split announcement, members released music under new aliases and projects, including Thys (de Vlieger), Sleepnet (Roos), and Body Ocean (Roos and Jeremy Glenn of The Upbeats). De Vlieger also confirmed involvement in ILY, a duo with Skrillex. While no official releases emerged, they performed a DJ set at OOST in February 2020.^[7]

On 28 April 2022, Noisia announced a final album, Closer, encompassing their various musical styles.^[25] They played their final show together on 21 August 2022.^[26]

Awards

Noisia received multiple Drum&BassArena Awards in 2015, including Best Producer, Best Track ("Dead Limit", with The Upbeats), and Best Live Act.^[27]

In 2016, they won Best Video ("Mantra"), Best Album (Outer Edges), and Best Producer at the Drum&BassArena Awards.^[28]

Discography

Main article: Noisia discography

• Split the Atom (2010)
• I Am Legion (with Foreign Beggars) (2013)
• Outer Edges (2016)
• Closer (2022)

References

1. "Game Music, Nightwatch & Loads of Releases". Noisia. 18 October 2010. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
2. "Oh Oh! It's a massive Noisia interview". UKF Music. 1 July 2014. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
3. "Artist Interview: Noisia on the DmC: Devil May Cry Soundtrack". Sony Music Entertainment. 8 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
4. "Noisia". Roc Nation. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
5. "Noisia in the studio with Future Music". MusicRadar. 26 July 2013.
6. "House Music Duo Body Ocean Revealed to Be NOISIA's Nik Roos and The Upbeats' Jeremy Glenn". EDM.com. 19 October 2020.
7. "Thys of Noisia hints at the existence of a duo project with Skrillex". We Rave You. 27 July 2020.
8. "Mysterious Producer Sleepnet Emerges as NOISIA's Nik Roos, With EP on the Way". EDM.com. 8 March 2021.
9. "Zonderling, our techno alias, has seen a few more releases in the last years". Noisia. 3 July 2014.
10. "The IMO Records Blog Noisia Biography". The IMO Records Blog. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
11. "Hadouken Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
12. Dave Jenkins (24 January 2020). "Armajet OST: The sound of Noisia blasting into their final year". Ukf.com. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
13. "The Quite Side of Noisia". MTV Iggy. June 2012.
14. "fabriclive.40 NOISIΛ". fabric. Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
15. "Noisia Debut Album Release Date Confirmed". Knowledge Mag. January 2010. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
16. "Noisia – "Split The Atom" (Special Edition)". Earmilk. 29 February 2012.
17. Dave Jenkins (30 May 2019). "Noisia close Invisible Recordings". Ukf.com. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
18. "I Am Legion – I Am Legion – Reviews". Clash Magazine. 30 September 2013.
19. "I Am Legion Bounce to a Dark Beat in 'Choosing for You' – Premiere – Video". Rolling Stone. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 4 June 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
20. "Noisia - Outer Edges (CD)". Vision Recordings.
21. "After Unauthorized Leak, Noisia Releases First Album in 6 Years Early". EDM.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
22. "NOISIA | Noisia 2000-2020". Noisia.nl.
23. "Noisia Farewell Tour extended and rescheduled! pic.twitter.com/gtYi7hbvNU". Twitter.com. 22 April 2020.
24. "New Featured Artist: Noisia". osu!. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
25. "CLOSER: ONE FINAL ALBUM". noisia.nl. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
26. The Last Ever Noisia Show | Lowlands 2022, 18 October 2022, retrieved 3 November 2022 – via YouTube
27. "Drum&BassArena". ukf.com. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
28. "Drum&BassArena". ukf.com. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2020.

External links

• Official website