| Noisia | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Origin: | Groningen, Netherlands |
| Years Active: | 2000–2024 |
| Associated Acts: | Amon Tobin, Body Ocean,[1] DotCrawL, Foreign Beggars, Former, I Am Legion, ILY,[2] Phace, Sleepnet,[3] Thys, The Upbeats, Zonderling[4] |
| Current Members: | Martijn van Sonderen Nik Roos Thijs de Vlieger |
Noisia[5] was a Dutch electronic music trio from Groningen, Netherlands, composed of Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen, and Thijs de Vlieger.[6] 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. Their production work on Hadouken!'s album, For the Masses, resulted in a number 19 placement on the UK Albums Chart.[7]
Noisia also created music for video games, including the soundtrack for , a Music Kit in 2014, and the original soundtrack for the game Armajet.[8]
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.[9]
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.[10] They also remixed The Prodigy's "Omen" in 2009. Mid-2009 saw them producing Hadouken!'s second album, For the Masses, released in 2010 and reaching number 19 on the UK Albums Chart.
See main article: Split the Atom. Noisia's debut studio album, Split the Atom, was released on 5 April 2010, preceded by singles "Machine Gun" (8 March 2010) and "Split the Atom" (25 July 2010).[11] A special edition, featuring 2012 remixes, was released on mau5trap on 27 February 2012.[12] 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 , 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 (remixed "Groundhog"). They collaborated with Klaus Badelt on remixes for the 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 , resulting in a 36-track soundtrack released through Division on 15 January 2013.[13]
Noisia manages two record labels: 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.[14]
See 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".[15] [16]
See 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".[17]
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.[18]
On 17 September 2019, Noisia announced their split 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.[19] Their farewell tour was extended into 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] In June 2020, some of their songs became available in the rhythm game osu!.[21]
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.
On 28 April 2022, Noisia announced a final album, "Closer," encompassing their various musical styles.[22] They played their final show together on 21 August 2022.
Noisia received multiple Awards in 2015, including 'Best Producer', 'Best Track' (Dead Limit, with The Upbeats), and 'Best Live Act'.[23]
In 2016, they won 'Best Video' (Mantra), 'Best Album' (Outer Edges), and 'Best Producer' at the Awards.[24]
See main article: Noisia discography.