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KOAN Sound

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KOAN Sound
OriginBristol, England
Genres
Years active2008–present
Labels
  • Shoshin
  • Owsla
  • Inspected Records
  • Open Outlets
MembersWill Weeks
Jim Bastow
Websitewww.koansound.com

KOAN Sound (/ˈkoʊən/ KOH-ən;[1] named after the word kōan) is an English electronic music production duo from Bristol, consisting of Will Weeks and Jim Bastow.

A track from the Max Out EP is titled "One Hand Clap" – a reference to a well-known kōan with the implied answer of silence. They initially gained recognition as dubstep producers, with earlier popular tracks including "Akira". Some of their many types of music includes glitch hop, neurohop, and Drum & Bass. The duo have since released music on various labels including Inspected Records and Owsla, and have worked with a number of other artists, including producer Asa and singer Ed Sheeran.

Career

[edit]

The duo cite bands such as Rage Against the Machine and Incubus as early influences.[2] In 2005 the duo began to explore electronic music through artists such as The Prodigy and Noisia.[3]

On 23 May 2011, KOAN Sound released the Max Out EP. The release was seen by many as a turning point in their production, gradually moving away from the dubstep template of their earlier music and displaying a wider range of styles.

On 1 November 2011, the duo released the Funk Blaster EP[4] on Skrillex's label Owsla.[5] The EP reached number 1 in the Beatport releases category.

During 2012, KOAN Sound performed across Europe and North America. They supported Skrillex alongside Diplo and others on the Full Flex Express Tour in 2012.[6]

On 4 September 2012, The Adventures of Mr. Fox EP was released. The release includes remixes from Reso, Neosignal and Opiuo.[7] A remix of "Introvert" by Vexisle, a duo of KOAN Sound's frequent collaborator Asa and Kursa, was released soon after as a free download.[8] The EP track "80s Fitness" (music video by director Tim Hendrix and producer Filippo Nesci) featured on an advert for The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw and received airplay on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra.[9] Their songs have been played by Skream and Benga, MistaJam and Annie Nightingale among others,[10] and they completed a Daily Dose: OWSLA After Dark mix for MistaJam.[11]

On 22 October 2013, the duo's collaboration EP with Asa, Sanctuary, was released through OWSLA and Inspected.[12][13][14] This was considered to be another turning point in their production, where they began to incorporate more orchestral, organic and ethereal elements in their music, as well as releasing various tracks that sounded almost completely acoustic.

Their fourth OWSLA release, the Dynasty EP, was released on 1 April 2014.[15] One of the four tracks, "7th Dimension", entered the UK Indie Breakers Chart at number 12.[16]

Their fifth release, Forgotten Myths, was released in 2015 through Culprate's Open Outlets label and Shoshin.

Their sixth release, an album titled Polychrome, was announced on 1 November 2018 and released on 7 December 2018.[17]

On 20 September 2019, they became a featured artist on the rhythm game osu!.[18]

Discography

[edit]

Albums

[edit]
Year Release Label
2018 Polychrome Shoshin
2023 Led by Ancient Light Shoshin

Extended plays

[edit]
Year Release Label
2011 Free Self-released
Max Out Inspected Records
Funk Blaster Owsla
2012 The Adventures of Mr. Fox Owsla
2013 Sanctuary (with Asa)[12][13][14] Owsla / Inspected Records
2014 Dynasty Owsla
2015 Forgotten Myths Shoshin
2019 Intervals Above[19] Shoshin
2020 Silk Wave Shoshin
2021 Chronos[20] Vision
2021 Full Circle Shoshin
2024 Evocation[21] Shoshin

Singles

[edit]
Year Title Label
2008 "Clowny / Blessed" Abducted Dub
2009 "Boo & Yarr (by TRiLLBASS) / Mafia (TRiLLBASS Remix) / Alchemy" TRiLLBASS
2010 "Coast To Coast / Hesitation (featuring Asa)" Screwloose Records
"Jumpsuit Adventures / Blueberry Pie"
2011 "Akira / Endorphin"
"Garden of Buddha / Zappa Bomb Squad" Dubsaw
2012 "Risky Endeavours" Unsigned
2018 "Chilli Daddy" Shoshin
"Viridian Dream" Shoshin
2020 "Virtue" Shoshin
2021 "Chronos" Vision

Other appearances

[edit]
Year Track Release Label
2008 "Mafia" TRiLLDigi 002 TRiLLBASS
2011 "Kaneda" (with Asa) Sweeter Things EP Screwloose Records
"Blue Stripes" Dubstep Onslaught EMI
2012 "Look Who's Back" (featuring Foreign Beggars) OWSLA Presents: Free Treats Vol. II Owsla
"Beyond the Shadows" (with Gemini, Culprate and Asa) Beyond the Shadows Inspected Records
2013 "Cascade" (with Culprate, Asa and Reso) Cascade Inspected Records
2014 "Mosaic" (with Culprate, Asa and Sorrow) Mosaic Inspected Records
2015 "If You Hadn't" (with Culprate, Asa and Opiuo) If You Hadn't Inspected Records

Remixes

[edit]
Year Track Artist
2009 Catch You Asa
2010 We Can Have It All Danny Byrd
2011 This City (with Asa) Kito and Reija Lee
Raw Tones (with Asa) Gatekeeper
Promises Andain
The A Team Ed Sheeran
Keep Rising LoKo
Kill Everybody Skrillex
Deal With It Kill The Noise
2012 Days Are Forgotten Kasabian
Green and Blue Neil Davidge
Vengeance Rhythm Two Fingers
2013 Axion Reso
2014 Life Opiuo (featuring Gift of Gab and Syreneiscreamy)
2019 Meanwhile, In The Future KOAN Sound
2021 Distance[22] Apashe (featuring Geoffroy)
Reflex Angle[23] Hudson Lee and Frequent

References

[edit]
  1. ^ KOAN Sound (2 July 2020). "We're on Patreon!". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Bristol to Bombay: an interview with Koan Sound". Bordermovement.com. 17 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Koan Sound interview on Low Life". Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Funk Blaster [OWSLA] :: Beatport". Beatport. 3 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Koan Sound". Owsla.
  6. ^ "Grimes, Diplo and Skrillex announce 'The Full Flex Express' | The 405". Archive.today. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Introvert (Vexisle Remix) by KOAN Sound on SoundCloud - Hear the world's sounds". Archive.today. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  9. ^ "BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show – Nick Grimshaw". YouTube. 14 September 2012.
  10. ^ "BBC – Music – KOAN Sound". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  11. ^ "MistaJam, Childish Gambino joins MistaJam, KOAN Sound deliver your Daily Dose". BBC Radio 1Xtra. 11 November 2013.
  12. ^ a b "KOAN Sound". Inspected. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  13. ^ a b "OWSLA Koan Sound & Asa - Sanctuary EP". OWSLA. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  14. ^ a b "KOAN Sound and Asa release breathtaking 'Sanctuary' EP - Dancing Astronaut". Dancing Astronaut. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Dynasty: Koan Sound". Owsla. 1 April 2014.
  16. ^ "Independent Singles Breakers Top 20 Archive". Official Charts Company. 12 April 2014.
  17. ^ "KOAN Sound announce their return with new LP, 'Polychrome' - Dancing Astronaut". Dancing Astronaut. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  18. ^ "New Featured Artist: KOAN Sound". osu!. 20 September 2019.
  19. ^ "Intervals Above - EP by Koan Sound on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  20. ^ Raraport, Brian (10 May 2021). "Listen to Koan Sound's Colossal New Chronos EP". EDM.com. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  21. ^ Brooke, Nelson (26 April 2024). "KOAN Sound Invite You to Reflect on 'Evocation'".
  22. ^ Meadow, Matthew (8 January 2021). "Apashe offers up five stunning 'Distance' remixes with KOAN Sound, Buunshin, & more". Your EDM. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Reflex Angle (KOAN Sound Remix) - Single by Hudson Lee & Frequent on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
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