Sometimes the best link ups happen when they’re unexpected. Merging the incongruity of two genres doesn’t always come off, but when it does, the results can be invariably stunning. Here are four collabs which do exactly that.

Sangam & THUGWIDOW – The Holy City Is Empty

The fusion of ambient textures with ‘90s breaks isn’t a new phenomenon by any means, but when executed right it truly becomes a match made in heaven. UK producers Sangam and THUGWIDOW were obviously onto this idea when they began collaborating in the mid 2010s, merging the former’s cerebral dystopian soundscapes with the latter’s surgically intricate drum patterns.

Initial demos sent around their label would eventually become the basis for THUGWIDOW’s Dead Colony LP in 2017, with Sangam listed as a collaborator on several tracks. The album, praised for its raw, visceral tone, encapsulated a Burial-esque atmosphere indicative of the UK underground. But they were far from done on the creative partnership.

Released in 2018 via Canadian label Kudatah, The Holy City Is Empty is a triumphant musical synthesis of light and shadow. The heart-wrenching ambience is punctuated by complex breakbeat rhythms, as the album moves through eight tracks of haunting originality. It’s an album which exists entirely within a world of its own; one which feels strangely familiar, but equally mysterious and unsettling. Let’s hope it’s not their last outing together.

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine

Jon Hopkins is no stranger to a collaboration. Charli, Eno, HAAi, the list goes on; he’s pretty well versed in the art of symbiosis. But perhaps his most compelling project came back in 2011, when he teamed up with Scottish singer-songwriter Kenny Anderson, better known as King Creosote, to work on their neo-folk/electronica classic Diamond Mine.

Given it came fairly soon after the release of Hopkins’ complex, IDM influenced LP Insides, the team-up felt like something of an unlikely pairing. However, from the first track there’s an obvious spatial awareness between them musically, as Hopkins’ delicate production allows Anderson’s vocals to soar in between the arrangements, letting the album flow with pastoral warmth.

Released via Domino Recordings in 2011, Creosote described the work as ‘very much a labour of love’, adding that the pair wanted to capture the ‘soundtrack to a romanticised version of a life lived in a Scottish coastal village.’ If that was the brief, then the end product definitely succeeds. It’s an emotionally arresting work of immense beauty, and when you close your eyes and get lost in the ethereal pull of Anderson’s voice, it’s hard to disagree with that take.

Bliss Signal – Bliss Signal

The combination of the harsher sounds of the electronic spectrum with the jagged edges of metal is another less than shocking musical handshake. Formed initially in 2017 as a one-off project for the experimental Polish music festival Unsound, Bliss Signal was the unison of two UK producers grappling with the outer limits of challenging sonics, finding in the middle of their work a uniquely purging synergy.

Both James Kelly (WIFE) and Jack Adams (Mumdance) had been working with the more confrontational ends of the sound spectrum long before they teamed up for Bliss Signal. Kelly was a former member of the acclaimed black-metal band Altar of Plagues, whilst Adams had built a reputation for unflinching production in the underground grime scene. Again, it’s not the most surprising union.

Their self-titled debut showcases the full range of their capabilities across thirty minutes of noise which drifts between ambience bliss and crushing industrial metal. At its harshest it recalls the work of Prurient without fully committing to the relentless doom of Hospital Records. But somewhere in the bleak sonics remains a feeling of hopefulness, which soars through the ambient cutbacks. It’s musical catharsis, in pure form.

The Bug & Earth – Concrete Desert

The pairing of prolific producer Kevin Martin, better known as The Bug, with Dylan Carson of drone-metal band Earth makes sense on paper. But their 2018 collaboration makes for a curious contrast of a sound which feels oppressively claustrophobic whilst simultaneously feeling like it was recorded in the midst of a desolate expanse.

Using his experience as a mainstay in the UK grime and dancehall scenes, Martin’s intersperses constricting drum breaks across an endless wasteland of eerie sonics. The influence of Carson’s stranglehold grip of understanding on how to create an atmosphere of unwavering doom is particularly prominent, giving the album its own macabre lifeblood.

When it comes to world-building in a musical project, Concrete Desert succeeds as a devastatingly bleak singular effort on how to forge a cinematic identity through sound. Listening back to the album in full, it’s easy to visualise the urban dystopian which the duo likely visualised when recording this uniquely challenging LP. If you’re looking for your soundtrack to the day after the apocalypse, then look no further.

Sometimes the best link ups happen when they’re unexpected. Merging the incongruity of two genres doesn’t always come off, but when it does, the results can be invariably stunning. Here are four collabs which do exactly that.

Sangam & THUGWIDOW – The Holy City Is Empty

The fusion of ambient textures with ‘90s breaks isn’t a new phenomenon by any means, but when executed right it truly becomes a match made in heaven. UK producers Sangam and THUGWIDOW were obviously onto this idea when they began collaborating in the mid 2010s, merging the former’s cerebral dystopian soundscapes with the latter’s surgically intricate drum patterns.

Initial demos sent around their label would eventually become the basis for THUGWIDOW’s Dead Colony LP in 2017, with Sangam listed as a collaborator on several tracks. The album, praised for its raw, visceral tone, encapsulated a Burial-esque atmosphere indicative of the UK underground. But they were far from done on the creative partnership.

Released in 2018 via Canadian label Kudatah, The Holy City Is Empty is a triumphant musical synthesis of light and shadow. The heart-wrenching ambience is punctuated by complex breakbeat rhythms, as the album moves through eight tracks of haunting originality. It’s an album which exists entirely within a world of its own; one which feels strangely familiar, but equally mysterious and unsettling. Let’s hope it’s not their last outing together.

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine

Jon Hopkins is no stranger to a collaboration. Charli, Eno, HAAi, the list goes on; he’s pretty well versed in the art of symbiosis. But perhaps his most compelling project came back in 2011, when he teamed up with Scottish singer-songwriter Kenny Anderson, better known as King Creosote, to work on their neo-folk/electronica classic Diamond Mine.

Given it came fairly soon after the release of Hopkins’ complex, IDM influenced LP Insides, the team-up felt like something of an unlikely pairing. However, from the first track there’s an obvious spatial awareness between them musically, as Hopkins’ delicate production allows Anderson’s vocals to soar in between the arrangements, letting the album flow with pastoral warmth.

Released via Domino Recordings in 2011, Creosote described the work as ‘very much a labour of love’, adding that the pair wanted to capture the ‘soundtrack to a romanticised version of a life lived in a Scottish coastal village.’ If that was the brief, then the end product definitely succeeds. It’s an emotionally arresting work of immense beauty, and when you close your eyes and get lost in the ethereal pull of Anderson’s voice, it’s hard to disagree with that take.

Bliss Signal – Bliss Signal

The combination of the harsher sounds of the electronic spectrum with the jagged edges of metal is another less than shocking musical handshake. Formed initially in 2017 as a one-off project for the experimental Polish music festival Unsound, Bliss Signal was the unison of two UK producers grappling with the outer limits of challenging sonics, finding in the middle of their work a uniquely purging synergy.

Both James Kelly (WIFE) and Jack Adams (Mumdance) had been working with the more confrontational ends of the sound spectrum long before they teamed up for Bliss Signal. Kelly was a former member of the acclaimed black-metal band Altar of Plagues, whilst Adams had built a reputation for unflinching production in the underground grime scene. Again, it’s not the most surprising union.

Their self-titled debut showcases the full range of their capabilities across thirty minutes of noise which drifts between ambience bliss and crushing industrial metal. At its harshest it recalls the work of Prurient without fully committing to the relentless doom of Hospital Records. But somewhere in the bleak sonics remains a feeling of hopefulness, which soars through the ambient cutbacks. It’s musical catharsis, in pure form.

The Bug & Earth – Concrete Desert

The pairing of prolific producer Kevin Martin, better known as The Bug, with Dylan Carson of drone-metal band Earth makes sense on paper. But their 2018 collaboration makes for a curious contrast of a sound which feels oppressively claustrophobic whilst simultaneously feeling like it was recorded in the midst of a desolate expanse.

Using his experience as a mainstay in the UK grime and dancehall scenes, Martin’s intersperses constricting drum breaks across an endless wasteland of eerie sonics. The influence of Carson’s stranglehold grip of understanding on how to create an atmosphere of unwavering doom is particularly prominent, giving the album its own macabre lifeblood.

When it comes to world-building in a musical project, Concrete Desert succeeds as a devastatingly bleak singular effort on how to forge a cinematic identity through sound. Listening back to the album in full, it’s easy to visualise the urban dystopian which the duo likely visualised when recording this uniquely challenging LP. If you’re looking for your soundtrack to the day after the apocalypse, then look no further.

Sometimes the best link ups happen when they’re unexpected. Merging the incongruity of two genres doesn’t always come off, but when it does, the results can be invariably stunning. Here are four collabs which do exactly that.

Sangam & THUGWIDOW – The Holy City Is Empty

The fusion of ambient textures with ‘90s breaks isn’t a new phenomenon by any means, but when executed right it truly becomes a match made in heaven. UK producers Sangam and THUGWIDOW were obviously onto this idea when they began collaborating in the mid 2010s, merging the former’s cerebral dystopian soundscapes with the latter’s surgically intricate drum patterns.

Initial demos sent around their label would eventually become the basis for THUGWIDOW’s Dead Colony LP in 2017, with Sangam listed as a collaborator on several tracks. The album, praised for its raw, visceral tone, encapsulated a Burial-esque atmosphere indicative of the UK underground. But they were far from done on the creative partnership.

Released in 2018 via Canadian label Kudatah, The Holy City Is Empty is a triumphant musical synthesis of light and shadow. The heart-wrenching ambience is punctuated by complex breakbeat rhythms, as the album moves through eight tracks of haunting originality. It’s an album which exists entirely within a world of its own; one which feels strangely familiar, but equally mysterious and unsettling. Let’s hope it’s not their last outing together.

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine

Jon Hopkins is no stranger to a collaboration. Charli, Eno, HAAi, the list goes on; he’s pretty well versed in the art of symbiosis. But perhaps his most compelling project came back in 2011, when he teamed up with Scottish singer-songwriter Kenny Anderson, better known as King Creosote, to work on their neo-folk/electronica classic Diamond Mine.

Given it came fairly soon after the release of Hopkins’ complex, IDM influenced LP Insides, the team-up felt like something of an unlikely pairing. However, from the first track there’s an obvious spatial awareness between them musically, as Hopkins’ delicate production allows Anderson’s vocals to soar in between the arrangements, letting the album flow with pastoral warmth.

Released via Domino Recordings in 2011, Creosote described the work as ‘very much a labour of love’, adding that the pair wanted to capture the ‘soundtrack to a romanticised version of a life lived in a Scottish coastal village.’ If that was the brief, then the end product definitely succeeds. It’s an emotionally arresting work of immense beauty, and when you close your eyes and get lost in the ethereal pull of Anderson’s voice, it’s hard to disagree with that take.

Bliss Signal – Bliss Signal

The combination of the harsher sounds of the electronic spectrum with the jagged edges of metal is another less than shocking musical handshake. Formed initially in 2017 as a one-off project for the experimental Polish music festival Unsound, Bliss Signal was the unison of two UK producers grappling with the outer limits of challenging sonics, finding in the middle of their work a uniquely purging synergy.

Both James Kelly (WIFE) and Jack Adams (Mumdance) had been working with the more confrontational ends of the sound spectrum long before they teamed up for Bliss Signal. Kelly was a former member of the acclaimed black-metal band Altar of Plagues, whilst Adams had built a reputation for unflinching production in the underground grime scene. Again, it’s not the most surprising union.

Their self-titled debut showcases the full range of their capabilities across thirty minutes of noise which drifts between ambience bliss and crushing industrial metal. At its harshest it recalls the work of Prurient without fully committing to the relentless doom of Hospital Records. But somewhere in the bleak sonics remains a feeling of hopefulness, which soars through the ambient cutbacks. It’s musical catharsis, in pure form.

The Bug & Earth – Concrete Desert

The pairing of prolific producer Kevin Martin, better known as The Bug, with Dylan Carson of drone-metal band Earth makes sense on paper. But their 2018 collaboration makes for a curious contrast of a sound which feels oppressively claustrophobic whilst simultaneously feeling like it was recorded in the midst of a desolate expanse.

Using his experience as a mainstay in the UK grime and dancehall scenes, Martin’s intersperses constricting drum breaks across an endless wasteland of eerie sonics. The influence of Carson’s stranglehold grip of understanding on how to create an atmosphere of unwavering doom is particularly prominent, giving the album its own macabre lifeblood.

When it comes to world-building in a musical project, Concrete Desert succeeds as a devastatingly bleak singular effort on how to forge a cinematic identity through sound. Listening back to the album in full, it’s easy to visualise the urban dystopian which the duo likely visualised when recording this uniquely challenging LP. If you’re looking for your soundtrack to the day after the apocalypse, then look no further.

Sometimes the best link ups happen when they’re unexpected. Merging the incongruity of two genres doesn’t always come off, but when it does, the results can be invariably stunning. Here are four collabs which do exactly that.

Sangam & THUGWIDOW – The Holy City Is Empty

The fusion of ambient textures with ‘90s breaks isn’t a new phenomenon by any means, but when executed right it truly becomes a match made in heaven. UK producers Sangam and THUGWIDOW were obviously onto this idea when they began collaborating in the mid 2010s, merging the former’s cerebral dystopian soundscapes with the latter’s surgically intricate drum patterns.

Initial demos sent around their label would eventually become the basis for THUGWIDOW’s Dead Colony LP in 2017, with Sangam listed as a collaborator on several tracks. The album, praised for its raw, visceral tone, encapsulated a Burial-esque atmosphere indicative of the UK underground. But they were far from done on the creative partnership.

Released in 2018 via Canadian label Kudatah, The Holy City Is Empty is a triumphant musical synthesis of light and shadow. The heart-wrenching ambience is punctuated by complex breakbeat rhythms, as the album moves through eight tracks of haunting originality. It’s an album which exists entirely within a world of its own; one which feels strangely familiar, but equally mysterious and unsettling. Let’s hope it’s not their last outing together.

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine

Jon Hopkins is no stranger to a collaboration. Charli, Eno, HAAi, the list goes on; he’s pretty well versed in the art of symbiosis. But perhaps his most compelling project came back in 2011, when he teamed up with Scottish singer-songwriter Kenny Anderson, better known as King Creosote, to work on their neo-folk/electronica classic Diamond Mine.

Given it came fairly soon after the release of Hopkins’ complex, IDM influenced LP Insides, the team-up felt like something of an unlikely pairing. However, from the first track there’s an obvious spatial awareness between them musically, as Hopkins’ delicate production allows Anderson’s vocals to soar in between the arrangements, letting the album flow with pastoral warmth.

Released via Domino Recordings in 2011, Creosote described the work as ‘very much a labour of love’, adding that the pair wanted to capture the ‘soundtrack to a romanticised version of a life lived in a Scottish coastal village.’ If that was the brief, then the end product definitely succeeds. It’s an emotionally arresting work of immense beauty, and when you close your eyes and get lost in the ethereal pull of Anderson’s voice, it’s hard to disagree with that take.

Bliss Signal – Bliss Signal

The combination of the harsher sounds of the electronic spectrum with the jagged edges of metal is another less than shocking musical handshake. Formed initially in 2017 as a one-off project for the experimental Polish music festival Unsound, Bliss Signal was the unison of two UK producers grappling with the outer limits of challenging sonics, finding in the middle of their work a uniquely purging synergy.

Both James Kelly (WIFE) and Jack Adams (Mumdance) had been working with the more confrontational ends of the sound spectrum long before they teamed up for Bliss Signal. Kelly was a former member of the acclaimed black-metal band Altar of Plagues, whilst Adams had built a reputation for unflinching production in the underground grime scene. Again, it’s not the most surprising union.

Their self-titled debut showcases the full range of their capabilities across thirty minutes of noise which drifts between ambience bliss and crushing industrial metal. At its harshest it recalls the work of Prurient without fully committing to the relentless doom of Hospital Records. But somewhere in the bleak sonics remains a feeling of hopefulness, which soars through the ambient cutbacks. It’s musical catharsis, in pure form.

The Bug & Earth – Concrete Desert

The pairing of prolific producer Kevin Martin, better known as The Bug, with Dylan Carson of drone-metal band Earth makes sense on paper. But their 2018 collaboration makes for a curious contrast of a sound which feels oppressively claustrophobic whilst simultaneously feeling like it was recorded in the midst of a desolate expanse.

Using his experience as a mainstay in the UK grime and dancehall scenes, Martin’s intersperses constricting drum breaks across an endless wasteland of eerie sonics. The influence of Carson’s stranglehold grip of understanding on how to create an atmosphere of unwavering doom is particularly prominent, giving the album its own macabre lifeblood.

When it comes to world-building in a musical project, Concrete Desert succeeds as a devastatingly bleak singular effort on how to forge a cinematic identity through sound. Listening back to the album in full, it’s easy to visualise the urban dystopian which the duo likely visualised when recording this uniquely challenging LP. If you’re looking for your soundtrack to the day after the apocalypse, then look no further.