Sound. Look it up in the dictionary and you’ll see three Dutchman standing next to it. Thijs, Nik, and Martijn are Noisia, and Noisia is Sound. For twenty years, these three have been on a journey pushing the boundaries of what bass music can be, and in their wake have left nothing but inspiration for the underground. Last week they announced they would be bringing their joint project to a close at the end of 2020. Here at FUXWITHIT, we take pride in shinning the spotlight on truly creative and innovative artists from the underground, so before the underground kings take their victory lap, it’s time to pay tribute.
Starting from humble beginnings in Groningen, Holland the three high-school friends began making music in 2000 under their own individual aliases until 2003 which marks the arrival of the group. The 2000’s was the decade that built the foundation for the three. During this time the group landed their first few releases on major record labels including ’Tomahawk’ by Noisia & Mayhem on Nerve Recordings.
WIth major moment building into the current decade, Noisia hit a stride with the release of their debut album Split The Atom. This project was a sign of bigger things to come, as the album sported some of the group’s most recognizable songs like ‘Machine Gun’ and ‘ShellShock’ with Foreign Beggars. The discography becomes more impressive with their brilliant takes on classics like Skrillex’s ‘Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites’ and The Prodigy’s ’Smack My Bitch Up.’ In 2016, the trio released their most recent and most complete project to date, Outer Edges.
Noisia’s impact on the underground bass music scene cannot be overstated. Their labels Division, Vision, and Invisible encompass a wide array of genres including drum and bass, instrumental hip-hop, and half-step. These labels include releases from some of FUXWITHIT’s favorites like Jon Casey, Tsuruda, and Ivy Lab. Starting in 2015, Noisia Radio has become one of the most recognizable radio shows for discovering new music. Giving us an hour of sounds from the underground every week.
As we all soak in the last 365 days of the sound that is Noisia, We must give credit where it’s due. This is so much bigger than bass music. For twenty years Thijs, Nik, and Martijn have sustained unrelenting originality and innovation that has not inspired the next generations of artists but reminded the industry that in the end, it’s all about the music. This is about three best friends selflessly creating music and that’s all its ever been. Goodbye person.
