Discovering the best new music, curated by Annie Mac

"Beats from the Underworld" production album & "Beats from the Underworld (The Remixes) available NOW !

With eyeball-popping, eardrum-throbbing beats and ingenious guitar-driven crescendos, Empirion has created a unique sound that finally fills that vacuous gap in the world of techno, falling somewhere between Front 242, Orbital and Prodigy. While maintaining visceral mayhem, Empirion has also managed to infuse a sense of humanity to their music-it's almost organic electronica.

Empirion credits this amazing quality to their exclusive use of low-tech, archaic equipment and the incorporation of band member Oz Morsley's old fashioned rock guitar solos. Even more remarkable in this age of frenzied sampling, the album contains almost no samples and is composed entirely of sounds that the band creates on their collection of old-school equipment, including an Atari computer. Advanced Technology is a rare dance album, infused with musicianship and artistry.

In 1993, the trio exploded onto England's rave scene with the now-classic "Narcotic Influence," included on this album. Richly layered, this track saturates their audience with the beat and sends it reeling on a six minute rollercoaster ride. The now-infamous "Giving them drugs, taking their lives away" hook has become a tongue-in-cheek anthem for technoheads everywhere. 
Tucked away in Essex, the band is free from the pollution and creative obstacles of London's throbbing pulse. The album is crammed full of original ideas and soul-drenching atmosphere. "New Religion" recalls a sound close to Orbital, but Trent Reznor's influence is also a strong presence; "Jesus Christ," with its ever-building frenzy, is met by the simpler, more mellow "Ayahuasca." This versatility gives Empirion tremendous staying power.

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Wilkinson is one of the UK’s most beloved and successful electronic artists. Hailing from South-West London, his first insight into making music came aged 9 when his parents bought him a drum kit. After performing in bands across the UK from the Birmingham NEC to the local old people’s home; everything changed at 14 when
he discovered his passion for dance music. In his final year at college he bought his first production equipment, turned his bed-room into a studio and started a journey that would take him around the world.


After cutting his teeth on legendary drum & bass labels Ram Records & Hospital, Wilkinson would release a run of hit singles like 'Tonight', 'Take You Higher’ and 'Too Close' which cemented hum as one of the most exciting new producers within UK dance music. He had early chart success in the UK Top 40 with his singles 'Half Light',
‘Dirty Love’ and ‘Hopelessly Coping’. Everything changed with the release of his iconic 2013 record ‘Afterglow’, which became a top 5 hit in the UK, sold over 3 million copies, racked up over 500 million streams and became certified triple Platinum in the UK.


To date Wilkinson has sold a mighty 6 million singles and garnered over one BILLION online streams! He’s released three extremely successful solo albums, ‘Lazers Not Included’, ‘Hypnotic’ and ‘Cognition’. The latter released on his own label Sleepless Music became the most successful drum & bass album for over a decade,
charting at #1 on the OCC Official Dance Chart and at #3 in New Zealand’s album charts. The record included two Top 40 hit singles ‘Here For You’ with Becky Hill and the BBC Radio 1 A-List playlisted ‘Used To This’ with Issey Cross.


As well as solo he has amassed a hugely successful discography of hits, including a 2020 collaborative album with fellow Drum & Bass titan Sub Focus, remixes and collaborations with the likes of Rag N Bone Man, The Prodigy, Ed Sheeran, Chase & Status, Wretch 32, Naughty Boy, Laura Mvula and Becky Hill. 


He’s won ‘Best Single’, ‘Best Album’, ‘Best Video’, ‘Best Producer’ and ‘Best Live Act' at the National Drum & Bass Awards, not
to mention the VEVO Viewers Award at the MVA’s. Remarkably he’s also been playlisted by BBC Radio 1 17 times!


On top of his insane release history, Wilkinson has also built a hugely successful live career by consistently touring around the world over the past decade. He’s sold out a remarkable three headline shows at the iconic Brixton Academy, played headlining sets at some of the world’s premiere festivals including Glastonbury, BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend, Reading & Leeds, Creamfields, Snowbombing, Pukkelpop, Sziget, Rhythm & Vines and EDC Las Vegas among many others, held down multiple Ibiza residencies at Amnesia and toured around the world from New York to New Zealand.


In the last year Wilkinson has gone from strength to strength, releasing a string of huge singles including ‘Shine On’ with American dance music superstar Kaskade, ‘Balance’ with newcomer North which spent 10 weeks on the BBC Radio 1 Playlist and official remixes for Calvin Harris, John Summit and KETTAMA. 


For 2025 he shows no signs of slowing down with his two shows at Outernet London selling out in an hour, his biggest NZ festival show ever to over 17,000 people, plus his biggest ever headline show at Alexandre Palace on Nov 8th!

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