Audio: Biography, Discography and More | EDM Encyclopedia

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Introduction

Audio is a drum and bass producer and DJ from Great Britain, active from 2008 to the present. Born Simon Sherrin, he has built a career centered on the heavier end of the electronic music spectrum, releasing five studio albums across more than fifteen years of activity. His confirmed output extends into 2024, demonstrating ongoing involvement in the genre.

Based in the United Kingdom, Audio emerged during a period when drum and bass had already fragmented into numerous specialized sub-styles. He aligned himself with the neurofunk and tech-oriented end of the genre, finding a home on Virus Recordings, a label known for championing technically precise, aggressive production. This association placed him within a specific lineage of UK producers who prioritize sound design complexity and bass weight over more accessible or vocal-driven approaches to the genre.

Audio’s career is notable for his commitment to the album format. While many drum and bass producers focus primarily on singles and EPs designed for DJ sets, Audio has repeatedly constructed full-length releases that explore his aesthetic across extended running times. His five confirmed albums, released between 2008 and 2016, chart a consistent artistic vision rather than dramatic reinventions. This approach has earned him recognition within the scene as a producer who treats album releases as deliberate projects rather than afterthoughts.

Beyond studio production, Audio has maintained a presence as a DJ, performing at club nights and festivals where his style of drum and bass finds its natural audience. His DJ sets typically reflect his production preferences, favoring tracks that share his emphasis on bass design and rhythmic complexity. This dual role as both producer and performer has kept his name visible in a genre where artists often specialize in one capacity.

Genre and Style

Audio’s production style sits firmly within neurofunk, a drum and bass sub-genre defined by its emphasis on distorted, heavily processed basslines, intricate drum programming, and an overall aesthetic that draws from industrial and science fiction influences. His approach to the genre prioritizes density and technical detail over minimalism or accessibility.

The drum and bass Sound

The bass design in Audio’s work constitutes the primary focal point of his tracks. His productions typically feature layered low-frequency elements that shift and interact throughout a track’s duration. These sounds are extensively processed, often employing distortion, modulation, and filtering to create bass textures that evolve rather than remain static. This approach requires careful attention to frequency management, as the density of elements in his arrangements creates potential for clutter in the lower registers.

His drum programming follows similar principles of complexity. Snares tend toward sharp, aggressive transients that cut through dense bass arrangements. Hi-hat patterns are often rapid and detailed, providing rhythmic momentum that complements rather than competes with the bass elements. The overall percussion aesthetic favors mechanical precision over the looser, more sample-based approaches found in other drum and bass styles.

Atmospheric elements in Audio’s productions typically serve a supporting role, providing context for the primary bass and uk drum and bass components. Synthesizer pads, textural backgrounds, and occasional melodic elements tend toward dark, sometimes unsettling tones that reinforce the industrial and science fiction themes suggested by his album titles and track names. These elements are generally sparse, appearing and disappearing to create dynamics rather than functioning as standalone features.

Across his discography, the core components of Audio’s style have remained recognizably consistent. The evolution between his earliest and most recent work manifests in dj production quality and technical refinement rather than fundamental stylistic shifts. Later releases benefit from improved processing tools and arrangement techniques, but the underlying sonic philosophy remains identifiable throughout his catalog.

Key Releases

Audio’s debut album, To the Edge of Reason, was released in 2008, marking his entry into full-length drum and bass production. The album introduced the core elements that would define his subsequent work: aggressive bass design, precise percussion programming, and a dark, technically focused aesthetic. As a first statement, it established Audio as a producer committed to the harder end of the genre with clear ambitions beyond single-track releases.

  • To the Edge of Reason
  • Genesis Device
  • Soulmagnet
  • Force of Nature
  • Beastmode

Discography Highlights

Genesis Device arrived in 2010, a two-year gap since his debut. The album title signals the science fiction themes that permeate his work, while the production demonstrates advancement in his sound design capabilities. The intervening years allowed for technical growth, and the release reflects increased confidence in manipulating the dense, layered textures that characterize his approach.

In 2012, Audio released Soulmagnet, his third album in four years. This period represents the most productive phase of his career in terms of album output. The release continued his exploration of neurofunk aesthetics without significant deviation from the template established by his earlier work, refining existing techniques rather than introducing new directions.

The year brought Force of Nature (2013), arriving just one year after its predecessor. This brief interval between albums is unusual in a genre where dj producers often take longer gaps between full-length projects. The album maintained his established sonic territory, demonstrating that the shorter production timeline had not compromised his attention to detail.

After a three-year hiatus from album releases, Audio returned with Beastmode in 2016. This gap represents the longest interval between any of his confirmed albums and suggests a period of recalibration or other commitments outside the studio. The album conforms to the production standards and aesthetic expectations established by his earlier work, arriving as his fifth and most recent confirmed full-length release. Since this album, Audio has continued to release music into 2024, though no further albums have been confirmed in the provided data.

Famous Tracks

Audio operates within the harder spectrum of British drum and bass, emphasizing aggressive sound design, tight drum programming, and abrasive bass frequencies. His debut album, To the Edge of Reason (2008), introduced this rigorous aesthetic to the UK underground. The production relies on precise, rapid-fire breakbeats layered under harsh, metallic synthesizer loops. Instead of relying on traditional melodic progressions, Audio constructs tracks using rigid, rhythmic motifs that manipulate the groove through strict repetition and subtle rhythmic variations. The arrangement of these records avoids long, drawn-out breakdowns, favoring quick drops and sustained periods of percussive intensity. The mastering emphasizes loudness and punch, ensuring the kick drums cut through the mix even at high tempos.

He carried this mechanical precision into his sophomore effort, Genesis Device (2010). This release pushed the structural complexity of his sound further, utilizing distorted low-frequency oscillators and heavily processed drum breaks. The album creates a dense, high-energy atmosphere by treating the synthesizers as percussive instruments. By chopping, pitching, and rearranging the bass elements, he creates a jagged soundscape that demands attention on a club system. Audio uses sidechain compression heavily to ensure the kick drums punch through the dense sub-bass frequencies, a technique that defines his early sonic signature. These two releases established the foundational template for his career: a strict focus on sonic weight, technical execution, and high-impact sound design over conventional musicality.

Live Performances

Audio approaches live performances with a strict emphasis on high-octane, precise mixing. As an artist rooted in the Great Britain electronic circuit, his schedule aligns heavily with the demands of high-capacity club nights and dedicated bass music festivals. Translating his meticulous studio productions to a live environment requires flawless execution, as his tracks leave little room for error due to their complex drum programming and rapid tempo changes. His DJ sets function as continuous, technically demanding mixes that blend his own discography with similar hardware-driven drum and bass. He often employs multiple turntables or CDJs to layer acapellas or additional percussion over his own tracks, increasing the density of the performance.

Notable Shows

The release of Soulmagnet in 2012 provided a new arsenal for these performances, specifically tailored for large, heavy-duty sound systems where the sub-frequencies can physically impact the audience. Just a year later, Force of Nature (2013) added even more functional material to his live repertoire. This rapid release cycle ensured that audiences consistently heard fresh, exclusive dubplates during his shows, keeping the sets unpredictable. When performing, the structural rigidity of his studio recordings often gives way to longer, drawn-out mixes, allowing individual drum patterns to interlock over extended periods. He avoids excessive microphone hype or stage antics, preferring to let the mechanics of the turntables and the volume of the sound system speak for themselves.

Why They Matter

Audio represents a specific, enduring facet of the Great Britain electronic music landscape: the commitment to technical, heavy, dancefloor-oriented production. In a genre that frequently shifts toward atmospheric elements or commercial vocalists, Audio maintained a consistent, aggressive sound profile throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s. His relevance stems from an unwavering dedication to studio craft, maximizing the sonic capabilities of digital audio workstations to create maximum impact. The precision required to assemble tracks at this level of complexity ensures his work remains relevant to DJs who require reliable tools for peak-time sets.

Impact on drum and bass

The 2016 release of Beastmode serves as a prime example of this technical progression. The album demonstrates advanced sound design, utilizing complex modulation routing to create basslines that shift and mutate rhythmically across the stereo field. By isolating specific frequency bands and applying precise distortion, he creates a signature sonic palette that is instantly recognizable on any system. Audio matters within the scene because he provides a functional, yet highly technical blueprint for modern, hard drum and bass. The impact of his work is measurable in the consistency of his release schedule and the sustained support from prominent underground DJs. By focusing purely on the mechanics of rhythm, distortion, and bass synthesis, he secures a permanent position in the lineups of clubs prioritizing unyielding, high-tempo electronic music.

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