British producer Joseph Ray, one-third of Grammy-award-winning trio NERO, teams up with Big Beat Records to release a new single from his solo project today titled “300 Below.” The atmospheric techno single is accompanied by a kaleidoscopic visualizer that was created by Strangeloop Studios (a favorite visual artist of Skrillex, Flying Lotus, Amon Tobin, EARTHGANG, Dog Blood and more).
Joseph says, “This upcoming EP is themed around how our identities feel more and more pulled apart in the modern world. It was definitely inspired by 2020, a vintage year for dystopian sci fi moods..”
“300 Below” is simultaneously ominous and ethereal, with evolving, modulating synth lines and skittering percussion emerging unexpectedly from hidden corners. Joseph Ray also announces that a solo EP is on the way, to be released this year. He made his solo debut in 2019 with double single, “Room 1.5 / Chem-EX” on seminal British Trance act, Above & Beyond’s Anjunadeep imprint.
Joseph Ray co-founded NERO as a teenager with a background in classical music. After releasing their debut drum n’ bass EP ‘Requiem’ in 2006, the trio quickly saw their stock rise within the dance music scene. Sasha Frere-Jones, journalist for the New Yorker, listed Nero’s remix of The Streets, “Blinded by the Lights” in his top songs of 2009, which wound up with radio airplay in the UK, as well as garnering early support from influential DJs including Diplo, Chase & Status, Skream and Tiësto. The group went on to release 2 studio albums, Welcome Reality (2011) and Between II Worlds (2015), and countless singles and remixes. They received a GRAMMY Award in 2013 for “Promises” (Skrillex & Nero Remix) and have been nominated/won awards at numerous other ceremonies. They later produced music for Baz Luhrmamn’s ‘The Great Gatsby’, and with Muse on their ‘2nd Law’ album. Joseph Ray began his solo project in 2016.