Nero are an electronic music act from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 consisting of Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray. Alana Watson provides vocals on many of the duo's songs, though she is not officially a band member. On 6 December 2010, Nero were announced as nominees for the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

's Sound of 2011 poll.

History

Nero are electronic music artists, best known for producing drum and bass

Drum and bass

Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...

, dubstep

Dubstep

Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....

 and house

House music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

. Nero's debut release was "Space 2001" as part of the "Straight Outta Leicester" three piece vinyl LP on Reformed Recordings in 2004. Nero's debut dubstep release was "This Way" in 2008. They won the 2010 Beatport

Beatport

Beatport is an online music store specializing in electronic dance music and culture. Beatport is a privately held company owned and operated by Beatport LLC and based in Denver, Colorado.-History:...

 awards for Best Dubstep Act and Best Dubstep Track for "Act Like You Know". Nero recently released their first album, named Welcome Reality

Welcome Reality

Welcome Reality is the first album by UK dubstep act Nero. A concept album, it was released in Ireland on 12 August 2011 and the rest of the world on 15 August 2011 except Australia and New Zealand which was released on 19 August 2011 on Chase & Status's MTA Records.-Singles:*"Innocence" was the...

(after the "Me & You" B-side), signed to MTA Records, owned by Chase & Status

Chase & Status

Chase & Status are an electronic music production duo from London consisting of Saul Milton and Will Kennard. MC Rage & Andy Gangadeen also make up the live band.-2003-2005:...

.

Sasha Frere-Jones

Sasha Frere-Jones

Sasha Frere-Jones is an American writer, music critic, and musician. He has written for Pretty Decorating, ego trip, Hit It And Quit It, Mean, Slant, The New York Post, The Wire, The Village Voice, Slate, Spin, and The New York Times...

, journalist for the New Yorker Magazine, listed Nero's remix

Remix

A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....

 of The Streets

The Streets

The Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...

, "Blinded by the Lights" in his top songs of 2009. The track had radio airplay in the UK as well as being played by DJs including Chase & Status

Chase & Status

Chase & Status are an electronic music production duo from London consisting of Saul Milton and Will Kennard. MC Rage & Andy Gangadeen also make up the live band.-2003-2005:...

, Skream

Skream

Skream is a dubstep producer based in Croydon. One of dubstep's first and most prominent producers, he has played an important role in the genre's development. His debut album Skream! was released in 2006, and was followed up by Outside the Box in 2010...

, Tiësto

Tiësto

Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...

 and Diplo. More recently Nero have remixed La Roux

La Roux

La Roux are an English electropop duo made up of singer, keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Eleanor Kate Jackson, and co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid. Jackson describes their relationship as "very much a half and half sharing situation... not like a singer producer outfit", but also...

, deadmau5

Deadmau5

Joel Thomas Zimmerman , better known by his stage name deadmau5 , is a Canadian progressive, electro, and house producer based in Toronto...

 and N*E*R*D.

Welcome Reality (2010–present)

The duo released their first official single "Innocence" in the United Kingdom on 26 April 2010. The single was released as a double A-side with the track "Electron" as a digital download

Music download

A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

, as well as on vinyl

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

. The track peaked at number 167 on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 besides peaking at number 16 and 11 on the Dance

UK Dance Chart

The UK Dance Chart is a chart compiled by The Official Charts Company from sales in record stores and digital downloads. Although the chart does not currently receive any airplay on the radio or television, the chart can be viewed on the BBC Radio 1 and The Official Charts Company website.Digital...

 and Independent

UK Indie Chart

The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...

 charts. On 6 December 2010, Nero were nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2011

Sound of... (BBC poll)

Sound of... is an annual poll of music critics and industry figures to find the most promising new music talent. It was first conducted by the BBC News website in 2003. A top 10 list is published each January.-Winners:-Sound of 2009:...

 poll.

The nomination was followed by the addition of their second official single "Me & You

Me & You (Nero song)

"Me and You" is a single from drum and bass duo Nero that appears on their debut album Welcome Reality and features vocals from frequent collaborator Alana. The single was released in the United Kingdom as a digital download on 2 January 2011, with a 12" vinyl available the following day...

" to BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

's A List playlist on 8 December 2010. The single was released in the UK as both a digital download and a 12" vinyl on 2 January 2011, where it debuted at number 15 on the singles chart, also managing to reach the number one spot on the independent releases chart. The duo's third single, "Guilt

Guilt (Nero song)

"Guilt" is the third single from English dubstep duo Nero, featuring vocals from frequent collaborator Alana Watson. It was released as a digital download on 22 April 2011 by Chase & Status' record label, MTA Records...

" made its premiere when Zane Lowe

Zane Lowe

Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...

 selected it as his Hottest Record in the World on 22 February.

Having been released on 24 April, "Guilt" debuted at number 8 in the UK. The London duo's debut album Welcome Reality was released on 15 August 2011 and features tracks "Innocence", "Me & You", "Guilt" and "Promises

Promises (Nero song)

"Promises" is a song by English electronic duo Nero from their debut album, Welcome Reality. It was released as the fourth single from the album on August 5, 2011. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on August 14, becoming the group's first number-one single...

". The latter track, "Promises" made its debut on 17 May when Zane Lowe named it Hottest Record in the World - the third consecutive single from the duo to achieve this feat. On 14 August 2011, "Promises" debuted at number 1 in the UK singles chart. Their debut album entitled "Welcome Reality" was released on 15 August 2011 and debuted at number 1 in the UK album chart. They also produced Example's

Example (rapper)

Elliot John Gleave , better known by his stage name Example, is an English singer and rapper signed to Data Records. His name arose due to his initials being E.G., which is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "exempli gratia", which means, "for example".Example's third album Playing In The Shadows...

 single "Stay Awake

Stay Awake (song)

"Stay Awake" is a song by British recording artist Example from his upcoming third studio album, Playing in the Shadows. It was released on 28 August 2011 as the album's second single. The song was written by Example and produced by Nero. The song was added to BBC Radio 1 playlist. The song...

" which also topped the charts in 2011.

The duo will also be touring their live show this coming Autumn in both the UK and US.

Additional works

• Nero composed an orchestral piece known as the dubstep symphony (later officially titled 'Symphony 2808'), performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra on BBC Radio 1 on 6 June 2011