Their sound has been described as one of the most authentic representations of British soul since Soul2Soul’s club classics. For the last five years, Stress & DSV have been one of the underground black music scene’s best kept secrets , having produced for a wide range of artists from top UK grime MC’s, international spoken word artists, r&b vocalists, and even Hollywood actors.
Stress (Kwesi Opoku) and DSV (James Anderson), met at Kingston college whilst they were both still in their teens. It was at Kingston, that the two realised that they both shared an absolutely encyclopaedic knowledge of black music, a highly unusual gift for youngsters of that age who are usually only into the music that is hot at the time of their youth. They realised that in their music production class, theirs, was the only music that had real scope and plugged in to the lineage of what had come before.
They started hanging out with each other, and eventually started sharing musical ideas and producing together.
It wasn’t until their nocturnal studio antics were noticed by the other older producers at the fledgling urban record label where they were doing work experience, that they received the knick-name that they would eventually go on to make a byword for quality yet edgy UK urban music.
The Insomniax sound combines Hip Hop sampling techniques, with live guitars and electronic instrumentation. Their songs are vivid snapshots of the full reality of UK inner-city life, not just the narrow negative stereotypes that usually get airplay.
Within their capacity as producers they have worked with the cream of London’s spoken word scene; - Literary activists like TuggSTAR, Carl Ramsey, and The Beyonder, who are all national SLAM poetry winners, have had their recorded projects produced in the Insomniax’s South London studio. They have also produced futuristic backing tracks for East London’s grime fraternity including J2K, Demon, Doctor, and Fumin. In 2006, a chance meeting between their manager and Hollywood actor Idris Elba (The Wire, 28 weeks later, American Gangster), led to an extraordinary partnership which has taken The Insomniax’s music on to the radar of some of the most influential figures in Black music.
Idris was so in love with The Insomniax’s music that he commissioned them to produce his debut Hip-hop album which received a limited release at the beginning of 2007. Such is Idris’s profile in America that a copy of Idris’s album made it onto the desk of the big wigs at Def Jam who asked him to mix a promotional album they were putting out for the launch of The Rock star clothing range by Nike in New York. Naturally he turned to his favourite producers The Insomniax for a track, and lead vocalist DSV ended up introducing the whole album. Insomniax will now release their debut project, The Green Cross Code ep.
The stunning six track mini-album is a groundbreaking take on modern urban music - fusing electronica with live guitars, hard drum programming and HD clarity song-writing.
It serves as an introduction to the world of The Insomniax with subject matter as diverse as; the nanny state, overcoming youthful apathy, and going clubbing without being able to pull.
This is the beginning of something big, a UK act writing songs that the world could eventually love, remember the name because The Insomniax, aren’t going to sleep anytime soon.
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