Black Sun Empire: the Utrecht trio known as the kings of neuro

Neurofunk is one of the most technically demanding styles of drum and bass, and few groups have done more to define it than Black Sun Empire. Wikipedia reports that critics have called them the kings of all things neuro. Their story begins in the Netherlands in the 1990s.

Three friends from Utrecht

The group formed in Utrecht in 1997 from the producers Rene Verdult and the brothers Micha and Milan Heyboer. Wikipedia says the three knew each other from childhood, were first exposed to jungle as teenagers in the mid 1990s and began to produce together in 1993. They started using the name Black Sun Empire, a reference to Star Wars, in 1997.

The first records

In 1999 the trio issued their debut 12 inch single, Voltage and Skin Deep, through Piruh Records. More singles and split releases followed over the next four years, some of them through their own label, Black Sun Empire Recordings, which they set up in 2002. In 2003, as Empirical Labs, they released a single called Turtle Beach on A State of Trance, a reminder of how far producers in this genre sometimes travel from their home sound.

A body of work

Since their beginnings, the group has released six full length albums and operated three independent labels: Black Sun Empire Recordings, Obsessions and Blackout Music NL. Running labels is part of what makes them influential. They have not only made records; they have shaped the way a scene works by supporting other artists.

Why the Dutch sound matters

The Netherlands has long been a centre for neuro and techy drum and bass, with Noisia, another Dutch group, also helping define the style. The closeness of their scene, and its focus on sound design and precision, produced records that influenced producers all over the world.

Listening

If you are new to neurofunk, start with the group's singles and a full album and listen on good speakers. Notice how the drums stay tight while the bass changes shape, and how little room there is between sounds. Then compare it with the earlier techstep records from the mid 1990s, which were colder and more mechanical, and you will hear how the style developed.

Our own guide to neurofunk explains the term and its origins. Black Sun Empire's records are a living example of what it describes.