* En anglais uniquement
Vex'd were a British duo whose aggressive, volatile tracks blended dub, dancehall reggae, and hip-hop elements with industrial and noise textures, becoming a major influence on dubstep and grime. Jamie Teasdale and
Roly Porter met as students in London, but began releasing music after moving to Bristol. Their first two 12"s, "Lion" and "Pop Pop," appeared on Subtext (run by
Porter along with
Paul Jebanasam and
James Ginzburg) in 2004, with "Function" also appearing that year on Drum+Breaks, but
Mike Paradinas was already interested in releasing their material on
Planet Mu. "Gunman" appeared in April of 2005, with full-length
Degenerate arriving in July. The album's CD pressing included a second disc containing tracks from the duo's previously released singles.
Degenerate was one of
Planet Mu's most successful releases, making an impact on the developing dubstep scene as well as earning attention from fans of harder styles of electronic music such as breakcore and IDM. The duo released another 12", "Bombardment of Saturn," on
Planet Mu in 2006, and remixed tracks by dubstep artists
Distance and
Search & Destroy in addition to IDM originators
Plaid as well as composer
Gabriel Prokofiev's String Quartet No. 2.
Vex'd released another 12", "3rd Choice," on
Planet Mu in 2008, but
Porter became disenchanted with the club scene and took a hiatus from making music, and the duo broke up.
Teasdale began recording solo material as Dakimh, then
Jamie Vex'd (releasing In System Travel on
Planet Mu in 2009), finally settling on
Kuedo in 2010.
Planet Mu released
Cloud Seed, a collection of tracks intended for the duo's second album as well as remixes and collaborations, and
Kuedo's debut full-length,
Severant, appeared on the label in 2011. Fusing elements of Chicago's footwork sound with early-'80s work by
Vangelis, the album was a resounding critical success, and would prove to be nearly as influential as
Degenerate.
Roly Porter made his solo debut during the same year with
Aftertime, a dense, harrowing classical-influenced album released by his relaunched Subtext label. The album was also acclaimed, and was followed by concert recording Fall Back: Live at Aldeburgh (in collaboration with
Cynthia Millar) the following year.
Porter's second studio album,
Life Cycle of a Massive Star, appeared on Subtext in 2013.
Porter and Teasdale reunited in 2015, with
Porter guesting on
Kuedo's EP Assertion of a Surrounding Presence, released by Teasdale's
Knives label, and the duo performing as
Vex'd during a
Planet Mu 20th anniversary concert in Belgium.
Porter released his third studio album,
Third Law, on Tri Angle in early 2016. ~ Paul Simpson