The city of Birmingham has long history of spewing forth dark, menacing music, from the nosebleed metal of Black Sabbath and Napalm Death to the frazzled and frenzied electronics of Scorn, Surgeon, Regis and PCM. Originally from London, Birmingham resident Steve Milanese has few ties with his local music scene, and even fewer with the aforementioned artists, yet the music he makes is some of the most intense, hard-hitting and futuristic material currently coming out of the city — or anywhere for that matter.

Milanese builds startlingly complex, abrasive rhythms, referencing styles such as jungle, techno, electro, dubstep and grime, but stamping out a sonic footprint clearly his own,” a clanking, hissing take on dancefloor electronica, where B-movie samples and mangled ragga vocals swell among crashing beats, and snarling basslines head straight for the jugular.

Since his debut release, Cognac on Various Production in 2003, Milanese has appeared on Warp, Arcola, Planet Mu, Seed, MG77 and Combat Recordings. His first full-length album, Extend, dropped like an anvil last year on Mike Paradinas’ Planet Mu imprint, pulling together vicious grime workouts, haunting techno and gritty sound design. The end of this month sees tracks from Extend chopped up and reconstructed by the likes of Clark, Hrdvsion and DJ Distance, and released on Planet Mu as a remix EP entitled Adapt.

(artist bio courtesy of Spannered.org)

Appears on:

Cursor Miner – Carnivore (Milanese remix)

Return to Iacon City (Ten Years of Combat)