Overmono

U.K. electronic duo Overmono are known for their infectious, club-ready sound, informed by their love of hard-edged '90s rave, trance, and breakbeat. Debuting with the Arla EP trilogy during the middle of the 2010s, the duo gradually became a ubiquitous presence in the club world, frequently appearing at festivals and releasing anthems such as 2021's "So U Kno" and multiple collaborations with Joy Orbison. Their first commercially issued mix, Fabric Presents Overmono, appeared in 2021, and the EP Cash Romantic followed in 2022. They released their debut full-length, Good Lies, in 2023, refining their mixture of U.K. club and U.S. R&B influences. Raised in Wales, siblings Tom and Ed Russell both had successful careers in electronic music before they began collaborating as Overmono -- with Tom known for his hard-edged techno as Truss, and Ed for his rave-instilled bass work as Tessela -- although there was a brief time the brothers performed together as the hardware-based techno duo TR//ER. Deciding to reduce the influence of their individual work from the mix, the pair booked five days in an isolated cottage studio in Devon to thrash out ideas and put together tracks for a possible release. Drawing inspiration from their love of classic rave music and early-'90s trance and techno, the duo's unique mix of boundary-pushing electronica caught the ear of pioneering British dance label XL Recordings, which instantly signed the brothers. Overmono's debut EP, Arla, appeared in 2016, with its mix of big-room, trance-inspired arpeggiated riffs and dusty rave breaks gaining DJ play and positive reviews. The follow-up, Arla II, appeared a few months later in early 2017 and was once again instilled with the feeling of early-'90s British pirate radio stations and illegal outdoor raves. More stand-alone releases followed, including 2018's Raft Living and 2019's Bromley/Still Moving with Joy Orbison (as Joy Overmono). In 2020, Overmono returned to XL with another EP, Everything You Need, which found them embracing an even more polished and nuanced sound. In 2021 they released the DJ mix Fabric Presents Overmono, which also featured music from Equiknoxx, Blawan, Orca, and Actress. Two other singles appeared on XL during the year, as well as "BMW Track"/"So U Kno" on the duo's own Poly Kicks; its B-side was named the best track of the year by Resident Advisor. Cash Romantic, their third XL release to feature dogs on the cover, came out in 2022. They also released "Blind Date," a Joy Overmono track based around an Abra sample. Good Lies, Overmono's long-awaited debut album, arrived in 2023, building on the R&B-sampling club sound of their previous hits. ~ Rich Wilson & Paul Simpson