Nero

Nero
Origin	London, United Kingdom
Genres	Dubstep, drum and bass, electro house
Years active	2004–present
Labels	MTA, Interscope, Cherrytree
Associated acts	Chase & Status, Flux Pavilion, Muse, Skream, Skrillex, Rusko
Website	www.thisisnero.com

Members	Daniel Stephens Joe Ray Alana Watson

Nero are a British electronic music trio composed of members Daniel Stephens, Joe Ray and vocalist Alana Watson.[1] In August 2011 they released their debut studio album 'Welcome Reality'[2] which reached number one in the UK Albums Chart. In August 2012, "Promises" achieved gold status in the United States. On 10 February 2013, Nero won a Grammy for their collaborative remix with Skrillex of Promises.[3]

History

Daniel and Joe were both born in 1984 and spent their childhood together in Northwood, London. Ray played classical guitar and Stephens played cello with encouragement from his free-jazz musician father. By the time a mutual friend introduced them at the age of 15, Stephens was attending the specialist music school at Pimlico. Outside school both were making electronic music on home computers. They began working together at 17, setting up a studio in Stephens' bedroom. The latter had already been a fan of jungle music after seeing M-Beat featuring General Levy on Top of the Pops in 1994. Ray’s epiphany (according to Q), happened in the London club Fabric where the duo's ideas about producing were cemented.[4]

Nero's debut release was "Space 2001" as part of the "Straight Outta Leicester" three piece vinyl LP on Reformed Recordings in 2004. Nero's debut dubstep release was "This Way."

Sasha Frere-Jones, journalist for the New Yorker Magazine, listed Nero's remix of The Streets, "Blinded by the Lights" in his top songs of 2009.[5] The track had radio airplay in the UK as well as being played by DJs including Chase & Status, Skream, Tiësto and Diplo.

Welcome Reality (2010–present)

The duo released their first single on MTA, "Innocence", in the United Kingdom on 26 April 2010. The single was released as a double A-side with the track "Electron" as a digital download, as well as on vinyl. The track peaked at number one hundred and sixty seven on the UK Singles Chart besides peaking at number sixteen and eleven on the Dance and Independent charts respectively. On 6 December 2010, Nero was nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll.[6]

The nomination was followed by the addition of their second single on MTA "Me & You" to BBC Radio 1's A List playlist on 8 December 2010.[citation needed] The single was released in the United Kingdom as both a digital download and a 12" vinyl on 2 January 2011, where it debuted at number fifteen on the UK Singles Chart, also managing to reach the number one spot on the independent releases chart.[citation needed] The duo's third single, "Guilt" made its premiere on 22 February when Zane Lowe selected it as the Hottest Record in the World.[7]

Having been released on 24 April 2011, "Guilt" debuted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart. The London duo's debut album Welcome Reality was released on 15 August 2011 and features tracks "Innocence", "Me & You", "Guilt", "Promises", "Crush on You", "Reaching Out" & "Must Be The Feeling". The track, "Promises" made its debut on 17 May when Zane Lowe named it Hottest Record in the World - the third consecutive single from the duo to achieve this feat. "Promises" debuted at number one the UK Singles Chart on 14 August 2011 ― for the week ending dated 20 August 2011. On the week ending dated 14 July 2012 "Promises" debuted at number eighty one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States,[8] which marked their first single to chart in the United States. Their debut album entitled "Welcome Reality" was released on 15 August 2011 and debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart. They also produced Example's single "Stay Awake" which also topped the UK Singles Chart in August 2011. Nero released 'Reaching Out' on 18 December 2011. The music video starred Daryl Hall as well as both members of the band. It charted at number seventeen on the UK Dance Chart. The seventh single released was "Must Be The Feeling".

The duo toured their live show after the release of their album during Autumn 2011 in both the United Kingdom and United States.[9] In early 2012, the duo toured their live show entitled 'Second Reality Tour' across Australia, the United Kingdom and North America. Nero declined touring as a support act for Madonna's MDNA Tour over the summer, as they felt that they needed to spend much more time in the studio. The duo did however, make several appearances at festivals across the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom, such as Electric Daisy Carnival, Pukkelpop and V Festival.

On 22 August, Nero announced via their Facebook page that they had remixed Michael Jackson's "Speed Demon" for the 25th anniversary edition of Bad.

In September 2012, in an interview with Zane Lowe on Radio 1, Nero announced that they would be focused more on their own music rather than producing for other artists in the future. The duo also revealed they were working on two new remixes with Skrillex, a forthcoming single and a new album which is 'still in the works, but coming sooner rather than later'.

"Won't You (Be There)" was released as a free download on 24 September 2012 via their official website.

The Skrillex & Nero remix of Monsta's "Holdin On" received its premiere on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on 1 October 2012.[10] The remix was featured on Monsta's self-titled EP, released on 23 October 2012.[11]

Their song, "Promises" is featured in the HP television advertisement for their notebooks with Beats Audio in 2012.[12]

In 2012, the band produced a song titled "Follow Me" on Muse's 6th studio album, The 2nd Law.

On 22 October 2012, their debut album was re-released as "Welcome Reality +". It features two new tracks, "Won't You (Be There)" and "Etude", along with the Skrillex & Nero remix of "Promises".[13] An EP of "Won't You (Be There)" was released on the same day, featuring the original alongside "Etude" and remixes from Baauer and Club Cheval.[14]

On 23 April 2013, their track for the soundtrack of the Baz Luhrmann rendition of The Great Gatsby was revealed: "Into The Past". [15]

Additional works

Nero composed an orchestral piece known as The Dubstep Symphony (later officially titled 'Symphony 2808'), performed by the duo in collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Joe Duddell on BBC Radio 1 on 6 June 2011.[16]
Nero's Doomsday was introduced in the trailer for Borderlands 2, however the song was first seen on the album release of Welcome Reality as the second track.
Nero's My Eyes is used in Brandon Semenuk's section in mountain bike film From the Inside out.

Discography

Nero discography

Releases
↙Studio albums	1
↙Singles	16
↙Music videos	7

The discography of Nero, a British electronic music act, consists of one studio album and sixteen singles.

The trio, Daniel Stephens, Joseph Ray and Alana Watson released their first official single, from Welcome Reality, "Innocence" in the United Kingdom on 26 April 2010. The single was released as a double A-side with the track "Electron". The track peaked at number 167 on the UK Singles Chart. On 6 December 2010, Nero were nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll.[17]

The nomination was followed by the addition of their second official single "Me & You". The single was released in the UK on 2 January 2011, where it debuted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. The trio's third single, "Guilt" made its premiere when Zane Lowe selected it as his Hottest Record in the World on 22 February 2011.[18] The single was released on 24 April 2011, debuting at number 8 in the UK.

"Promises" made its debut on 17 May 2011, when Zane Lowe named it Hottest Record in the World — the third consecutive single from the group to achieve this feat. On 14 August 2011, "Promises" debuted at number 1 in the UK. The London trio's debut album Welcome Reality was released on 15 August 2011, and reached number 1 on the UK Albums Chart. Nero released "Reaching Out" on 18 December 2011. It charted at 17 on the UK Dance Chart. The last single from the album was "Must Be the Feeling".

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

Dubstep Music Awards North America

Ivor Novello Awards

Q Awards

Dubstep Music Awards (UK)

Drum & Bass Awards

Beatport Awards

References

^ "Nero Bio, Music, News & Shows". DJZ.com. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
^ "iTunes - Music - Welcome Reality by Nero". Itunes.apple.com. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
^ "The 55th Annual Grammy Awards". The 55th Annual Grammy Awards. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
^ Stubbs, Dan. Q magazine. December 2011. They Came From Outta Bass. pp 88-92.
^ Frere, Sasha (1 August 2011). "Sasha Frere-Jones: The Best Recordings of 2009: Annotated Version". The New Yorker. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
^ BBC. "Sound of 2011 - Nero". Retrieved 1 December 2011.
^ BBC. "Hottest Record in the World - 22 February 2011". Retrieved 1 December 2011.
^ http://www.billboard.com/artist/312133/nero/chart
^ "Nero announce their first live show and confirm Tinie Tempah support". Retrieved 1 December 2011.
^ "me and nero...". Facebook. 2012-10-01.
^ "MONSTA - Holdin On (Skrillex & Nero Remix) by weareMONSTA on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free". SoundCloud. 2012-10-01.
^ http://shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/static/page-beats?jumpid=re_r602_beats_site_redirect
^ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/genre/dance/exclusive-interscope-to-re-release-nero-1007944702.story
^ "iTunes - Music - Won't You (Be There) [Remixes] - EP by Nero". iTunes. 2012-10-22.
^ "SoundCloud - Nero - Into The Past". SoundCloud. 2013-04-23.
^ "BBC Philharmonic". Retrieved 1 December 2011.
^ BBC. "Sound of 2011 - Nero". Retrieved 1 December 2011.
^ BBC. "Hottest Record in the World - 22 February 2011". Retrieved 1 December 2011.
^ a b Peak positions in the United Kingdom:
- For all except where noted: "The Official Charts Company - Nero (band)". The Official Charts Company. 5 May 2013.
- For "Innocence / Electron": "New Chart Entries > May 8, 2010". Zobbel.de. 2010-05-08.
- For "Must Be the Feeling": "New Chart Entries > March 17, 2012". Zobbel.de. 2012-03-17.
- For "Won't You (Be There)": "New Chart Entries > November 3, 2012". Zobbel.de. 2012-11-03.
^ "Chart Archive > Dance Albums > 27 August 2011". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
^ a b Peak positions in Australia:
- For all except where noted: "Australian Charts > Nero". australian-charts.com Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
- For "Guilt": ARIA Charts > ARIA Report > 12 September 2011 (PDF) (1124). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
^ a b "Belgium (Flanders) Charts > Nero" (in Dutch). ultratop.be/nl Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
^ "Irish Charts > Nero". irish-charts.com Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
^ a b "New Zealand Charts > Nero". charts.org.nz Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
^ "Chart Archive > Scottish Albums > 27 August 2011". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
^ a b "Swiss Charts > Nero" (in German). hitparade.ch Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
^ a b "Nero Album & Song Chart History". billboard.com/.
^ http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display_album.asp?chart=1G50
^ "BPI Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
^ "Austrian Charts > Nero". austriancharts.at/ Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
^ "France Charts > Nero" (in French). lescharts.com Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
^ "charts.de - Nero - Promises". charts.de - Media Control. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
^ Peak positions for singles in Scotland:
- For "Me & You": "Chart Archive > Scottish Singles > 22 January 2011". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- For "Guilt": "Chart Archive > Scottish Singles > 7 May 2011". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- For "Promises": "Chart Archive > Scottish Singles > 20 August 2011". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- For "Crush on You": "Chart Archive > Scottish Singles > 29 October 2011". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
^ http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display.asp?chart=1U50
^ "Canadian digital download certifications – Nero – Promises". Music Canada.
^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=nero#

External links

Official website
Nero discography at Discogs

Curate

Track

Check