Send "Nero " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Allmusic |
 The idea of creating a score for a fictional film is nothing new, but London producer Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray, aka Nero, are perhaps the first act from the increasingly dominant dubstep scene to tackle such an ambitious concept with their debut album, Welcome Reality. Right from the ominous proggy opener of "2808," the year their post-apocalyptic "movie" is set in, it appears that they are up for the challenge. Having recently collaborated with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra on an equally adventurous project, the pair are no strangers to epic symphonies, and the likes of the thunderous "Doomsday," a Dizzee Rascal-esque fusion of stinging guitars, filthy basslines, and techno beats, the euphoric arms-in-the-air instrumental closer "Departure," and the atmospheric, echo-laden "Scorpions" are all underpinned by the kind of grandiose orchestral flourishes that made Vangelis a household name. But somewhere along the way, the duo seem to abandon their cinematic ambitions and head straight for the kind of bombastic, speaker-blowing pop-step favored by their label bosses, Chase & Status, such as the swaggering, metal-tinged wall of noise that is "Me and You," the fuzzy synth stabs of chart-topper "Promises," and the spacious early-'90s rave-inspired "Innocence," all of which contain the ethereal and often acrobatic vocals of Stephens' girlfriend Alana Watson. While their stadium-sized anthemic qualities are undeniable, it's a pity that their classical leanings aren't explored more often, as when they drift toward the poppier end of the scale, as on their reworkings of the Jets' 1986 hit, "Crush on You" and Carmen's '80s groove classic "Time to Move ("Must Be the Feeling)," and the Hall & Oates-sampling "Reaching Out," they run the risk of turning into dubstep's answer to Eric Prydz. Buried beneath the relentless, grinding beats and wobbly bass tremors, Welcome Reality is home to a potentially great but unfinished sci-fi blockbuster soundtrack, but unable to sustain its early momentum, it ends up being merely a solid first offering rather than the trail-blazing spectacular that was anticipated. ...full text |
| Guardian |
| There's a longstanding tradition that an artist who starts their own record company will use it to sign artists in their own image: they don't call them vanity labels for nothing. So it is that the big signing to London-based commercial drum'n'bass/dubstep duo Chase and Status's MTA Records is the London-based commercial drum'n'bass/dubstep duo Nero. The two acts share the same grasp of dynamics – which is one way of saying they they think subtle is a village in the Languedoc – but there's the distinct suggestion that Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray might have loftier ambitions than their sponsors. Earlier this year, they collaborated with composer Joe Duddell and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra on something dispiritingly titled the Dubstep Symphony. They're not the first dance artists to liken their album to the soundtrack for an imaginary film – recent figures suggest they're actually the 5,246th – but theirs comes with another concept attached. "It's set in the ficitional year of 2808," offered Stephens. "I personally hear this as a post-apocalyptic world trying to rebuild itself." As is so often the case with concept albums, the concept itself seems to run out of steam pretty quickly. It's a quicksilver analytical brain that's able to define the exact relationship between a post-apocalyptic world trying to rebuild itself and, say, recent single Promises: "You got me so wild, you got me so high, can't you see it in my eyes?" etc. But initially at least, you can hear what they're driving at. Welcome Reality opens with two minutes of portentous synthesiser chords. The subsequent Book of Harmony nearly knocks itself out trying to create a mood of dark foreboding. It has vast brass fanfares, a film-trailer voiceover, disaster-movie strings, lashing rain, a dramatic sample from John Adams's Harmonielehre – a classical piece inspired by a 1911 study of tonal harmony by Schoenberg that married the developmental techniques of minimalism with Sibelius and Debussy's fin-de-siecle Romanticism, and, perhaps more pertinently, featured in the video games Civilisation IV and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – all interspersed with a voice that keeps saying "doomsday". Unfortunately, the voice that keeps saying "doomsday" sounds exactly the same as the one that says "bonkers!" on the Dizzee Rascal track of the same name, which, with the best will in the world, rather undermines the atmosphere of apocalyptic dread....full text |
| Themusicninja |
| After hearing so many great Nero tracks over the past 18-months – this album is long over due. Nero were formed way back in 2004 and right now the London duo are top of their game. Relentlessly touring, constantly crafting out top notch remixes and now finally releasing their 19 track debut album – the stage is set for Dan & Joe to really take their sound worldwide. So what should you expect? Well put simply − it’s Nero plus! Firstly – the album draws from a smorgasbord of inspiration from the likes of The Bloody Beetroots, Daft Punk, The Magnetic Man boys and Deadmau5 (no surprises there ay) yet the instantly recognisable Nero synths & vocals are threaded through the whole album, almost re-assuring you that you’re in a safe place… thanks....full text |
Nero lyrics Music videoclips
|
| |||||||
