Nero (UK) — Dubstep & Drum & Bass DJNero (UK)
Nero are an English electronic trio from London comprising Dan Stephens and Joe Ray, both born in 1984, with Alana Watson as a full-time member. Stephens grew up in Notting Hill and Ray in Northwood; as teenagers, the pair began as bedroom producers before appearing on the Straight Outta Leicester vinyl LP in 2004. They broke through through dubstep between 2008 and 2011, while their DJ and live identity has drawn on hard drum and bass, jungle, French house and electronica.
Fabric in London holds particular importance in their story, as the place where Ray had an early production epiphany. Their November 2010 BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix was voted Greatest Essential Mix of All Time, an influential mark of their DJ programming. In June 2011, they performed The Dubstep Symphony, later titled Symphony 2808, live with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra on BBC Radio 1.
Nero won the 2013 Grammy for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for the Skrillex & Nero remix of Promises, and received the 2012 Dubstep Music Awards North America prize for Best International Dubstep Act. In 2022, they joined deadmau5's We Are Friends tour as main support. Their path connects bass-music club culture to elaborate collaborative and orchestral settings without losing the hard-edged rhythmic focus of their sets.