Excision

Jeff Abel, performing as Excision, advanced dubstep’s reach across North America as a Canadian producer and DJ by creating multiple thriving record labels and festivals while landing several albums on Billboard’s dance chart. His heavy, aggressive approach to the genre regularly merges drum’n’bass, metal, and trap, resulting in work with many guest vocalists and producers. Recognition first arrived in the late 2000s via the Rottun Recordings label he operated inside the dubstep community, soon followed by a reputation for large-scale live productions that deployed enormous, advanced sound systems and spectacular visuals. After issuing his debut full-length X Rated in 2011 on Mau5trap, he assembled the live dubstep outfit Destroid with Downlink and Pendulum drummer KJ Sawka. While headlining festivals worldwide he originated his own events Lost Lands and Bass Canyon, and his increasingly intense, expansive productions appeared on albums such as Virus in 2016 and Onyx in 2022.

Initial tracks from the British Columbian, some released on the Rottun label he launched with Downlink, surfaced toward the end of the 2000s. For X Rated, however, he moved to Mau5trap; the 2011 album featured Downlink, Datsik, and Mr. Hudson. Destroid, the supergroup formed with Downlink and KJ Sawka, toured widely and delivered The Invasion in 2013. Codename X, his harder-edged second album, arrived in 2015 and opened at number three on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums chart behind singles “Bring the Madness” and “Robo Kitty.” Throughout his ascent Abel continued releasing annual Shambhala mixes as a DJ and performer. Virus, his third album, followed in 2016 with Dion Timmer and Protohype; after singles “Africa” and “Final Boss” it rose one position higher on the dance chart.

The next year Abel debuted his prehistoric-themed festival Lost Lands, hosting Seven Lions, Zeds Dead, Kill the Noise, and others. Apex, his fourth album, appeared in 2018 with contributions from Space Laces, Illenium, Dion Timmer, and additional artists, becoming his third project to reach the top ten of Billboard’s dance chart. Shortly after its release the first Bass Canyon was staged at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. Two 2019 EPs, Breaking Through with Dion Timmer and Evolution with Wooli, preceded the 2020 Astralwerks single “Feel Something,” a collaboration with Illenium and metalcore band I Prevail that peaked at number eight on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Abel next founded Subsidia and issued frequent singles in the early 2020s; Onyx, his fifth album, surfaced in 2022 before he launched Paradise Blue Festival in Cancún, Mexico.