Overmono

U.K. electronic duo Overmono craft their distinctive club-focused output by drawing on a deep affinity for intense '90s rave, trance, and breakbeat traditions. After launching the Arla EP trilogy in the mid-2010s, the pair quickly established themselves as regulars on the festival circuit and issued club staples including the 2021 track "So U Kno" alongside several joint efforts with Joy Orbison. Their initial commercially available mix, Fabric Presents Overmono, surfaced in 2021, followed by the EP Cash Romantic in 2022. The full-length debut Good Lies arrived in 2023 and sharpened their blend of U.K. club elements with U.S. R&B flavors.

Born and raised in Wales, brothers Tom and Ed Russell each built separate electronic careers prior to teaming as Overmono, the former under the hard-edged techno alias Truss and the latter via bass-driven rave productions as Tessela, though they briefly united earlier as the hardware techno outfit TR//ER. Seeking to step away from those individual identities, they reserved five days at a remote cottage studio in Devon to develop material and explore a potential release. Influenced by classic rave records together with early-'90s trance and techno, their forward-thinking electronica approach attracted the attention of XL Recordings, which signed the siblings on the spot.

Overmono's first EP, Arla, emerged in 2016 and showcased expansive, trance-derived arpeggiated lines paired with gritty rave breaks that earned DJ support and favorable notices. Arla II followed several months later at the start of 2017 and again evoked the atmosphere of early-'90s British pirate radio alongside illegal outdoor parties. Subsequent standalone releases included 2018's Raft Living and 2019's Bromley/Still Moving, issued with Joy Orbison under the Joy Overmono name. In 2020 the duo returned to XL for the EP Everything You Need, which adopted a more refined and layered aesthetic. They delivered the DJ mix Fabric Presents Overmono the next year, incorporating selections from Equiknoxx, Blawan, Orca, and Actress. Two additional XL singles appeared during 2021, while "BMW Track"/"So U Kno" came out on their Poly Kicks imprint, with the latter track later voted Resident Advisor's best of the year. Cash Romantic, their third XL outing to display dogs on the artwork, was issued in 2022. They also put out "Blind Date," a Joy Overmono cut built around an Abra sample. The long-awaited debut album Good Lies reached listeners in 2023 and expanded on the R&B-sampling club aesthetic established by their earlier successes.