Biography
Electronic musician and composer Roly Porter, based in Bristol, United Kingdom, first emerged as half of the groundbreaking dubstep duo Vex'd with Jamie Teasdale. His independent output later moved beyond dancefloor contexts, building thick, intense layers of texture through orchestral instruments combined with powerful, warped low-end frequencies.
Porter and Teasdale formed Vex'd in the early 2000s and issued their initial recordings in 2004 as two 12-inch singles on Subtext, an imprint Porter co-established with Paul Jebanasam of Moving Ninja and James Ginzburg of 30hz, later known through Emptyset. Their forceful, rumbling productions fused dancehall and dub reggae elements with industrial and noise textures, all refracted through the sound-system aesthetics of the British bass continuum.
Vex'd reached Planet Mu in 2005 via the 12-inch single “Gunman,” which preceded their influential debut album Degenerate. While the record left a lasting mark on the expanding dubstep scene, Porter soon grew detached from club environments, and the duo began to unravel before completing a second album. Planet Mu released “Bombardment of Saturn” in 2006 and “3rd Choice” in 2008; shortly afterward the partnership ended, and the label compiled Cloud Seed, a set of unreleased tracks and remixes, in 2010.
Teasdale issued solo work as Dakimh and Jamie Vex’d before settling on Kuedo, a project that would carry comparable weight. Porter, by contrast, stepped back from music entirely, turning instead to carpentry and family life. He resurfaced in 2011 with the solo debut Aftertime on Subtext, an unsettling record that integrated strings and Ondes Martenot, performed by noted British musician Cynthia Millar, amid Porter’s intermittent bursts of noise and bristling distortion.
The same year Porter and Millar presented a commissioned performance at the Aldeburgh Festival, later issued as Fall Back: Live at Aldeburgh on Subtext in 2012. That release featured Millar’s Dobro alongside Ondes Martenot and incorporated arrangements drawn from the Scottish folk song “Henry Martin” set against Porter’s shifting electronics. Also in 2012, Porter supplied a punishing remix for Emptyset’s Demiurge Variations 12-inch.
His second studio album, the celestial Life Cycle of a Massive Star, appeared on Subtext in 2013, extending his classical leanings while introducing stronger rhythmic material and further explorations of severe, tightly controlled distortion. The following year Porter co-produced three tracks for WIFE, the experimental electronic pop project of former Altar of Plagues member James Kelly; those songs surfaced on the debut full-length What’s Between, released by Tri Angle.
In 2015 Porter rejoined Teasdale for the gamelan-influenced track “Event Tracking Across Populated Terrain” on Kuedo’s Assertion of a Surrounding Presence EP, issued by Teasdale’s own Knives label, and also remixed Imaginary Forces’ “Council Flat” for a 12-inch on Bedouin Records. Porter’s third studio album, Third Law, arrived on Tri Angle in early 2015, proving even more gripping and overpowering than his earlier expansive works.
Porter and Teasdale formed Vex'd in the early 2000s and issued their initial recordings in 2004 as two 12-inch singles on Subtext, an imprint Porter co-established with Paul Jebanasam of Moving Ninja and James Ginzburg of 30hz, later known through Emptyset. Their forceful, rumbling productions fused dancehall and dub reggae elements with industrial and noise textures, all refracted through the sound-system aesthetics of the British bass continuum.
Vex'd reached Planet Mu in 2005 via the 12-inch single “Gunman,” which preceded their influential debut album Degenerate. While the record left a lasting mark on the expanding dubstep scene, Porter soon grew detached from club environments, and the duo began to unravel before completing a second album. Planet Mu released “Bombardment of Saturn” in 2006 and “3rd Choice” in 2008; shortly afterward the partnership ended, and the label compiled Cloud Seed, a set of unreleased tracks and remixes, in 2010.
Teasdale issued solo work as Dakimh and Jamie Vex’d before settling on Kuedo, a project that would carry comparable weight. Porter, by contrast, stepped back from music entirely, turning instead to carpentry and family life. He resurfaced in 2011 with the solo debut Aftertime on Subtext, an unsettling record that integrated strings and Ondes Martenot, performed by noted British musician Cynthia Millar, amid Porter’s intermittent bursts of noise and bristling distortion.
The same year Porter and Millar presented a commissioned performance at the Aldeburgh Festival, later issued as Fall Back: Live at Aldeburgh on Subtext in 2012. That release featured Millar’s Dobro alongside Ondes Martenot and incorporated arrangements drawn from the Scottish folk song “Henry Martin” set against Porter’s shifting electronics. Also in 2012, Porter supplied a punishing remix for Emptyset’s Demiurge Variations 12-inch.
His second studio album, the celestial Life Cycle of a Massive Star, appeared on Subtext in 2013, extending his classical leanings while introducing stronger rhythmic material and further explorations of severe, tightly controlled distortion. The following year Porter co-produced three tracks for WIFE, the experimental electronic pop project of former Altar of Plagues member James Kelly; those songs surfaced on the debut full-length What’s Between, released by Tri Angle.
In 2015 Porter rejoined Teasdale for the gamelan-influenced track “Event Tracking Across Populated Terrain” on Kuedo’s Assertion of a Surrounding Presence EP, issued by Teasdale’s own Knives label, and also remixed Imaginary Forces’ “Council Flat” for a 12-inch on Bedouin Records. Porter’s third studio album, Third Law, arrived on Tri Angle in early 2015, proving even more gripping and overpowering than his earlier expansive works.
Albums
Singles
