Icarus

Icarus are a British electronic duo formed in London in 1997 by cousins Ollie Bown and Sam Britton. Their work centres on drum and bass while drawing in experimental jazz and detailed instrumental arrangements. Kieran Hebden described the music as “really beautiful and also quite kind of evil,” and selected Icarus’s “Benevolent Incubator” for his Late Night Tales compilation.

The duo’s work has moved between recordings, remixes and software-led composition. Icarus remixed Four Tet’s “My Angel Rocks Back and Forth,” as well as material by Murcof, Lunz, The Creatures, Spartak and Eclectic Method Featuring Chuck D. In 2002, Bown and Britton founded the independent label Not Applicable, which developed into a collective project involving other improvising musicians.

In 2012, Icarus released Fake Fish Distribution, an experimental album conceived in 1,000 variations. Using parametric software, the pair created distinct versions of the record in which drum rhythms, effects settings and track progressions could change. The project was supported by STEIM in the Netherlands and Ableton, and used Max for Live technology. That same year, Aphex Twin commissioned Icarus to create software for his Remote Orchestra project, used for a one-off performance at London’s Barbican Hall. The system enabled him to control a 32-piece orchestra in real time by sending frequencies to players through headphones.

Bown moved to Australia in 2008, after which Icarus became less active, though he and Britton have continued making music together under the name while also working in other projects.