Kuedo

Under the name Kuedo, British sound designer Jamie Teasdale produces widescreen cinematic electronic music informed equally by '80s film soundtracks and contemporary hip-hop and club music. Teasdale first rose to prominence as one half of Vex'd, a duo whose aggressive blend of dub, hip-hop, and industrial noise became a major influence on dubstep and grime. Their debut album, Degenerate, was released by Mike Paradinas' Planet Mu in 2005, and was one of the label's biggest successes. After the duo split around 2008, Teasdale released solo material as Dakimh and Jamie Vex'd before establishing his Kuedo moniker in 2010. Debut EP Dream Sequence appeared on Planet Mu that year, moving away from the Vex'd sound toward abstract hip-hop with Burial-like atmospherics. Second EP Videowave, including remixes by Clark and Illum Sphere, followed in 2011, preceding Kuedo's debut full-length Severant. The album was a further departure, combining the lush, grandiose electronics of Vangelis with beats influenced by trap and Chicago footwork. Severant was a huge critical success, and ended up becoming nearly as influential as Teasdale's work as part of Vex'd. He followed Severant with Work, Live & Sleep in Collapsing Space, a 2012 EP that contained remixes by Laurel Halo as well as Planet Mu labelmate Claude Speeed. Three years later, Kuedo returned with Assertion of a Surrounding Presence on his newly formed Knives label/art imprint. The EP included collaborations with Egyptrixx and Teasdale's former Vex'd co-conspirator Roly Porter. Kuedo contributed to Turkish producer Sami Baha's debut EP Mavericks, released by Planet Mu in 2016. Later in the year, the label issued Kuedo's long-awaited second full-length, Slow Knife. ~ Paul Simpson