Truss

Truss first burst onto the techno scene in 2007 with the release of his debut EP, Forge, on Greg Schappert (aka Donor)'s Miniscule net label. Truss -- better known as Tom Russell -- had grown up in the Welsh hills away from the London rave and techno scene, but spent his time picking up tape packs and mixes from the likes of Stu Allen and Carl Cox and immersing himself in rave culture from afar. Truss met Schappert when the artist asked for remixes of one of his tracks. The pair bonded over their love of early-'90s techno and rave and within a year, they had collaborated on a slew of releases on labels such as Dumb Unit and the influential New York-based Synewave. 2010 saw the duo team up with Perc Trax -- a label that Truss would help define the sound of -- with the release of the Indifference EP. Although the collaborations with Donor continued, Truss branched out into his own productions, with his second solo EP, Osbasten, appearing just a few months after his previous work for Perc Trax. Focusing on his day job as a sound designer and his burgeoning DJ career, Truss hit 2012 with a slew of releases under not just his Truss moniker, but also as MPIA3 and TR//ER, and as a collaborator with his brother Tessela. The Ganymede EP appeared on Perc Trax and Truss also released the Clytha EP on Sigha's Our Circula Sound. The following year, he teamed up with Perc Trax boss Ali Wells (aka Perc) for their hardware-only collaboration. The fusing of the pair's signature hard-edged sounds quickly earned them fans within the techno scene and saw them performing across the world as Perc & Truss. By 2015, Truss had delivered two collaborative EPs with Wells for his label, as well as the solo EP Kymin Lea, and with his work with his brother starting to reappear -- under the name Overmono -- Truss would focus on DJ slots and his collaborations. 2016 saw the release of another Perc & Truss EP, Leather and Lace, as well as the first Overmono EP, Arla, on XL Recordings. Truss also delivered a 50-track locked-grooves LP for his brother's label Polykicks, in which one side was in 4/4 and the other in 3/4 timing, creating polyrhythmic loops when played together. ~ Rich Wilson