The Outside Agency

History

Wessels and Nitzinsky were introduced to each other by mutual friends in late 1991. Until that time they both thought that they were alone in the production of hardcore music in their city. Shortly after being introduced, the two started working together and formed a group called X-Factor. In 1996, after several years of sending out demos, they landed their first record deal with Coolman Records. The same demo they sent to Coolman Records was also picked up by several weeks later by Mokum Records and also resulted in a signing. The duo came up with the name 'The Outside Agency' for Mokum Records as the X-Factor project was signed to Coolman Records exclusively.

Starting 1998 hardcore underwent many changes that caused The Outside Agency to no longer feel at home in the genre and they moved their focus to their drum & bass careers as DJ Hidden and Eye-D. Some years later the two released the slower tempo material they'd been producing in the meantime on Black Monolith Records and Otaku Records. These were noticed by Patrick van Kerckhoven, who offered the two a chance to run their own label under his Cardiac Music umbrella company in 2003. The label they started, Genosha Recordings, quickly grew into one of the most successful, influential and respected 'experimental industrial' hardcore labels in the hardcore music scene.

Music style

The Outside Agency's musical style is not easily characterized, as they produce a wide variety of hardcore that draws influences from several other genres. They also produce their music at extremely varied tempos, ranging from 110 to 280 BPM. The only elements that are utilized consistently are the dark, brooding atmospheres that both artists add to their music.

Although they have collaborated on several tracks, the bulk of their output is produced by an individual member of the group.

One of the styles that the two have gained particular notice for is 'crossbreed'. The two had always used drum & bass influences in both their own hardcore productions as well as their DJ sets, but the later releases on Genosha Recordings and some of their guest-releases on other labels had grown beyond mere influence. The tracks had turned into full hybrids of hardcore and drum & bass. Nitzinsky and Wessels decided to take it to the next level by giving this new style a name: crossbreed; and they started a sister label to Genosha Recordings with the specific purpose to release crossbreed music: Genosha One Seven Five. This was the first label of its kind and its releases were successfully picked up by both drum & bass and hardcore DJs. Crossbreed is now widely accepted as a genre and other labels and producers active in the genre have surfaced.

Despite crossbreed's popularity, The Outside Agency have not confined themselves to producing it. This is evidenced by their 2012 album The Dogs Are Listening on the German Ad Noiseam label, which only features two tracks that could be described as crossbreed and sees the duo touching on all styles and tempos they have produced in the past as well as new ones.

DJ performances

The Outside Agency regularly performs DJ sets at music events all over the world. They have in the past performed at reputable events such as Thunderdome, Decibel, Defqon.1, Q-Base, Therapy Sessions, Club r_AW and Mystery Land.

Their DJ sets are largely composed of their own material, although they also play some music from other artists.

Discography

The following is a list of releases by The Outside Agency.

Singles & EPs

Albums