In Session: Tessela

Arriving with his first full release in 2011, Ed Russell aka Tessela began tearing up the scene with volcanic force. Records landed through dubstep imprints such as Punch Drunk and 2nd Drop Records, and as the genre began to lose steam, Tessela’s hardcore-channeling, broken style of production invigorated dancefloors looking for something new.

The inauguration of his Poly Kicks imprint in 2013 with the anthemic ‘Hackney Parrot’ produced the year’s biggest track, cutting Kathy Brown’s diva vocals above a foundation that saw the fresh-faced artist fearlessly merge influence from 90s warehouse rave tapes with his own contemporary spin.

Signing to R&S in the same year resulted in the release of three ferocious EPs coursing with earth-shattering low-end rumbles, pneumatic percussive hits and glossy, palpitating synths. ‘Gateway’ on the debut three-tracker stands out among the most impactful dancefloor records in recent memory, preluding each drop into battering-ram percussion with a canon-like bass hit that knocks clubs sideways, while ‘Bottom Out’ on the latest R&S release took a more skewed approach that was equally powerful, touching upon electro.