Blackout Music NL

Blackout Music NL was founded in 2012 by the Dutch trio Black Sun Empire as an offshoot of Black Sun Empire Recordings. Based in Utrecht, the label is owned and run through the trio’s Vals B.V. It was created to give other artists space beyond Black Sun Empire’s own imprints, bringing the group’s experience in music distribution and event organisation under one name. The label focuses on neurofunk drum and bass, including darker, heavier and more technical sounds. Its releases also cover hard, dark and melodic drum and bass. Blackout operates as both a record label and an event platform.

The Upbeats, State of Mind, Audio and Pythius have released music on Blackout, as has Black Sun Empire. Audio’s single Bag of Bones came out on the label in 2013. Gridlok’s albums Z3R0 H0U2 and Descend followed in 2017 and 2018. The label has also held events and stage takeovers at Let It Roll, Rampage and Tomorrowland.

Blackout began its Evolutions compilation series in 2015 to present emerging artists and tracks by producers who were not yet ready to release solo material. The series first concentrated on hard neuro, then widened to include more drum-and-bass styles. Its tenth volume came out in 2021, concluding the series.