Igor Vertus (Igor Bicanic) is a long time industrial veteran from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Influenced by the Rotterdam hardcore scene from the 90’s, at the age of 12 he started sampling loops from the radio and mixed it with LP records to create his own sound. Three years later he discovered FastTracker2 where he started making hardcore and gabber. He loved the speed, the energy and the distorted kicks and screaming Juno synthesizers. This was an excellent teacher to really understand the technique around electronic sound and sequencing.
With all the inspiration in the epic oldschool and early hardcore 1992-2002 era and many tracks later he knew he had to upgrade to get a more professional sound. He bought a drumcomputer (a Korg Electribe with tube amps), a sampler (Akai S2000), an analog modeling synthesizer (Yamaha AN1x), a 12 channel mixer with all kinds of effects and a JBL monitoring soundsystem. For even better sound he got his hands on a professional M-Audio soundcard and a studio amp. He learned all the midi and sequencing tricks he needed in Cubase. Still there were many limitations for the sound he wanted. The complexity needed way more gear and hardware-only wasn’t the answer.
As computers and software were getting more powerful, VST’s were getting more mature, Igor Vertus started using the Reason Studio DAW which allowed him create without limits, while keeping that studio feel.
Igor Vertus got his first recognition after winning a producer contest on a well known social website for party minded people, Partyflock, where he won a record deal for a known Dutch Amsterdam-based hardcore label, Mokum Records.
Around 2006 he got drawn in the trending hard techno scene, where he released techno and industrial tracks. The energy from techno combined with the raw sound of industrial music was a perfect fit.
In 2021 he started his own fresh label, Blackly Beyond Records, where his story could be told in techno, hardtechno, industrial and dark psychedelic acid.
Since 2022 he presents the weekly podcast streaming show Beyond Techno, available on Apple Podcasts, Mixcloud, Soundcloud, YouTube and such. Every episode is all about techno, hardtechno and industrial music, where Igor Vertus curates and mixes the newest promo’s, hidden gems and older great tracks from the frontlines.