Vortexsoundtech is an Portuguese electronic music project, founded in 1999 by nRv in Braga. Their work covers many areas of electronic music, such as drum and bass, industrial music, original sountracks for plays and movies, and often involves extreme experimentation.

Since 1999, the direction of their main work goes to the composition of original soundtracks for plays: Psicose (2001), Gretchen (2003), Sorrisos de Bergman (2004), Fiore Nudo (2007), Otelo (2007), O Café (2008), Emilia Galotti (2009), Maria Stuart (2009), Paraíso Perdido (2009), Antígona (2010), working with directors like Nuno M. Cardoso, Nuno Carinhas, Ricardo Pais, Cristina Carvalhal and Manuel Sardinha.They have also worked with movie multi-award-winning director JacktheZipper and Edgar Pêra.

Vortexsoundtech has made two major studio releases, several EP´s and contributions for compilations. "Fiery Silence" was their debut album in 2008 wich received the best critics all arround europe by is mysterious compositions. The latest album "The Death Of Us All" was released in 2010 featuring the contribution of other artists.

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"Fiery Silence" 2008 reviews: Portuguese drum'n'bass act VortexSoundTech has apparently been around for a number of years, but "Fiery Silence", released on Thisco Records, is their debut full-length album. And I'll just cut right to the point - their style is unique, accentuating hard, technoid d'n'b with a distinctively old school industrial expression.
Throughout the entire album, the listener is presented with introverse, rich, textured industrial soundscapes that mutate and narrow into upbeat electro melodies - only to be blown out into heavy, suppressing basslines, accompanied by atmospheric, minimalistic orchestral pieces that further evolve into dark, psychadelic, multilayered and slightly off-kilter synthlines.
A lot of the more orchestral and acoustic melodies seem particularly inspired by Asian and, to some extent, Middle-Eastern folk music, instead of ragga and hip-hop. This is something often seen in darker, cyberpunk-inspired industrial and psytrance, but less so in drum'n' bass. The bass- and synthlines are both very dark and ravey, as is generally heard in heavier techstep and darkstep music. The massive synthlines and bass coupled with the driving rhythms remind me of acts such as Ed Rush/Optical, SPL or T.Z.A, but then it suddenly changes into to sounding like a strange union between Simon Bassline Smith and Coil or even Psychic TV.
That VortexSoundTech's influences are all over the map is also evidenced in the clever cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" called "Between Spaces". They play on contradictory expressive methods, with ambient, almost ritual industrial with spoken/shouted heavily processed vocals put in stark contrast to the aggressive, cut up and progressively evolving breakbeats. It's interesting to note that even though the rhythms are generally fast and aggressive with a fair use of distortion throughout, many of the tracks are actually quite mellow in their overall expression. Instead, they convey emotions such as desperation, desolation, determination or even confusion. Also worth noting, the vocals are especially reminiscent of mid-era Skinny Puppy (1989 - 1994) and early Laibach on the songs like "Reload" and "Under Circumcision". I can honestly say that this is the first time that I've ever heard a band build upon a foundation of hard, uncompromising drum'n'bass by incorporating heavy, oldschool industrial and militant, hard electro/EBM influences with IDM and even psy-trance sensibilities in such a unique and overall consistent way. Sure, Industrial and EBM acts have used elements of drum'n'bass in their music to a lesser or greater extent before (for example Cubanate, Godflesh and even Covenant), but VortexSoundTech are doing it the other way around - being a proper drum'n'bass band that heavily relies on the aforementioned influences in their music.
There's only a few points of criticism I can put my finger on. One is that the samples they use sometimes seem a bit redundant, and take from the intensity of the music rather than add to it. Another thing is the vocals/lyrics could be better written, and more concise and original. But that's really a minor point. Overall, the production is excellent, the compositions involving and the delivery is dead on. This needs to played loudly, and preferably for a packed dancefloor.
If you're into techstep, darkstep and neurofunk as well oldschool industrial music, you absolutely must check this album out. A lot of artists could learn a thing or two from these guys.

Jonas Mansoor

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Viel her machen tut die Verpackung nicht und das soll wohl auch so sein, denn Drum'n'Bass war seit jeher eher Musik als Drumherum und überflüssiger Schnick-Schnack. Sozusagen das Gegenteil von Neofolk und dem Schein konterkariert zum Sein.
Hey was soll das hier, dieses Zerfransen der Ränder von nonpop nervt doch langsam...
Aber Jungs und Mädels, hier verdient keiner Geld mit seiner Textarbeit und daher laßt uns einfach schreiben, loben, hassen und totschweigen, wenn oder was wir wollen.
Feurig still beginnt das einundvierzig Minuten lange Werk, gequasselt wird selbstredend auf Portugiesisch und plötzlich: ein Frauenschrei. Pause. Ein satanischer Priester scheint uns die Messe zu lesen. Assoziationen zu BLOOD AXIS und RADIO WEREWOLF kommen mir in den Sinn, Mann, diese Stimme, das ist doch der MOYNIHAN... Oder? Ist er natürlich nicht. Aber auch wenn hier keine neuheidnische und satanische Botschaft vorgetragen wird, reicht es für eine gehörige Portion martialischer Dunkelheit. Dann kracht es wieder – ein typischer Drum'n'Bass-Beat beginnt zu tanzen, durchsetzt mit diversen Klangraffinessen. Und weiter geht's. Ich gedenke der besten Tage von THE PRODIGY, weil ich denke, dass VortexSoundTech ab und an mal ganz ähnlich klingen. Vielleicht aber auch nur, weil ich seit Jahren kein Zeug mehr wie dieses gehört habe?
Der Trumpf ist in der Tat die stimmliche Untermauerung des schnellen und tanzbaren Sounds. Ob nun Samples oder Ansprache – es klingt mysteriös und martialisch und genau das macht es für meine Ohren gefällig. Hinzu kommt, daß ich Drum'n'Bass bisher für eine recht eintönige, gleichklingende Electro-Sauce hielt, "Fiery Silence" hingegen hat auch ruhigere und klarere Momente. Zum Ende hin wird's experimenteller, verfrickelter und ein wenig stiller.

Zusammengefaßt: Die "feurige Stille" ist ein starkes Drum'n'Bass-Album, welches mit den Adjektiven "dunkel" und "mystisch" versehen werden kann. Es lassen sich starke Anknüpfungspunkte zu Electro und Industrial finden. Keine Sekunde langweilig, mitunter vielleicht ein wenig zu schrill. Die eher spartanische Aufmachung (vier Seiten Booklet in Standard-Plastiksarg) mindert die Freude ein wenig...

Stephan P.