Bass artist Zero is proving how hard graft and natural instinct can take an unknown producer to the pinnacle of a genre. Growing up in Woking, Surrey, Christian Williamson showed an inclination for music production but his skills grew substantially upon relocating to Brighton to enrol on a Music Technology course at the University of Sussex.

Learning how to DJ/mix at Trickstar Radio, by the third year of his course, Williamson was fully enmeshed in Brighton’s bass music bubble. With plenty of time to focus on evolving his production skills, the first Zero release surfaced in 2017, Zero’s first fully-fledged bassline collaboration Forget It with Bushbaby on Brighton’s Southpoint Records.

As Williamson continued to establish his distinctive, FX-driven approach to production, Arrival - as featured on Holy Goof’s Fabric Live ’97 CD series – was followed in 2018 by his edit of Enter the Dragon based on DJ Pied Piper & The Masters of Ceremonies’ chart-topping banger Do You Really Like It. 7 million YouTube streams later and Zero finally had the visibility that Williamson craved.

A second major inflection point emerged mid-2019 when Williamson derived a Dizzee Rascal remix of Bonkers from his live set. Attracting 10,000 streams on the day of its release, the track went viral in New Zealand as he stepped up his live schedule at the Boomtown music festival and began rubbing shoulders with fellow bass artists including Skepsis, Turno and Gentlemens Club.

Williamson’s upward trajectory was dealt a heavy blow due to the Covid pandemic, with festivals cancelled and a tour of Australia shelved. However, as the bass scene moved from the clubs to a more fertile streaming space, he quickly switched focus and ramped up Zero’s releases. Barry White (Crucast) peaked at #2 on Beatport's Garage/Bassline/Grime chart and hit an astonishing 1.6m Spotify streams, an achievement later surpassed by 1 More on genre pioneer DJ Zinc’s Bingo Bass label, peaking at #1 with support from Radio One’s Annie Nightingale.

Collaborations followed with the aforementioned Skepsis (Hijack) and Turno (Gunshotta ft. Killa P (Time Is Now), but the best was yet to come with Zero’s lockdown-oriented collab with the infectious Window Kid. Titled Boozy (Crucast) and released late October 2020, the track brought some joy and lightness back to the bass scene, charting at #37 on Spotify’s UK Viral 50. Following the success of Boozy, Crucast released a special collaborative remix package, with double-bafta winning Big Zuu, Majestic and Local all stepping on board to get involved with the Boozy VIP.

2021 started well for Zero with the release of Zero & Devilman’s Casual ft. Riko Dan on Williamson’s own BARCODES label. The track leaned on bass music’s crossover with UK rap and peaked at #1 on Beatport's new UK Garage & Bassline chart with an official music video featured on JDZMedia’s YouTube channel. Another highlight was Zero’s remix of Punctual - The Step w/ Nabiha on Polydor Records - the artist’s first remix for a major label.

To date, Williamson’s career has been a roller-coaster of emotion. His unique, original and fresh sound has made Zero one of the most recognisable faces on the bass scene and there’s more to come in 2022 as he continues to grow his BARCODES label, created to develop UK bass emerging talent and introduce global artists.

With live shows now returning, Zero’s explosive, high-energy sets will be dominated by sounds from the past, present and future, while a brand new 7-track mixtape Feel So Free (Guilty as Charged) promises to showcase Williamson’s newfound versatility as a producer, aiming to develop within the bass genre and mark Zero as a staple on the electronic dance music scene.

Meanwhile, keep your eyes peeled for the next instalment of Zero’s incredibly popular annual mix series, NUMBERS. Following NUMBERS 004’s audio-visual bonanza at The Arch in Brighton last year, this year’s show on the 30th September will be entirely live and focused on Zero’s core London demographic - venue to be announced soon!