AKOV
AKOV (Alexander Ushakov) is a producer and DJ working in drum and bass and drumstep. He is originally from Bristol, UK and is based in Vienna, Austria. His work is most often described as neurofunk with a metal-influenced edge.
Ushakov first reached wider attention with the 2014 Mantra EP on Mindtech Recordings. Since then he has released music on labels including Mindtech, Eatbrain, Blackout Music NL, C4C Recordings and Titan Records, among others. He has played across Europe and has appeared at festivals such as Let It Roll.
As a producer, AKOV’s sound centres on tight, edited drum programming and dense bass design. Tracks foreground precise break editing and layered processed low end rather than long, loose breaks; his drumstep material pairs faster DnB tempos with half-time, syncopated kick patterns when the track calls for heavier impact. Basslines commonly use distortion and midrange grit — a metal-influenced timbre that sits above a focused sub — and he often stacks multiple bass layers to retain clarity on club systems.
On the production side he favours aggressive processing chains: multiband distortion, transient shaping on drums, and automated filtering to carve space for midrange harmonics. Pads and atmospherics are used sparingly as texture rather than wash; when present they are tightly EQ’d and pitch-modulated to accent the neurofunk-style lead grit. The result is music that leans toward technical, high-energy rollers and harder drumstep cuts rather than ambient or liquid styles.
Career highlights are anchored by the Mantra EP (2014) on Mindtech Recordings and subsequent releases across the labels listed above. Those releases have placed him on imprint rosters known for darker, technical DnB, and they underpin his booking profile across European clubs and festivals. He performs both as a producer presenting original material and as a DJ slotting his own tracks into mixed sets.
Public information about AKOV’s personal influences is limited, but his output’s neurofunk and metal-tinged character points to a production approach that prioritises distorted mids, precise break edits, and dense sound design. The Mantra EP remains a clear reference point for that approach in his catalogue.
