CMD/CTRL

CMD/CTRL is an electronic drum & bass duo from Brighton, UK, made up of producers and songwriters Matt Rose and Alex Cowan. They work primarily in drum & bass and liquid-funk, and their output is consistently described as bass-driven and genre-defying.

Both members are credited as songwriters and producers on CMD/CTRL releases and collaborations. The project draws on each member’s prior studio work: Matt Rose previously co‑wrote for The Qemists and holds songwriting and production credits with Monuments, Dirtyphonics and Excision. Alex Cowan has worked as a producer and songwriter under aliases including TM‑Juke, has been a member of the band LOYAL, and carries production and remix credits for artists such as Alice Russell, David Guetta and Black Coffee.

As producers, CMD/CTRL foreground low‑end weight. Their tracks emphasise bass-driven arrangements while incorporating the melodic and harmonic elements associated with liquid‑funk. That manifests in productions where the sub and mid‑range sit clearly under sustained top‑line melodies or vocal parts, and where programmed drum parts support a forward pulse rather than fill every space.

Their production approach reflects collaborative songwriting as much as club thinking: sessions credited to CMD/CTRL list both Rose and Cowan on writer/producer lines, and their visible collaborations include work with established drum & bass names such as S.P.Y and Danny Byrd. Releases have appeared on labels and imprints associated with Ninja Tune / Just Isn’t Music, and CMD/CTRL are listed with NWS Music Publishing.

Specific elements listeners can expect on CMD/CTRL tracks are a pronounced low‑end focus, clear melodic content borrowed from liquid‑funk aesthetics, and a studio polish that comes from both heavy‑bass production experience and work with vocal and dance artists. Those traits trace back to Rose’s credits with heavier electronic and metal‑adjacent acts, and to Cowan’s background producing for vocalists and mainstream electronic artists.

Noises and names crop up across their career: co‑writing and production credits for Matt Rose (The Qemists, Monuments, Dirtyphonics, Excision), Alex Cowan’s aliases and band work (TM‑Juke, LOYAL) and remix/production credits (Alice Russell, David Guetta, Black Coffee), plus CMD/CTRL collaborations with S.P.Y and Danny Byrd. The duo remain based in Brighton and continue to release bass‑led drum & bass and liquid‑lean material through their connections to the Ninja Tune / Just Isn’t Music network and NWS Music Publishing.