Dutch techno duo Artefakt produce a deep, hypnotic, richly textured, and atmospheric sound suited for home listening as much as the dancefloor. Releases like 2021's Days Bygone contain immersive, sometimes melancholy pieces that evoke the rhythms of nature.

Robin Koek and Nick Lapien met at university in Hilversum, where they were studying music technology; as part of their course they did an internship in a studio, where they used their downtime to jam and make tracks. Koek's background was in sound design, Lapien's in composition, leading to a unique collaboration. Cutting their teeth in the underground squat scene, they also composed installation soundtracks for galleries and museums. Their first outing as Artefakt was "Mirror Society," a dark, mesmerizing track released on the Field Records various-artists EP Field 08 in 2012. Their first full EPs came on Delsin, with The Fifth Planet in 2015 and The Mental Universe the following year. Delsin also put out their debut album, 2017's Kinship, a bold, uncompromising, near-flawless statement combining ambient textures, rich sound design, and electro elements with outright warehouse bangers. In 2019, they launched their own label, De Stijl; that year, Semantica released their sophomore effort, Monsoon, an even deeper, smoother journey. Returning to Delsin, Artefakt issued the ambient electro EP Icarus in 2020, and the more atmospheric mini-album Days Bygone in 2021. ~ John D. Buchanan, Rovi