It all started with a couple of friends making tunes in their bedroom. Now, British electronic duo TIBASKO have been touted as upcoming stars by some of the biggest names in dance music. Childhood friends since the age of 12, with a shared love of electronic music and production, Ken Petalcorin and Andy Bowden first became acquainted in Hertfordshire’s Welwyn Garden City, but neither could have dreamt they’d be where they are quite so soon.

In his teenage years, Bowden was entranced by minimal and underground electronic music - learning to DJ during his time in the West Midlands at Worcester University. Former indie rock front man/guitarist Petalcorin was born in the Philippines and spent time in Japan before moving to Welwyn Garden City in 2000. With Andy’s knowledge of the dance music scene and Ken’s production skills, they forged a partnership in 2018 and created the Omusaré label to showcase their talent. Incredibly, the smooth Balearic sound of their self-released debut EP, Alma, exploded on Spotify and the twosome were instantly discovered.

By the following year, Alma had collated 1 million Spotify streams, putting TIBASKO firmly on the dance music map. Later that year, they signed to Billy and Al Webber’s Another Rhythm label, where their sound began to morph into a more melodic techno/break beat style.

Throughout 2019/20, a string of singles and EPs such as Imperium, Vertigo, Resistance and Reverie, showcased TIBASKO’s versatile alchemy of dance music styles. The duo were championed by the likes of The Blessed Madonna, John Digweed, and Franky Wah, while being listed as ‘Ones to Watch’ for 2020 by both BBC Introducing and Kiss FM. The pair also seized attention from radio heavyweights such as Annie Mac, Danny Howard, Ben Malone, and Pete Tong who named TIBASKO as future stars for 2021 and had them accompany the accolade with a BBC Radio 1 ‘Future Stars’ mix.

May 2021 saw the release of singles The One, followed by Let Me Tell You in June, firmly establishing TIBASKO’s epic, highly melodic electronic sound, seguing between breaks, electronica, techno and trance. The One has been supported relentlessly by super-producer Diplo on SiriusXM, BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, with the duo also featuring on his Revolution dance music satellite channel with their own TIBASKO Guest Room Mix. Further radio support arrived from Pete Tong, Jaguar, and Kiss FM’s Ben Malone as the track peaked at #9 on Music Week’s Cool Cuts chart.

Represented globally by leading entertainment and media agency William Morris Endeavor, during lockdown TIBASKO live streamed exclusive sets for Jaguar’s ‘Utopia’ and, significantly, DJ Mag HQ who regularly invite some of the world’s best DJs to perform. Meanwhile, Andy and Ken began their post-Covid live comeback with a swathe of DJ shows including The Cause, Queen's Yard Summer Party, Creamfields Festival, Motion Bristol, Detonate Festival and their first European booking at the Poney Club in Toulouse.

In October 2021, TIBASKO released their single Icaro hit new global heights in it’s reception, achieving their first BBC Radio 1 Friday Feature, branded Sarah Story’s ‘Track ID’. A staple track in the sets of Pan-Pot and supported by Rebuke, Syreeta, Jaguar and Pete Tong. This momentum led them to Hibiscus, released soon after in in December. A staple display of melodic emotion, with a switch up of sound design prowess. Both singles included as Billbaord ‘First Spins’, TIBASKO finalised the year being featured in Notion, Mixmag, DJ Mag, and appeared on Beatport’s debut TikTok Live Q&A.

Rightfully storming into 2022, with a Tobacco Dock NYD set no less, TIBASKO’s debut remix package dropped from January to February. Icaro remixes from their close peer ABSOLUTE. and a favourite producer artist of Ken & Andy’s, Australia-based Juno Mamba. Then came their BBC Radio 1 Mini Mix, titled TIBASKO’s ‘Festival Fiesta’, which received outstanding praise and was cemented as one of the most reactive mini mixes aired by Danny Howard on BBC Radio 1’s Friday night Dance Party.

The duo has been incredibly busy on the touring front, making their presence known at festivals and venues such as Parklife, Snowbombing, Secret Garden Party, Hideout Festival, Boardmasters, NASS, Forbidden Fruit, El Dorado, Cultivate Festival and Queens Yard Summer Party. After global support of their music in 2022, TIBASKO continued to grow internationally with their live performances and following.

Their high production ability, recognisable sonics and heightened global presence attracted attention from artists and record labels around the world, proven by the influx of remix opportunities. Their present remix catalogue boasts collaborations with Elderbrook, Nils Hoffman (Anjunadeep), Snakehips, Blond:ish (Insonmiac Records), Madonna, Yotto, and Golden Features (Ninja Tune).

In September 2022, TIBASKO flew to North American East Coast for the first show of their debut US tour - a staple moment in their touring journey as they look to solidify their place amongst the strongest emerging electronic music artists to be breaking out of the UK. Bringing their eclectic electronica movement to Life Is Beautiful festival, TIBASKO performed in two shows in Las Vegas, the second at Casa Bacardi. They spent the week in Hollywood based music studios crafting their work, before flying to San Diego for CRSSD Fest and a subsequent after party.

Within that Hollywood based week, TIBASKO sculpted their most successful record to date. Writtencand recorded in the span of one afternoon, 'Hawt', which was hailed as one of Mixmag’s best singles of 2022, has drawn praise and plaudits from tastemakers, fellow artists and fans alike. With over 1m+ streams (and counting) globally the single is showing no signs of slowing down having garnered support from Bonobo, I.Jordan, DJ Seinfeld, Barry Can't Swim, Prospa, Bklava, Hammer and Meg Ward to name but a few. The single has also received blanket support across the BBC from the likes of Danny Howard, Sarah Story, Pete Tong, Arielle Free as well as rotation on Capital FM, KISS, Apple 1 Music, Rinse FM, RTE, George FM, Triple J, Radio Metro, Radio 105, One World, Top Radio, Versuz, Ylex, DR P3, 538, KCRW and over 250 plays on SiriusXM (and many more global stations!).

In 2023, TIBASKO joined two tours across Europe, Yotto and Elderbrook. They’ve now accumulated a broad spectrum of European cities, such as Dublin, Prague, Budapest, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Maastricht, Helsinki, Paris, Toulouse, Brussels, Poznan, Gdansk, Warsaw, Berlin, Porto, Lucerne – bolstering their presence in their neighbouring countries.

Within this time, they were asked by BBC Radio 1 to perform at their renowned annual Big Weekend, hosted at Dundee, performing on the Friday alongside Jamie XX, Ben Hemsley, Eliza Rose, Jayda G, Pete Tong, Hannah Laing, and Barry Can’t Swim. They also debuted at Glastonbury Festival, headlining a small stage in Silver Hayes called The Hive, as well as a Parklife Festival debut and their first time in Albania for Anjunadeep Explorations.

Fred Perry also booked TIBASKO to perform at their SS24 catwalk, for the showcase walk itself in front of Fred Perry’s global buyers and into the after party at the historic electronic nightclub of fabric London.

This led them to their North American touring second visit, performing a club circuit of Montreal, Dallas, Seattle, Denver, and Elsewhere in New York, where they headline Zone One with Ellen Alien in the main room.

Furthermore, they continued their run of singles, with breakbeat club banger ‘Must Be Right’, which received 18 spins on UK national radio, as well as Spotify placing their image as the cover of the prestige Altar playlist. They followed this with ‘U Want It’ and ‘Freedom In (Ur Mind)’ throughout 2023, the latter receiving heightened attention from the reaction it received at their debut Reading & Leeds Festival performance in August.

Through November and December, TIBASKO performed a UK headline tour titled ‘Lady Godiva’ (cockney rhyming slang for a fiver or five-pound note). TIBASKO recognised that the club industry was struggling following the COVID-19 pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. To support the scene, they decided to work directly with nightclubs and night life industry up and down the UK to reduce the cost of ticket prices, reducing the impact on customers pockets and providing packed venues along the tour run. For example, they sold out the iconic 550 capacity Phonox London in 4 weeks, 11 weeks before the show date.

This successful 2023 led to TIBASKO signing a new record deal with global powerhouse [PIAS]. They also went on to sell out their next headline London show at 800 capacity Colour Factory in February 2024.

TIBASKO are now embarking on their debut [PIAS] EP, already picking up DJ support from the likes of Peggy Gou, TSHA, Azzecca, sim0ne, and Jaguar on their initial EP single releases, as well as ever- growing pick up from Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music. Soundcloud and global radio stations.

They recently hosted their very first festival stage at the boutique Hertfordshire-based Brockwood Festival. Curating the lineup with talented peers, partnering the stage with campaigners Save Our Scene and announcing their brand isoTHERMAL, TIBASKO put their latest venture above the parapet with great success, as featured in publication Wonderland.

In November this year, we see hardware-fuelled TIBASKO – LIVE hit the market, debuting ticketed performances at Corsica Studios, their London headline show with Eat Your Own Ears, and at Manchester’s iconic Warehouse Project. This comes after their Great Escape Festival TIBASKO – LIVE performances in May 2024, where they showcased two highly-regarded 30-minute performances to tease what was in store for the future of TIBASKO performances, away from their well-known DJ sets using solely synthesisers, drum machines and other performance hardware to create their sets and bring a unique performance angle to their releases and productions.

TIBASKO’s trajectory remains on an upward spiral, with every new release, signalling a future brimming with promising potential from this dynamic pair.