System is a dub-inspired experimental project of Danish electronic musicians Thomas Knak, Anders Remmer, and Jesper Skaaning, otherwise known for making frosty, suave downtempo as Future 3. System made its debut with a self-titled effort released by Stefan Betke's ~scape label in 2002. The musicians sporadically returned to the project throughout the coming decades; third System full-length Plus, a collaboration with Nils Frahm, arrived in 2018. The three musicians first worked together as Future 3, beginning in the mid-'90s. The group's recordings generally contained bright keyboard melodies and chilled-out yet detailed beats, all cloaked in a thick blanket of reverb. The trio released a handful of recordings on Copenhagen-based label April Records; drum'n'bass-influenced 1996 single "The Boy from West Bronx" became an underground hit. Diverting from the Future 3 sound, the trio released System in 2002. The album appeared on ~scape, the label run by Stefan Betke, and it explored a fractured, glitchy sound with a heavy dub influence, not unlike Betke's esteemed work as Pole. While it didn't get the same amount of exposure that other ~scape artists such as Jan Jelinek and Kit Clayton did, the album came to be regarded as a hidden gem among certain fans of experimental dub and IDM. After the album's release, the three musicians remained active with other projects, including Skaaning's Acustic and Remmer's Dub Tractor. The trio returned to the System moniker with Tempo, a significantly more playful EP issued by Rump Recordings in 2007. The same year also brought the self-titled debut by People Press Play, the trio's glitch-pop collaboration with vocalist Sara Savery. System's second album, B, appeared in 2010, updating the sound of the project's debut to incorporate a hint of dubstep and a slightly heavier melodic presence. The B Remixes EP followed in 2011. Following the release of Future 3's long-awaited fourth album in 2014, the trio began working with pianist Nils Frahm, a noted fan of System's eponymous debut. Initially leaning toward a revisit of the original album's glitch-heavy sound, the musicians went in more of a minimal, ambient direction with the addition of Frahm's piano playing. Plus was released by Morr Music, home to the previous Future 3 and People Press Play albums, in 2018. ~ Paul Simpson