The story behind Killerwatts
Killerwatts is the collaborative project of British psytrance producers Tristan Cooke and Leon Kane, better known as Tristan and Avalon. Formed in 2010, the duo brought together two generations of the UK psychedelic-trance lineage: Tristan's roots reach back to the early Goa scene, while Avalon emerged as one of the dominant full-on artists of the 2010s.
NANO Records became the project's main home. Killerwatts developed from a side collaboration into an album act with Blow Your Mind and Edge of Time, followed by remix projects and a growing live presence. The 2023 album Beautiful Chaos showed the partnership still developing, with collaborations and a production style that moved easily between tribal motifs, dense nighttime psychedelia and the bright impact associated with modern UK full-on.
Killerwatts is a continuing project , not a historical pairing. Both members maintain busy solo careers, but the duo still releases, tours and appears within the NANO roster. Its value lies in the chemistry between Tristan's rougher, deeply psychedelic phrasing and Avalon's precise, high-energy festival production.
Origins of Killerwatts
Formed in 2010 by Leon Kane (Avalon) and Tristan Cooke (Tristan) after their first successful joint track.
Early career
The first collaboration led directly to a dedicated duo identity and the 2012 album Blow Your Mind.
How the career developed
The project expanded through Edge of Time in 2017 and Beautiful Chaos in 2023, with official remix activity continuing in 2026.
Killerwatts sound
Killerwatts is full-power UK psytrance built from rolling bass, sharp psychedelic riffs, tribal touches and large-scale festival dynamics. Tristan's dirtier textures and Avalon's polished drive are both clearly audible in the project.
Place in psytrance history
Killerwatts is a durable collaboration linking two central UK Psytrance producers and demonstrates how the NANO-era UK Full-On network developed long-running shared projects.
Connections and influence
Distinct collaboration with its own releases, not simply combined Avalon/Tristan billing.
Killerwatts today
active release schedule through 2026, including the Beautiful Chaos remix collection.
How the sound changed over time
Selected releases in the archive
Related projects and collaborations
Artists with overlapping styles
Dickster
Dick Trevor’s long-running UK psytrance project, rooted in the original British Goa scene and known for acid-rich, groove-heavy production.
Fearsome Engine
UK Psytrance collaboration of Tristan Cooke and Laughing Buddha/Jeremy van Kampen, launched with releases on NANO Records in 2009.
Flying Sorcerers
UK Psytrance project of Hypnocoustics/Joe Studt and Aphid Moon/Jules Hamer, active within the NANO Records network.
Mandala
Mandala is the Psytrance project of UK producer Angus Young, a long-time underground psychedelic-scene participant whose modern NANO catalogue combines organic grooves, positive themes and dancefloor-focused psychedelia.
Sonic Species
Joe Markendale’s UK psytrance project, evolving from an original duo into a solo-led act spanning progressive and high-energy psychedelic trance.
Braincell
Ralph K. Freund’s Swiss-based psychedelic trance project, known for deep rolling production and a multi-decade link between 1990s and modern European psytrance.