Producer & DJ · Bristol, United Kingdom
Batu
Bristol producer Batu built Timedance into one of UK bass music's defining labels, then paired with Donato Dozzy for the 2026 album Exhale.
Omar McCutcheon was 21 when he founded Timedance in Bristol in 2015. A decade on, the label is credited with helping define an entire strand of UK dance music, and McCutcheon, who records as Batu, has produced for FKA twigs without ever leaving the soundsystem culture that raised him.
Streamizm to Bath Spa
McCutcheon's introduction to dance music came through his uncle, who ran an online dubstep streaming platform called Streamizm. As a teenager he spent time on Dubstepforum.com, bought records, and traveled to raves in Brighton. He went on to study music production at Bath Spa University, the same program that produced Lurka and Addison Groove, a move that pulled him into Bristol's wider scene and introduced him to Peverelist, Pinch, and Bruce. He met Ben UFO of Hessle Audio at Bristol's Motion nightclub, on his 18th birthday. He debuted with two singles in 2013, first on Pinch's Cold Recordings, before releasing on Livity Sound and Hessle Audio.
Timedance
Founded in 2015, Timedance set out to rewire the connections between low-end club music, soundsystem culture, techno, and sound design, part of what's often called the UK's hardcore continuum. Bruce, Ploy, and Lurka became its close, early-era circle, and the label cracked wider recognition after Ploy's track "Ramos" around 2018. By 2016, Resident Advisor had already ranked it eighth in its Top 20 Labels of the year. A tenth-anniversary compilation in 2025 pulled together 23 tracks from a genuinely global roster.
Rebuilt, Opal, and a Pop Crossover
McCutcheon signed to XL Recordings for the Rebuilt EP in 2018, joining an underground-leaning roster that included Overmono and Powell. His debut album, Opal, followed in April 2022 on Timedance, eleven tracks moving between ambient, contemplative passages and club-facing textures, built around a loose concept of coastal landscapes and rock formations, with vocals from serpentwithfeet on the track "Solace." More recently, McCutcheon has picked up production credits on two FKA twigs releases: "Perfectly," from a 2025 reissue of her album Eusexua, and "Wild and Alone," featuring PinkPantheress, from Eusexua Afterglow later that year, work that sits alongside his club records rather than replacing them.
Exhale, With Donato Dozzy
McCutcheon and Donato Dozzy had been aware of each other's records since around 2010, met in person at Terraforma festival in 2018, and kept crossing paths, including a secret back-to-back set at Draaimolen Festival in 2023 that circulated widely online. In February 2025, McCutcheon spent a day in Dozzy's Rome studio, and the pair produced roughly a dozen improvised sketches in about three hours, trading files between Rome and Bristol afterward to finish them. The result, Exhale, was released June 30, 2026 on !K7. "Movement is what I think really brings the music together," McCutcheon said of the sessions. "No matter what style it is, I think both Donato and I are producers who think a lot about how things move."
FAQ
Who is Batu?
Batu is Omar McCutcheon, a Bristol-based producer and DJ who founded the Timedance label in 2015 at age 21. He released his debut album, Opal, in 2022 and the collaborative album Exhale with Donato Dozzy in 2026.
What is Timedance?
Timedance is the record label Batu founded in Bristol in 2015, known for reworking connections between UK bass music, soundsystem culture, and techno. Its roster has included Bruce, Ploy, and Lurka.
What is Exhale?
Exhale is a collaborative album between Batu and Italian producer Donato Dozzy, released June 30, 2026 on !K7 Records, grown out of a series of improvised studio sessions in Rome in early 2025.
Has Batu worked with mainstream pop artists?
Yes. He received production credits on two FKA twigs releases in 2025: "Perfectly," from a reissue of Eusexua, and "Wild and Alone," featuring PinkPantheress, from Eusexua Afterglow.
What was Batu's first major label signing?
Batu signed to XL Recordings for the Rebuilt EP in 2018, joining a roster of underground-leaning artists including Overmono and Powell, three years after founding his own label, Timedance.