Sub Focus - "Could This Be Real"


Recently, we had a chance to sit down with renown British spinster Sub Focus, on his stop at The Masquerade in Atlanta, GA.  While his set of the characterisic dub/house sounds he specializes in was killer, it was great to hear some actual words from the man himself.

When did you get into music & production?

I got into music when I was about age 11, I started listening to rock music and I was into bands like Guns N Roses and Nirvana, a lot of the bands around that time. I started making demos for the bands basically and that’s how I first got into production and from there I got into groups  like Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers. I carried on producing and I hooked up with Andy C in 2003 and started releasing music with him.

What was the first record you produced?

It was a track called “Down the Drain,” which Andy put out on a label of his called Frequency. That was the first track I produced that came out, a Drum & Bass record.  In the last years I’ve diversified into a lot of House & Dub step, I like to make & play a lot of different styles.

You have been a playing a lot more House music in your shows, How is the crowd reception to it?

It’s cool now because everybody is into everything, when I got into Drum n Bass that scene didn’t really like artists making other kings of music. Now people are open to a lot more. People are listening to music with a lot more of an open mind. To be honest ,most of what I play goes down really well, the crowds are great. It’s a lot more freedom because I get to produce all types of music.

What’s you interpretation of Dub Step from the States versus Dubstep in England?

It’s hard to generalize because there are so many different types of music, I think if you were going to try to generalize it, the US dubstep is a bit noisier, but I really like the whole spectrum of it. I see all of this music as bass music rather then dubstep. Dubstep could be anything from a James Blake track that is really mellow to a Skrillex track that has a lot more going on. The US seems to be mega strong at the moment and a lot has been building up. I plan on going on a full US tour when my album comes next year. I am really looking forward to it.

What new project can people look for next?

I am working on my second album. It’s a real mixture of stuff. I have been testing out some of the tracks in my sets at places like Ultra, and there was a really good response.

How does touring take a toll on recording?

It definitely gets hard, I was talking to Skrillex earlier and he was telling me how he doesn’t have a house because he is on tour so much. I try to limit it a bit so I don’t go crazy. I like to come out for a lot of festivals like EDC & Electric Zoo. I slow it down a little bit to balance recording and touring when it becomes too hectic.

Have you been working on any remixes lately?

I haven’t lately, butI have been working on some collaboration though, with people like Nero. We use the same studio in a complex in London.