Over the past few years Sub Focus has been one of the most exciting talents in both Drum & Bass and Dubstep. Tracks such as ‘Could This Be Real’, ‘Timewarp’ and ‘Rock It’ have managed the enviable achievement of peaking public interest without alienating diehard D&B fans.
His latest single, ‘Splash’, has been receiving the usual high plaudits from Radio 1 mainstays Zane Lowe and Annie Mac and looks to continue Sub Focus’ recent assault on the charts. Featuring the vocals of Coco – Sting’s daughter no less – the record perfectly displays Sub Focus skill at mixing pop elements with authentic cutting edge music.
To celebrate the record’s release we are putting together an awesome prize package. Not only are we giving away a signed Sub Focus 12”, but we’re also giving away two guestlist spots for Sub Focus’ performance at Matter as part of the always spectacular Ram club night. One of the most successful club nights to take place in the superclub that is London’s Matter, the next RAM night on June 4th will also feature sets from Andy C, DJ Hype, Noisia and UK Garage ledged, EZ.
There’s no doubt that Sub Focus has been running the Drum & Bass game for the past few years. Tracks such as ‘X Ray’ and ‘Timewarp’ were met with almost equal enthusiasm from underground D&B fans as they were by fans of Zane Lowe’s indie-tastic new music show on Radio 1. Added to that, his DJ sets for the critically acclaimed Ram night at London’s Matter night club have been some of the most talked about events in the club’s history; while his debut artist album has been held up as one of last year’s best examples of bass music from tastemakers the world over. While Sub Focus’ previous singles have always been underpinned with a least a smattering of 174bpm break beat, his latest track ‘Could This Be Real’ is the artist’s first dalliance into pop/dance territory – and the results are surprisingly good. Pitching up like a more credible version of an electro house record, ‘Could This Be Real’ combines the gritty sub bass heavy bassline of a Dubstep track and combines it with a twinkling Italo-House piano line. The record has been a constant feature in Shazam’s Pre-Release chart for some weeks and is likely to do well when the single is release next week in the UK Charts.
Fans of Sub Focus should click here to download his track ‘Smooth’ for absolutely nothing!
Sidney Samson holds on to the Shazam Pre-release Chart UK number one spot for a second week in a row with ‘Riverside’ this week. Meanwhile a seriously mixed bag of notable new releases come from Jay-Z & Mr Hudson, Pearl Jam, Justin Bieber, Example, Thom Yorke, Mini Viva, Sub Focus and So Solid – phew!
With Pendulum laying festivals to waste over the summer and Radio 1 playing Drum & Bass tracks on their usually conservative daytime schedules, it could certainly be said D&B is having its biggest dose of exposure since the genre’s glory years of the mid ‘90’s. A large part of Drum & Bass’ current crossover success has been down to Sub Focus, who like fellow Radio 1 supported producers High Contrast, Fresh and Chase & Status, earned his stripes on the fiercely hard to crack underground scene, before shaking up the charts with a run of catchy 174bpm singles. His previous songs ‘Timewarp’ and ‘Rock It’ were both big tracks with Shazam audiences in the UK. They even managed to break their way into Shazam’s UK Pre-releases chart and the national top 40 – something quite unprecedented for an underground dance act.
To celebrate the release of Sub Focus’ new album, which is currently Zane Lowe’s album of the week on Radio 1, we are giving away an exclusive Sub Focus track for free. That’s right, for FREE!
Entitled ‘Smooth’, the track is a lush, liquid Drum & Bass record that shows off Sub Focus’s penchant for rolling bass and strong melodies perfectly.
To download the track in wav. Format simply click here
Sub Focus’ self-titled debut album is out 12th October on Ram records.
Sub Focus may be a new name to grace commercial radio but he’s been grafting away on the underground Drum & Bass scene for some time. Early tracks like ‘X-Ray’ and ‘Strobe’ won Sub Focus accolades from Andy C, the boss of the hugely successful Ram Records and a man who is widely regarded as the best D&B DJ in the world. This helped the young producer muscle in to the notoriously tight-knit higher echelons of the Drum & Bass world; which in turn helped him gain the attention of Radio 1 tastemakers Annie Mac and Zane Lowe.
Last year Sub Focus gained his first taste of mainstream success with ‘Timewarp’, a Pendulum-esque stormer that brightened up daytime schedules on Radio 1 and late night sessions at The End. His latest track, ‘Rock It’, takes elements of Daft Punk’s ‘Robot Rock’ and fuses it to a stomping jungle break-beat and stomach churning doses of growling sub-bass. Like ‘Timewarp’, the record has a crossover appeal without being overtly cheesy or calculated. Of course, cynical D&B fans have already accused Sub Focus of selling out. However anyone who’s seen his recent sets at Matter would be able to testify that he’s very much in touch with the club rocking sensibilities that made his early records the toast of the Dee & Bee scene. If Sub Focus can continue to produce tracks that are capable of delivering a slice of lairy 180BPM spice amongst the swathes of faceless indie and R&B on daytime radio, it is something the music buying public in general should be thankful for.
This Friday sees Sub Focus take to the decks at Matter, as Ram once again take over one of London’s largest clubs for the evening. Headlining the night will be the aforementioned Andy C alongside a host of the genre’s premier DJs and MC talent including Goldie, DJ EZ and Chase & Status to name a few. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, the night has now sold out. As the above video shows Ram’s line ups at Matter justifiably attract fever like levels of anticipation from the labels die hard following. While many have written off the genre in the past, the continued success of Sub Focus and Ram Records proves that interest in Drum & Bass is far from waning.
