Artist Profile – Subrix – (UK)

Subrix is a name that has been floating around the circuit for most of 2022. His style ranges from sublime liquid bliss to filthy speaker melters, and he’s released on labels from across the globe including Celsius, UTM, DNBB and Mathmatica.

His productions are clean cut and inventive. 2022 was his first real year in the DNB spotlight and we’re already big fans. We were keen to find out more about this ascending talent. He’s a quiet guy and not one for the limelight, so we were really pleased that he agreed to speak to us. He releases the beautiful ‘Walking’ EP on Celsius Recordings this week (24-2-23). Read on to find out what 2023 and beyond might hold in store for this producer of sublime drum and bass music.

Subrix! Welcome in!

You’re a resident of Cornwall in the UK, which is renowned for being one of the most beautiful parts of the country and a haven for the UK surf community. Did you grow up as part of the surfer community there at all? It’s a well-known hot spot for surfing after all?

When I was younger I tried surfing but wasn’t very good! I preferred skateboarding, but I love the beach & sea and love the surfing community.

Have you found that your surroundings have influenced your musical style? Do you take inspiration from your immediate habitat? Like nature or wildlife?

Definitely! So much of my music is influenced by my surroundings, & the people in my life, especially my family.

You cite hip hop as a major early influencer in your musical journey. This such a common story amongst DNB producers. Why do you think the link between the two styles is so strong?

I like the connection because you can get a hip hop vibe and have DNB drums over it without the vibe being sped up or slowed down drastically. I also think the connection with an MC over the tracks, both in hip hop & DNB were born with raw beats and an MC.

You’re self-taught and also a Mac user. How have you found Logic in terms of learning and creating goes? There are so many DAW’s to choose from and so many people have quite distinct preferences?

There sure is! I’m always learning & creating on Logic.

Your studio set up is relatively small, but your sound is big and fills lots of space, particularly on the liquid productions. What other equipment are you using and have you any plans to expand your hardware list?

At the moment I have no plans other than to upgrade the computer, and work with a vocalist on my tracks. It’s something I would love to do and I’ve wanted to do for a while, but social media is something I struggle with.

There you go then singers and vocalists! Subrix is down for a Colab!

With 20 years of production under your belt, what would you say have been the major points of learning for you, as in things that have really made a huge difference to the way you work or write?

Not to procrastinate. Within those 20 years I didn’t ever send my tracks to labels because I didn’t think they where good enough or ever ready. Getting good monitors also really helped with the way I produced music, but producing can be up & down with emotions, especially debating weather a track is good enough. Having faith in what you do can really help and remember to have fun!

You’ve released on some key labels, but before that how did you find getting your music heard? I guess there are a lot of knock backs in the early stages?

Yeah, it’s difficult! I still get knock backs, but you’ve got to have a thick skin & just keep at it. I still struggle with sending tracks, but I always enjoy producing music and to me that is the main thing, not whether my tracks get signed, got a lot of unsigned track. But that won’t stop me.

You had your first breakthrough with The Foundations EP on Influenza. After two decades of making music, you must have been overjoyed to have finally have found an outlet?

Most definitely! I get excited with every release.

And then there was a steady stream of output through 2022. Your sound is ethereal, with lots of floating pads and synths but quite often there’s that growling reece lurking underneath. It sounds like you put a lot of effort into your music. You can almost hear the hours in it?

Thank you! I love to try bring a bit of grit to tracks, when I used to produce hip hop I would go for a deep raw sound and try to use this in my drum & bass music, so most of the time I tend to have a melody being moved by a bass and raw drums. I also like the track to either change through out its length or introduce new instrument or melodies for the second half, taking you on a journey through the track with changing emotions.

Your track ‘Crank’ out on UTM perfectly showcases the darker side of your musical style. Is this an area that you’d like to push further into?

Yes, I’m going to be releasing a lot more darker stuff. It’s something I’ve wanted to do but didn’t have an outlet, but this year I’ll have some exciting releases in that darker, dirtier style. I will still release liquid DNB as I love soulful music, but I love all styles within DNB and definitely want to explore these areas.

You’ve also created a few funky bootlegs which are a lot of fun! These must be great to make!

I love creating bootlegs and I have a lot I still need to put out there. This is something I really enjoy doing.

Tell us a bit more about your plans for 2023 then. If 2022 is anything to go by then it sounds like this is going to be one heck of a year for Subrix!

I would love to work on a album for 2024. I have the opportunity to focus and spend time on something special and have tracks already lined up for a possible multi genre album. But for this year I would just really love to connect with a vocalist for future tracks.

FIND OUT MORE HERE:

Rickylee Mead (@subrix.music) • Instagram photos and videos

Stream Subrix music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud

Stream Celsius Recordings music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCl