Show Notes
The drum & bass veteran talks about bass music eras, dance culture in America and his new album, Contact.
British artist Nicolaas Douwma, AKA Sub Focus, has been steadily putting out big-room drum & bass since the early 2000s. In more recent years, he's become staggeringly popular, releasing a string of Top 40 UK pop hits that have made him synonymous with a more mainstream sound. His influence looms large across a whole generation of young producers, particularly in the US.
In this Exchange, Douwma sits down with Resident Advisor editor Gabe Szatan at the beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. They speak about how he hit number one in the US dance music charts last year, as well as how drum & bass moved from being popular with a "secret clique of people" to becoming what, for lack of a better term, could be called "brostep."
There's a new Sub Focus album dropping on November 21st called Contact, which includes collaborations with Grimes and Katy B. Grab your copy when it comes out. Watch this interview in full on our YouTube channel, or listen to the audio via SoundCloud, Spotify or Apple Music. -Chloe Lula Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from RA Exchange
Kicking off a run of artist-on-artist Exchanges for RA25, the musical multi-hyphenates discuss poetry, religion and their experiences as protectors of oratorical tradition.
The frontwoman of Grammy-nominated The Internet talks ambition, contentment and her third solo album, Beard.
The trance DJ on clickbait journalism, commercial success and making a name in the viral age.
Frontman Paul Banks on the legacy band's creative evolution, why he prefers hip-hop to rock and their new album, This Mirror Weighs a Ton.
Jorja Smith's career took off in 2016, when "Blue Lights" introduced her voice to a global audience. In the 10 years since that single went stratospheric, the Walsall-born artist has released three albums, collaborated with Drake, Burna Boy, Wizkid and Ezra Collective, and built an international career without ever signing to a major label.