Sub Focus: from rock fan to self taught producer

Plenty of producers in electronic music grew up wanting to be in a band. Sub Focus is one of them. His route from school rock group to one of the best known names in drum and bass is a story about self teaching, patience and a good ear for a tune.

The start

Wikipedia says Nicolaas Douwma, born on 13 April 1982, is an English DJ, music producer, songwriter and sound engineer who has been releasing records since 2003. He was originally a fan of rock music, including bands such as Nirvana, and started a band at school with friends, though that ambition was short lived because he was not good at playing instruments.

At the age of 13, he discovered computer software for making electronic music and became a self taught producer. The main attraction, according to the account, was that he could create a whole song on a computer without having to play an instrument. His first major influences included groups such as The Prodigy.

The albums

He released his self titled debut album on 12 October 2009. His second album, Torus, followed on 30 September 2013. In 2020 came Portals, an album in collaboration with Wilkinson, released on 9 October through Casablanca Records. His fourth album, Evolve, was released on 12 May 2023.

The sequence shows a producer who takes his time. Four albums over fourteen years is not a rapid release schedule, and it suggests an artist who prefers to develop ideas fully.

A label connection

Sub Focus is also among the artists associated with RAM Records, the label Andy C established in 1992, and which Wikipedia lists as having signed artists including Chase and Status, Loadstar, Sub Focus and Wilkinson. For many listeners, he is part of the group of artists who took drum and bass into larger rooms.

What the story offers

Sub Focus's early path has a lesson for people who want to make music. You do not need a conventional route or a classic training. You need a tool, curiosity and the willingness to keep making things until they improve.

If you want to hear that development, start with the debut and listen through to the latest album. Pay attention to the way the drums and bass lines evolve, and to how the melodies become bigger and cleaner with each release.