I was pleasantly surprised when asked if I wanted to join one of the most promising bass music networks in the scene. As a TRUSIK regular, Verity was keen to have me onboard to support the connected platforms, hosts and producers on the SubCulture roster. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse, and I’m delighted to be part of this fortunate team. Consequently, we can now confirm that SubCulture Artists have teamed up with Seven to launch a new label called Uprise Audio. The imprint will be delivering cutting edge bass music on vinyl and digital format to showcase artists with the highest level of production. In addition, it’s a pleasure to announce that Dubtek will be stepping up to the plate to head UA001. I caught up with the man to talk music, Berlin, and forthcoming projects.
TRUSIK: Firstly, so our readers are familiar, what is your name and where are you from?
DUBTEK: My name is Kyle Schab. I am from Seattle, Washington, USA (Kenmore if you want to get technical, just outside Seattle, on the North tip of Lake Washington).
TRUSIK: What was your reason for relocating to Berlin? Has exposure to the European sound influenced you creatively?
DUBTEK: Living in Europe is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. After visiting Berlin in 2010, I really enjoyed the vibe of the City and thought I would enjoy living here. It’s been great so far! I think exposure to the European sound has influenced me a great deal. Obviously everyone who is into this sort of music is influenced in one way or another, by artists from England as that seems to be the hot spot for it all. Dark music has always appealed to me, regardless of genre. And I think people residing in this region of the world are more prone to make Dark Music, as the weather is conducive to such moods. As for the scene here in Berlin, I’m slowly making my rounds and getting to know some of the people making moves out here. Everyone has been very cool.
TRUSIK: Best night you’ve been to in Berlin, or in Germany in general?
DUBTEK: I haven’t been in Berlin that long (I arrived about 2 months ago) so I haven’t been out too much. But I’ve really enjoyed the underground vibe at ://About Blank. I believe 4 different crews are throwing dubstep nights there every Thursday. I’ve also heard many things about Berghain, and that if I’m in Berlin I gotta go at least once.
TRUSIK: What kind of sets do you play at the dance?
DUBTEK: My sets usually consist of dark tunes. Either deep, heavy or hard, as long as it dark.
TRUSIK: Techno has already begun to influence artists producing dubstep, the result being tech hybrid dubstep at 140. The Osiris family are clearly steering the sound in that direction. Sleeper & District have been experimenting in that domain. What are your thoughts towards this potential playground?
DUBTEK: I’ve really been feeling the whole techno influenced Dubstep sound lately. People are experimenting a lot with different beat patterns, which has been made for some interesting material coming out at the moment. I’ve been playing around with it a bit myself. I’ve also been hearing Drum & Bass producers taking a huge influence from techno in their productions as well, even doing techno DJ sets and producing techno under different names. As for dubstep taking this direction I can’t say for sure. It seems like it might fizzle out after a little while and people will move on to the next sound. As seems to be the trend with modern day electronic music. The sound is constantly changing. Keeping everyone on their toes.
TRUSIK: Which German producers can you recommend our readers take an interest in?
DUBTEK: Some German producers that I find very talented and would recommend are a couple obvious ones such as Phace and Misanthrop with their Neosignal Imprint. I’ve always been a huge Current Value fan as well, and I’ve heard some good dubstep from him in his collaborative efforts with Dean Rodell, both from Berlin I believe. Some local guys I’ve met recently that I would recommend would be Shredexx. I was over at his place the other week and was hearing some very high quality stuff from him. There are also the homies; Shureshotz, TKR, Twisted & Rakoon, and Mr. Boogie who are making great music.
TRUSIK: You’ve worked with a number of producers in the past, who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
DUBTEK: There are a ridiculous number of people I would love to collaborate with. I would love to do a tune with Icicle or Biome as I really enjoy their music. Maybe a DnB tune with Zero T. That would be awesome! I was in the studio with Truth not too long ago, which was a really great opportunity, hopefully something happens with the tune we started or maybe more time to work together in the future. They are really great guys and I’m a big fan of their music as well. Was great getting to know them!
TRUSIK: You’ve had support from N-Type, J:Kenzo and dBridge on Rinse FM. Can we expect your beats on our airwaves to be a regular occurrence now?
DUBTEK: Yes, I’ve been really grateful for people I look up to and who are making big moves in the worldwide community to be supporting my music. I sure hope that it continues!
TRUSIK: How did the mix that you made for us come together?
DUBTEK: I just wanted to showcase some new tunes of mine that I’ve made recently as well as the sort of stuff I’ve been feeling and playing out.
TRUSIK: What is to be expected from Dubtek, are there any interesting projects / forthcoming material in the pipeline?
DUBTEK: Well, as far as what can be expected, Seven is starting his own imprint Uprise Audio which I will be having some tunes come out on which I am really excited about. He’s been very supportive and I am looking forward to working with him. I’ve also been making a bit of DnB recently as well and have some collabs I’ve done with Displaced Paranormals coming out on Dynamic’s label, Inception Audio. I’ve also done a remix for Truth that I believe will be coming out on their next album and will hopefully be in the studio with Seven in the near future. So, things are looking good and I feel blessed and hope for things to continue on this path!
TRACKLIST:
- Catacombs – East (dub)
- Chewie & Dubtek – Primitive (dub)
- Nanobyte – Hidden Code (dub)
- Dubtek – Wedge (dub)
- Dubtek – Extension (dub)
- Juss B – Concentration (Forthcoming Gradient Audio)
- Dubtek – Linear (dub)
- Dubtek – Substance (dub)
- Nanobyte & Stagga – Sonic Data (dub)
- Chewie – Solace (dub)
- Think – Frequencies (dub)
- Perverse – Somber (dub)
- Nanobyte – Fallen to Sorrow (dub)
UA001 will be released November 15th on Uprise Audio.
