Subreachers is a Belgian based producer, formerly a duo created in 2008 when two friends started producing & DJing after they fell in love with dubstep. Having music released on Warriorz, Compound One, Kraken, Orientis & Live Beyond; Subreachers pushes on with his fortified sound resonating with pungent low-end power, and a musicality that can be sophisticated yet monstrous at times. Matthias Subreachers and his imaginative creations continue to spark the interest of ears from all over the earth. As he pursues his dreams, by carving out his own sonic creations – Matthias will continue to develop and mature the blend of bass music that he creates.
TRUSIK: For those readers out there who aren’t up to speed with your music, who are you and what do you do?
Subreachers: Hey, I’m Matthias and I live in Belgium, right between Antwerp & Brussels. I have been producing under the moniker Subreachers since 2008. Subreachers started as a duo with Tim (Locked Groove) but I have been producing everything since 2011 on my own. I make music with lots of bass – mostly dubstep & drum and bass (Matt Pulsar). In terms of style I would call my music deep, dark & minimal, without forgetting the musicality component.
T: What has the soundsystem music community been like for you living in Belgium? How has your environment contributed positively to your progression as an artist (in your opinion)? What events/nights do you attend/play at?
SR: After the first year or so, when I started producing more decent tunes (2009), I felt there was a real struggle to ‘educate’ the people to know what real dubstep is & where it comes from. The amount of shady gigs I played those first months and people got mad because I didn’t play Doctor P or Borgore are uncountable. As soon as I became a bit more known because of my productions and the support I got from both international and national DJ’s, I started to receive decent bookings for straight up dubstep nights such as Untitled!, and Daily Dubstep at Tomorrowland. My coolest gigs were Dub&Bass in Germany, and Surfase in Copenhagen. In Belgium I rate Untitled!, Dungeon & Dublo as my favourites so far. Ghent has a very healthy scene too with parties such as Daily Dubstep, Rotation & Petsbud. These have been parties with a sick soundsystem, nicely packed room, and good vibes amongst the crowd, who all love the same music!
T: Where did your passion for electronic music first begin? Growing up what influences did you draw musically/creatively? Did you play any instruments as a youth?
SR: I listened to lots of genres and artists, from metal to hip-hop to jazz to stuff I’m not proud of. My main influence is my dad who’s a musician as well. He makes music for movies and TV so it was around the house everyday when I was young. I went through taking music theory and played the piano for 8 years. My father introduced me to the best artists such as Amon Tobin, Massive Attack, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, and Goldfrapp.
T: The recent collaboration with TeeFreqs called ‘Lucid’ ushers a deeper, more ethereal vibe than some of your more hard-hitting tracks like ‘Blackout’ and ‘Debt Charger’. Do you enjoy making one style more than the other? Is diversity in production a priority for you?
SR: I love the diversity of it. I’ve always been wandering between the deep jazzy and the dark stuff from the very beginning. I never know what I’m about to make when I open Ableton. I just start to make a beat, and see what comes along. It mostly depends on my mood or just randomly a nice sample that passes by at that moment. If you have a listen to my releases and forthcomings you’ll always find both sides.
T: When did you first encounter dubstep? Do you remember who it was you heard initially?
SR: I was listening to drum & bass for a few months at that time but I remember the moment very well. A mate said to me: “Yo I got some new music, it’s a genre called dubstep or something like that, have a listen!“. I was speechless because I never heard something like that and I never had that ‘huge’ feeling with any other kind of music. From then on I started to explore everything about the genre and started to DJ, and produce soon afterwards.
T: Has there been any particular mixes or tunes that you remember as influential or memorable through out the years?
SR: It was a mix from Belgian’s dubstep pioneer BunZer0 from April 2007. Back when my friend introduced me to the genre. I can’t choose a specific influential or memorable tune because there are so much to choose from. Loved all the deep stuff from labels like Tempa, Deep Medi, DMZ, and artists like Kromestar, Benga, Skream and so on…
T: Whether sampling audio clips for a new project, or diving into constructing a new sound, do you have specific ideas or methods that influence your creative process? What DAW do you prefer? Any specific tools or VSTs that you use that have been noteworthy? What styles of music would you find yourself listening to when you’re not in the studio or on the mixer?
SR: I use Ableton because it’s very user-friendly and fits the way I produce perfectly. I always make a base (half-finished intro & drop) of the tune in vertical view, record a few bars and then create and draw the rest of the tune in horizontal view. It spares me time and is a more amusing way to start building a tune from zero. I use a lot of samples because I love to reshape them to other yet even cooler sounds with some nice effects. When I don’t use samples I use VSTs such as Albino, for a lot of my bass-sounds. I prefer to use Izotope for ‘mastering’, Gladiator and mostly everything from Native Instruments. If I’m not in the studio or on the mixer I listen to other dubstep, drum & bass, hip-hop, jazz, etc.
T: Your recent track ‘Crystal Clear’ with Venezuelan producer KIEV is out now as a part of the ‘Aquatic Lab Sessions Volume 2’. That, along with your track ‘Dysfunctional Systems LTD’ released on FatKidOnFire’s FKOFUn/Known01 compilation; these 2 tracks mark your most recent releases. Coming into summer 2013, do you have any releases forthcoming that you could let the community know about?
SR: I’ve got two 4-track EP’s coming later this year. One on NYC’s Tuba Records and the other on Copenhagen’s Surfase. More info on which tracks it will be will follow very soon!
T: For a bit of insight as to what you were thinking with regards to the exclusive mix you have recorded for us at Trusik, what can you tell the readers about this one?
SR: This mix is a combination of my most recent productions and collabs, alongside other artists who I’m really feeling and rating high at the moment. You’ll hear the diversity of the sorts of dubstep I like and spoke about a few questions above. It’s a 1-hour bass journey that I hope will be enjoyed!
T: Some of your more recent tracks have been getting played by some of the bigger names in the dubstep community. Bunzer0, Truth, J:Kenzo as well as N-Type are just some to mention. Both J:Kenzo & N-Type have featured dubs of yours on their respective Rinse FM shows. Having crafted beats that are grabbing the attention of such peak names in the community must feel like an accomplishment. What’s next for you Matthias?
SR: It definitely is one of the best feelings and a great recognition when one of the bigger names is rinsing your tunes on radio or even better, live. When you’re attending that gig and are able to listen to your own tune on a big rig and see people lose their minds on your own piece of music. My next step is to continue to evolve and get better on the production tip. I would like to play more gigs and maybe get signed to more established labels. Another vinyl would be awesome.
T: Looking outwards into the present day dubstep community, who are some producers making beats that are worth mentioning?
SR: Too many to mention! Of course all the artists I represented in this mix… to name a few: Chord Marauders, Core, Kaiju, RDG, Taiko, TeeFreqs, LAS, Gantz, Author, J:Kenzo, LX One, Truth, Razor Rekta, Commodo, VIVEK…
T: Off the top of your head, give the readers your 3 favourite record labels that are releasing dubstep currently?
SR: Black Box, Innamind & Deep Heads.
T: Shouts to anyone specific?
SR: Everyone who supports my music! My friends/colleagues who I swap tunes with. My parents, friends, BunZer0 for the advice & support since day dot, Jurgen One87, Beezy, Core, Kaiju, Chord Marauders, J:Kenzo, Ipman, Truth, Jack Sparrow, Von D, N-Type, RDG, Squarewave, TeeFreqs, Taiko, LX One, Lurka, Aquatic Lab, Tuba, Wil Benton/FKOF, and of course the Trusik family! Peace.
Tracklist:
Geode – Jade [Dub]
Subreachers – Lo-Fi [Dub]
Taiko – 9 [Dub]
Bukez Finezt – Homicida [Dub]
D-Operation Drop – Poison (Core Remix) [Dub]
Geode – Kestrel [Dub]
B9 – Avenue [Dub]
Jack Sparrow – Survivors [Dub]
Dubtek – Survival [Dub]
Fable – Misst [Dub]
TeeFreqs – Positive Evilution [Dub]
Kaiju (feat. Flowdan) – Hunter [Osiris]
D-Operation Drop – Stronghold [Dub]
LAS – Karma [Dub]
Kaiju – Ice [Dub]
Jafu – Capturing The Storm [Dub]
TMSV – You [Dub]
Fracture – Stamford Ill [Dub]
Core (feat. Riko) – The King [Dub]
Subreachers (feat. Beezy) – Restraint [Dub]
Subreachers & TeeFreqs – Lucid [Dub]
RDG – Black Chronic [Dub]
Curzed – Silent Screams [Dub]
Subreachers – Blackout [Dub]
Facta – 36th Chamber [Dub]
TeeFreqs – Feel Life [Dub]
Trashbat – Hanako [Dub]
Download: Subreachers – TRUSIK Exclusive Mix
[mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com/TRUSIK/23-subreachers-trusik-exclusive-mix/ width=100% height=208 hide_cover=1 hide_tracklist=1]
