From hearing one of his tracks for the first time inside a club in 2003 to headlining Glastonbury in 2010, Nick Douwma's rise through the ranks of underground jungle to become a major player in electronic music has been nothing short of spectacular. Initially known for air-punching, dancefloor dismantling drum & bass, Sub Focus has now become synonymous with music that draws from all corners of the electronic landscape, and has come to epitomise the ‘anything goes’ mantra of today’s flourishing dance scene.
His eponymous debut album, released in 2009, featured not only drum & bass, but dubstep, old school breakbeat, bumping house and lashings of electro and rock, all brought together in a taut collection that could only have been made in the 21st century. It was an instant hit. The monstrous Daft Punk-influenced album opener and first single ‘Rock It’ broke into the Top 40, with second single ‘Could This Be Real’ doing similar damage. 'Splash', featuring the vocals of Coco Sumner soon followed, and due to insatiable demand, Douwma was soon called in to remix the likes of Deadmau5, Empire of the Sun and Dizzee Rascal.
With all categories of electronic beats brought together into a luminous, cosmic melting pot, Douwma is already hard at work creating his next long player, and given his track record thus far, it may well revolutionize dance music all over again. But then, would you expect anything less?