''Sub Focus'' is the debut album by British
drum and bass
Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
producer
Sub Focus
Nicolaas Douwma (born 13 April 1982), better known by his stage name Sub Focus, is an English DJ, record producer, songwriter, musician and sound engineer from Guildford, Surrey. He has been releasing records since 2003. On 12 October 2009, ...
. It was released on 12 October 2009 through
RAM Records. The album primarily features drum and bass tracks, however there are tracks showcasing
dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...
,
electro,
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...
,
breakbeat
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and ...
and
trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore (electronic dance music genre), hardcore scenes.
Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally ly ...
elements. "
Rock It / Follow the Light" managed to break into the top 40 of the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. Two later singles, "
Could This Be Real
"Could This Be Real" is the third single from drum and bass artist Sub Focus released from the self-titled debut album ''Sub Focus''. The song features writing and uncredited vocals from Linden Reeves (also known as Stamina MC). It is an elect ...
" and "
Splash", both fell just below, peaking at number 41. The album charted at number 51 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
.
Critical reception
Chris Power of the
BBC said that Sub Focus "has the ability to create dancefloor-consuming monsters....but while it's possible to admire his sound's power there are times when it's not matched by songcraft....What remains to be seen is whether he can convert his jackdaw versatility – house, breaks and dubstep all get a look-in here – into a coherent style of his own. Right now that's very much a work in progress."
BBC.co.uk Review
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Track listing
Notes
*"World of Hurt" features uncredited vocals by Takura
*"Follow the Light" features uncredited vocals by TC
*"Could This Be Real" features uncredited vocals by Stamina MC
Sample credits
*"Let the Story Begin" features an excerpt from the track "Spiral
In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point.
Helices
Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:[Vangelis
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...]
*"World of Hurt" contains elements of "Worla Hurt" by Bugz in the Attic
*"Last Jungle" contains elements of " Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" by Gladys Knight & the Pips
*"Timewarp" contains a sample from '' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' (1986)
Alternate versions
* An extended version of "Timewarp" is available on the ''Timewarp / Join the Dots'' single.
* Alternate versions of "Rock It" and "Follow the Light" are available on the ''Rock It / Follow the Light'' single.
* Two remixes of "Could This Be Real", one by dubstep musician Joker and a drum and bass remix by Sub Focus himself, can be found on the ''Could This Be Real (remixes)'' EP.
* The single version of "Splash" is different from the album version: it features vocals from Coco Sumner
Eliot Paulina Sumner (born 30 July 1990) is an English singer, songwriter and actor.
Career
I Blame Coco
Sumner began writing songs at the age of 15, and signed a multi-record deal with Island Records at age 17. They spent six months writin ...
.
* An extended mix of the instrumental version of "Splash" and a VIP mix of "Timewarp" can be found alongside the ''Splash'' EP and on the 12" vinyl single ''Splash (extended mix) / Timewarp VIP''.
* Dubstep musician Rusko produced a remix of "Splash", available on the ''Splash'' EP and the 12" vinyl single ''Splash (Rusko remix) / Coming Closer VIP'' on release in 2010. As the release title suggests, a VIP mix of "Coming Closer" also features.
Charts
In popular culture
"Follow the Light", "Deep Space" and "Rock It" were all featured on the video game '' Gran Turismo 5''.
References
{{Authority control
2009 debut albums
Sub Focus albums
RAM Records albums
Drum and bass albums