''Torus'' is the second studio album by British DJ and record producer Sub Focus. The album was released on 30 September 2013, through

RAM Records RAM Records is an independent record label established in 1992 by Andy C with the help of his friend Ant Miles. It specialises in drum and bass. The label and business is run by Andy C and business partner Scott Bourne (Red One). Ram Records ...

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and

Virgin EMI Records Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records. History Virgin ...

Musical concept and songs

Torus In geometry, a torus (plural tori, colloquially donut or doughnut) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle. If the axis of revolution does not tou ...

'' is the geometric name for the shape in Sub Focus' logo. It was originally used on his debut album cover and the shape has played a big part in his live shows as well as in promotion and artwork. The title track was written as an intro to Douwma's live sets, in preparation for a Brixton performance in 2012. He wanted to start his sets with a low tempo and gradually speed up. "Safe in Sound" was one of the earliest tracks to be completed and was written with

Seton Daunt Seton Daunt is an English guitar player and songwriter, best known as lead guitarist for the British rock band Fiction Plane. Guitarist At 19 years old, Daunt met Dan Brown, who introduced him to Santa's Boyfriend. The band was playing the ...

and later given the

Mary O'Hara Mary O'Hara (born 12 May 1935) is an Irish soprano and harpist from County Sligo. She gained attention on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her recordings of that period influenced a generation of Irish female singer ...

sample. "Endorphins" originally had a female vocalist, and was given to several artists but in the end

Alex Clare Alexander George Clare (c. 1985) is an English singer and songwriter. His debut album, '' The Lateness of the Hour'', was released in the UK on 11 July 2011 on Island Records and was produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer. His biggest hit, " ...

visited Nick's studio to record what would be the final version of the track. "Twilight" was written as an ambient contrast to the club-orientated songs on the album, as Douwma viewed the album as a journey and wanted constant progression. The synth hook on "Falling Down" was originally intended for the

Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in J ...

and

Takura Takura Tendayi is a Zimbabwean singer and songwriter. He is well known for his frequent collaborations with Chase & Status and Sub Focus, as well as many other dubstep and drum and bass artists. His guest appearances have accumulated over 17 ...

collaboration " Flashing Lights", but did not fit the song so was re-used as a starting point for the new song. While the track was being finished,

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead si ...

coincidentally visited the studios to meet

Caspa CASPA or the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants is an application service for graduate-level PA programs. Similar to the Common Application used by some undergraduate institutions and the American Medical College Applicatio ...

and Douwma showed him the track. Skrillex enjoyed it and decided to release it alongside remixes on

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. "Turn Back Time" was one of the last songs to be finished on the album. At the time, he was experimenting with 90's rave samples, and the song originally used a sample but was re-recorded. "You Make It Better" was also one of the final songs to be finished on the album. At the time, it was just a loop, and Culture Shock had a lot of ideas to develop it. They wanted a hook for the breakdown of the song, so TC recorded vocals for it. The vocals on "Tidal Wave" were originally on another Sub Focus demo but instead got used on the "Tidal Wave" instrumental. "Until the End" was inspired by the '' Drive'' soundtrack and was written as a concluding track for the album.

Track listing

Notes * "Safe in Sound" features uncredited vocals from Julian Bunetta. * "Twilight" features uncredited vocals from

Teemu Brunila Teemu William Brunila (born 24 November 1976, in Turku) is a Finnish singer, songwriter, musician and producer. Brunila became known as the lead vocalist and songwriter for the pop group The Crash. During their career, the band released four stud ...

. * "Turn Back Time" features uncredited vocals from Yolanda Quartey. Sample credits * "Torus" contains samples of Charles I. Halt's recording of the 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident. * "Safe in Sound" contains samples of the Irish folk song "Óró Mo Bháidín", performed by

. * "Turn Back Time" contains elements of the song "Brass Disk", performed by Duprée and written by

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. Musical career Todd Terry was influential in moving House music beyond the early Chicago house sound of 1984–86. He crosse ...

, and lyrics from the song "Missing You", written by Kim English and Frankie Feliciano.

Personnel

* Nick "Sub Focus" Douwma – producer, mixing , remix and additional production Additional musicians *

– vocals * Alice McLaughlin – vocals * Amanda Ghost – writer *

Bryn Christopher Bryn Christopher (born 8 November 1985) is a British singer and songwriter. Born in Great Barr, Birmingham, England, he attended the Italia Conti Stage School and was a contestant on '' Popstars: The Rivals''. His debut single, "The Quest", ...

– writer * Catherine Pockson – vocals *Frankie Feliciano – co-producer (sampled) * Fred Vahrman and Joshua Jackson – remix and additional production *

Ian Dench Ian Alec Harvey Dench (born 7 August 1964) is an English songwriter and musician. He was the guitarist and principal songwriter for EMF, who scored a major international hit reaching number 1 in the United States with " Unbelievable" in 1991. ...

– writer * James "Culture Shock" Pountney – co-producer *Jenna "JayEllDee" Dickens – vocals *Jonnali Parmenius – writer *Julian Bunetta – vocals *

Kele Okereke Rowland Kelechukwu Okereke (born 13 October 1981), also known mononymously as Kele, is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the indie rock band Bloc Party. Early life Okere ...

– vocals *Kenzie May – vocals * Kim English – vocals (sampled) * Louisa "Foxes" Allen – vocals *Mans Wrendenberg – writer *

– vocals (sampled) * Robert Matthews – co-producer *

– guitars * Takura Tendayi – writer * Tom "TC" Casswell – vocals *

– vocals * Thomas "Tom Cane" Havelock – writer *

– co-producer (sampled) * Uzoechi "MNEK" Emenike – vocals *Yolanda Quartey – vocals

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torus (album) 2013 albums Sub Focus albums RAM Records albums