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Nicolaas Douwma (born 13 April 1982), better known by his stage name Sub Focus, is an English DJ, music producer, songwriter and sound engineer. He has been releasing records since 2003. On 12 October 2009, he released his self-titled debut album. He released his second album, ''
Torus In geometry, a torus (: tori or toruses) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space one full revolution about an axis that is coplanarity, coplanar with the circle. The main types of toruses inclu ...
'', on 30 September 2013. Douwma's album in collaboration with Wilkinson titled '' Portals'' was released on 9 October 2020 through
Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...
. His fourth album, '' Evolve'', was released on 12 May 2023.


Music career


Starting out

Originally a fan of
rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
, including bands such as
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
, Douwma started a band at school with some friends although this was a short-lived ambition as he "wasn't very good" at playing musical instruments. At the age of 13, however, he discovered computer software for producing electronic music and became a self-taught producer, and started making rudimentary dance music. The main reason he followed this path and ultimately got more involved in it was because it meant that he could successfully create a whole song on a computer without having to be able to play a musical instrument. His first major influences were groups such as
The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
and
The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...
, artists who blended
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s with
dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...
. He first discovered
jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...
and
drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...
music after hearing "
Incredible Incredible may refer to: Music Albums * ''Incredible'' (Clique Girlz album) or the title song, 2008 * ''Incredible'' (Gary Puckett & The Union Gap album), 1968 * ''Incredible'' (Ilse DeLange album), 2008 * ''Incredible'' (Mary Mary album) or ...
" by
M-Beat Marlon Hart (born 1975), known professionally as M-Beat, is a Jungle music, jungle musician and record producer. The nephew of Sly Dunbar, Hart scored three top 20 Hit song, hit singles on the UK singles chart: "Incredible (M-Beat song), Incredi ...
and General Levy. Douwma did not start taking music production seriously until he left school and deciding what to do for a career. In order to advance and to get more of an understanding of electronic music production, he went to college and studied sound engineering. From 2001 to 2002 onwards, largely due to encouragement from his friends, he started sending out demo CDs. His breakthrough came in 2003 when a friend of his who was playing in a club on the same night as
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 Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance m ...
boss Andy C gave him his demo CD, with his phone number written on it (he had the CD with him so he could have some exclusive tunes to play in his set). After hearing it, Andy was so impressed with the demo, he phoned up Douwma straight away and signed every track instantly, and Douwma was signed to RAM's sister label Frequency, before making his debut on RAM two years later.


2005–2008: Early career

In March 2005, Douwma had a number one single on the
UK Dance Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the electronic dance music, dance music genre (e.g. house music, house, trance music, trance, ...
with "X-Ray / Scarecrow". The single reached number 60 on the UK Singles Chart. In June 2008, he hit number one on the UK Dance Chart again with " Timewarp / Join the Dots".


2006: ''Sub Focus''

In 2006, he traveled to the U.S. and played at Five Nightclub in Washington, D.C., courtesy of Upfront Productions.


2009–2010: ''Sub Focus''

In August 2009, he cracked the UK top 40 for the first time with " Rock It / Follow the Light", which reached number 38. "Rock It / Follow the Light" also got him a third
UK Dance Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the electronic dance music, dance music genre (e.g. house music, house, trance music, trance, ...
number one, as well as reaching the B-list of
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
's playlist. Sub Focus has also remixed selected works of
The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
,
deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...
, Rusko, Dr. Octagon, Empire of the Sun and
Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...
. On 6 October 2009, Sub Focus released "Smooth" which was free to download. On 12 October 2009, he released his debut studio album '' Sub Focus'', the album peaked at number 51 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
.


2010–2019: ''Torus''

In 2010, Sub Focus was a support act for Australian drum and bass band
Pendulum A pendulum is a device made of a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate i ...
on their UK tour to promote their third album ''
Immersion Immersion may refer to: The arts * "Immersion", a 2012 story by Aliette de Bodard * ''Immersion'', a French comic book series by Léo Quievreux * ''Immersion'' (album), the third album by Australian group Pendulum * ''Immersion'' (film), a 2021 ...
''. Later that year, he produced the
Example Example may refer to: * ''exempli gratia'' (e.g.), usually read out in English as "for example" * .example, reserved as a domain name that may not be installed as a top-level domain of the Internet ** example.com, example.net, example.org, an ...
track " Kickstarts" for his second album, '' Won't Go Quietly''. The track was successful in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number three. This makes it Sub Focus' most commercially successful production to date. A free track "
Falling Down ''Falling Down'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Joel Schumacher, written by Ebbe Roe Smith, and starring Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall. Set in Los Angeles, the film tells the story of William Foster, a disgruntled, une ...
" featuring vocals from Kenzie May was released on his website and was later released digitally as an EP. In 2012, he released " Out the Blue" featuring Alice Gold and it reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart. It was followed by " Tidal Wave" featuring Alpines which peaked at number 12 in the UK Singles Chart, which also became his first to spend at least two weeks in the top 40. "Tidal Wave" also featured on the Mercedes Benz "Sound with Power" advertising campaign, along with
Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie (formerly Tinie Tempah), is a British rapper and singer. He has been signed to Parlophone since 2009, now a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his ...
. On 12 May 2013, "
Endorphins Endorphins (contracted from endogenous morphine) are peptides produced in the brain that block the perception of pain and increase feelings of wellbeing. They are produced and stored in the pituitary gland of the brain. Endorphins are endogeno ...
" featuring
Alex Clare Alexander George Clare (born 14 September 1985) is a British singer and songwriter based in Jerusalem, Israel. His debut album, ''The Lateness of the Hour (Alex Clare album), The Lateness of the Hour'', was released in the UK on 8 July 2011 on ...
was released, continuing his recent chart success, peaking at number 10 in the UK Singles Chart. The album's fifth single " Turn It Around" was released on 22 September 2013 and reached number 14. His second studio album ''
Torus In geometry, a torus (: tori or toruses) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space one full revolution about an axis that is coplanarity, coplanar with the circle. The main types of toruses inclu ...
'' was released on 30 September 2013. He headlined the Radio 1 Dance stage at the
Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...
2013. Sub Focus played at Glastonbury 2013 with his new live show setup. Later in the summer of 2013, he went on to play at Dour Festival, Reading & Leeds, Global Gathering, Bestival and Isle of Wight festival among others. He headlined
BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...
Live at the
Bournemouth International Centre The Bournemouth International Centre (commonly known as the BIC ) in Bournemouth, Dorset, was opened in September 1984. It is one of the largest venues for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment and events in southern England. Additionally, it ...
on 7 October. He then completed a 2013 UK tour. The sixth single from ''Torus'', " Turn Back Time", slowly climbed the UK Singles Chart to number 10. The next single from ''Torus'', a new version of " Close" featuring a session singer instead of
MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (; born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK ( ; a gramogram of Emenike), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Award, and ha ...
, failed to chart.


2020–present: ''Portals'' and ''Evolve''

On 15 September 2020, Douwma announced on Twitter that a collaborative album with fellow UK artist Wilkinson would be released on 9 October of that year. The album was made available for pre-order on CD and
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
. '' Portals'' tracklist was revealed by Douwma on 17 September. It contains 11 tracks, including the four singles "Air I Breathe", "Illuminate", "Just Hold On" and "Turn the Lights Off". On 8 March 2023, Douwma announced a third solo album '' Evolve'', which was released on 12 May 2023. The album contains 14 tracks including the singles "Vibration (One More Time)" featuring AR/CO, "Ready to Fly" with
Dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coo ...
and "Off the Ground". The album won "Best Album" at the Drum and Bass Arena Awards in 2023.


Discography

* '' Sub Focus'' (2009) * ''
Torus In geometry, a torus (: tori or toruses) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space one full revolution about an axis that is coplanarity, coplanar with the circle. The main types of toruses inclu ...
'' (2013) * '' Portals'' (2020) * '' Evolve'' (2023)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sub Focus English record producers Musicians from Guildford Living people English drum and bass musicians English electronic dance music DJs 1982 births 21st-century English musicians Owsla artists RAM Records artists