Nicolaas "Nick" Douwma (born 13 April 1982), better known by his stage
name Sub Focus, is an DJ, record producer, songwriter, musician and
sound engineer from Guildford, England. He has been releasing records
since 2003.[1] On 12 October 2009, he released his self-titled debut
album. He released his second album, Torus, on 30 September 2013.[2]
Contents
1 Music career
1.1 Starting out
1.2 2005–08: Early career
1.3 2009–10: Sub Focus
1.4 2010–present: Torus
2 Discography
3 References
4 External links
Music career[edit]
Starting out[edit]
Originally a fan of rock music, and bands such as Nirvana, he 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. 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 and The Chemical
Brothers, artists who blended guitars with dance music. In the late
1990s he was exposed to drum and bass as a through artists such as
Goldie.
He didn't start taking music production seriously until he left school
and deciding what to do for a career. From early 2000 onwards, largely
due to encouragement from his friends, he started sending out demo
CDs. His big break came in 2003 when his CD found its way into the
hands of
RAM Records
RAM Records boss Andy C. He was so impressed that he signed
every track instantly, and Douwma was signed to RAM's sister label
Frequency, before making his debut on RAM two years later.
2005–08: Early career[edit]
In March 2005 he had a number one single on the
UK Dance Chart
UK Dance Chart with
"X-Ray / Scarecrow". The single reached number 60 on the UK Singles
Chart.[3] In June 2008, he hit No. 1 on the
UK Dance Chart
UK Dance Chart again with
"Timewarp / Join the Dots".
2009–10: Sub Focus[edit]
Main article:
Sub Focus
Sub Focus (album)
In August 2009, he cracked the UK Top 40 for the first time with "Rock
It / Follow the Light", which reached number 38.[4] "Rock It / Follow
the Light" also got him a third
UK Dance Chart
UK Dance Chart No. 1, as well as
reaching the B-List of BBC Radio 1's playlist.
Sub Focus
Sub Focus has also
remixed selected works of The Prodigy, Deadmau5, Rusko, Dr. Octagon,
Empire of the Sun and Dizzee Rascal. 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 No. 51
on the UK Albums Chart.
2010–present: Torus[edit]
Main article: Torus (album)
In 2010,
Sub Focus
Sub Focus was a support act for Australian drum and bass band
Pendulum on their UK tour to promote their third album Immersion.[5]
Later that year, he produced the Example track "Kickstarts" for his
second album, Won't Go Quietly. The track was successful in the UK
Singles Chart, peaking at No. 3.[4] This makes it Sub Focus' most
commercially successful production to date. A free track "Falling
Down" 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
Alice Gold and it reached No. 23 in the UK Singles
Chart. It was followed by "Tidal Wave" featuring
Alpines
Alpines which peaked
at No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart, which also became his first to
spend at least 2 weeks in the Top 40. Tidal Wave also featured on the
Mercedes Benz "Sound with Power" advertising campaign, along with
Tinie Tempah. On 12 May 2013, "Endorphins" featuring
Alex Clare
Alex Clare was
released, continuing his recent chart success, peaking at No. 10 in
the UK Singles Chart. The album's fifth single "Turn It Around" was
released on 22 September 2013 and reached No. 14. His second studio
album Torus was released on 30 September 2013. He headlined the Radio
1 Dance stage at the
Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals 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 Live at the Bournemouth
International Centre 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, failed to
chart.
Discography[edit]
Main article:
Sub Focus
Sub Focus discography
Studio albums
Sub Focus
Sub Focus (2009)
Torus (2013)
References[edit]
^
Sub Focus
Sub Focus Discogs
^ "SUB FOCUS on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
^ "polyhex.com
UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart runs". Retrieved 11 March 2015.
^ a b Everyhit.com - accessed February 2011
^ http://www.ish-media.com/news.php?newsid=124
External links[edit]
Sub Focus
Sub Focus on Facebook
Sub Focus
Sub Focus on
Twitter
Twitter
Sub Focus discography
Sub Focus discography at Discogs
v
t
e
Sub Focus
Discography
Studio albums
Sub Focus
Torus
Singles
"Timewarp / Join the Dots"
"Rock It / Follow the Light"
"Could This Be Real"
"Splash"
"Falling Down"
"Out the Blue"
"Tidal Wave"
"Endorphins"
"Turn It Around"
"Turn Back Time"
"Close"
Featured singles
"Flashing Lights"
Authority control
WorldCat Identities
VIAF: 308178917
LCCN: n2016069612
ISNI: 0000 0001 3151 5283
GND: 1048437213
BNF: cb16765409v (data)
MusicBrainz: 8cf49f40-b8fe-4a63