Insight Interview: SUBLAB

We caught up recently with German producer Sublab to talk through his music, his influences and the future. Check out his story below…

 

Hey Sublab, thanks so much for agreeing to an interview. Where are you based?

Thanks for your invitation! Very happy to be part of this! My name is Tim, I’m 22 years old and based in the beautiful German city Dresden. I grew up and have been living all my live here so far.
I have my own studio, since two years.

Can you recall your first real exposure to music?

When I was a kid my parents were usually listening to classical or blues music. My father has alway been a big music fan and a very gifted guitar player. He told me about the history of genres and who was influenced by whom. So I was always surrounded by music and handed down with a big curiosity for sound. My parents organised piano lessons for me when i was around seven years old. I did this for few years and later switched to playing drums. I think this really helped developing a good, basic sense for melody and rhythm.

My brother, who is ten years older than me, used to listen to dance music (mostly trance), that was popular around the 2000s. He guided the ten year old me to electronic music. Since then I developed a huge interest in it and everything that evolves around it, like club culture, DJs and producing.

 

 

How and when did you first begin writing and creating music?

I started my journey by finding a demo of the program ‘Magix Music Maker’ in a cereal box. I tried it out and was instantly fascinated. The fact that you can make music solely with your own ideas and a computer blew my mind. I was hooked. I later switched to my first real DAW: FL Studio, then to Ableton Live which I still use today with pleasure.

How did you decide upon the name Sublab?

I was around 15/16 years old when I decided to name myself Sublab. As you may have guessed it stands for subbass laboratory and describes my everlasting fascination for deep bass frequencies.

“Be kind and patient and do your own thing!” – Sublab

Have you made or released music under any other name?

Yes, in the past. Now I concentrate purely on Sublab because I want to put all my love and energy into that.

Can you describe your music for us?

For me, the melody is the most important thing in my music. I love making drums and finding the right rhythm and groove. I spend hours just crating that. In the end the song has to evoke some kind of feeling and transport you into another world.

 

 

Have you played live recently? Would you like to do more shows or tours in future?

I have played some live gigs before and would love to continue doing that. Playing music to people in this very direct way is one of the best feelings for me.

What have been your biggest influences?

Nature, my friends and family, books and art by other artists.

Do you think producing electronic music requires technical or creative skill? Or both

Both. I think it’s the mixture of these two skills which fascinates me so much about producing music. But it also hides the danger of getting lost in the technical detail. The creative part is definitely the foundation. The engineering can polish, refine and really make the work shine.

Do you tend to find the creative process a cathartic or therapeutic experience?

Yes. For a while I lose awareness of all other things around me and become one with the music creation process. It makes me happy!

Any new genres or musical styles you’d like to explore in future?

I will keep exploring and developing my own Sublab style.

It’s been said that a life in music can be a hard one. Would you agree with that?

Yes it can definitely be hard but at the same time I couldn’t imagine doing anything more fulfilling.

Do you have any words of advice for aspiring young producers?

Be kind and patient and do your own thing!

Thanks so much Sublab!

Thanks for having me and thanks to everyone reading this!

Support Sublab on Bandcamp via the link below.