SBTRKT – One Week Over
From nowhere to, as Resident Advisor puts it “UK bass music’s hottest acts”, SBTRKT (subtract) has certainly made a splash in a relatively short time. Even though he’d been producing for well over 10 years, it’s only recently that things started to pick up for the Londoner who’s been outed as Aaron Jerome. Aaron tried to keep his identity a secret at first, hiding behind an African tribal mask of sorts, explaining to RA that he’d rather “people base their opinions on if they love, like or dislike the music that I make. Not on me”.
He’s been busy here and there in the past, picking up some reworks for LTJ Bukem and Nithin Shawney, but part of his recent success seems to stem from a friendship with fellow dj and producer Sinden. The two knew each other personally, but Aaron had been sending Sinden tracks under his SBTRKT moniker without revealing his real identity. It’s only when Sinden booked SBTRKT for a gig in London’s Fabric, that he discovered who he really was.
His first White label mash ups of Goldie’s Timeless and Innercity life put him in the spotlight. From there on things have picked up speed for SBTRKT, who’s put out remixes for Basement Jaxx and Franz Ferdinand, and has future releases pending on Young Turks, Brainmath and Ramp Recordings.
This track, One Week Over, from the 2020 EP out on Brainmath, encompasses what I love so much about this producer: crossing boundaries and pigeonholes, this track tastes like several different things at the same time. Everyone from Mary Anne Hobbs to Giles Peterson have sat up and taken notice, so be sure to keep your ears peeled for things to come from this masked producer.