Sub-Z is a collective of DJs and producers from New Delhi fascinated by sounds from the heavier side of bass music. Consisting of Tanzen, Stain, Npstr and Miredo. Sub-Z was started to bring a change in the way people perceive nightlife in Delhi with a very heavy influence of Bass Music. The crew curates their own nights at location undisclosed to the real world which goes by the name of “BASSMNDI” while also hosting a weekly radio show "Sub-Z Sessions" on Boxout.fm. The Sub-Z boys have shared the stage with the likes of Ivy lab, Skeptical, Flowdan, Anna Morgan, Cera Khin and a few more. In 2018, their Debut EP “Breach” was released which consisted of 4 tracks by the members. Hit play, listen to this wicked mix they have put together for us, which by the way is all originals by the boys and read on to know them a little more.
1. How did the idea of Sub Zero come about? A - Sub-Z as an idea was bigger and greater than just a collective of bedroom producers coming together to throw underground parties at disclosed locations. The whole idea was to move away from the same routine of bookings at cafes and clubs where we could not express the music we wanted to as an artist and were required to play what the venue or the agent asked us for. With Miredo & Stain being the earliest members they contacted Tanzen who linked with Npstr & Sodhi together brainstorming over coffee and cigarettes came the idea of BASSMNDI & Sub-Z as a whole was established. We have had other members who with time called off and went separate ways and we respected their life decisions. Sub-Z when in its initial stage was just about 4-5 guys trying to do something out of the box and create a mark but as we went through so much of experiences and exposed to a variety of cultures, our concept became not just more serious but more than that a way to educate & change the way people hear music with broader aspects. 2. The most distinctive feature of your music is that it isn't Drum & Bass despite taking a host of Drum & Bass elements in your productions. How do you guys approach your projects? A - If you ask us about music production we can just go on and on and maybe take all your time and get you interested into trying your own luck in production as well. But jokes apart, the unique part about our collective is that everyone of us as a producer has a different style and ways of approaching the final output. The bad part of a producer collective is that too much information is flowing continuously and sometimes it gets too much which leads to a lot of creativity but lack of putting it down. But the good part about a producer collective is that you can always learn more from the other person and have the support when there is creative block which is quite often. Its always fun to sit together in the studio and designs some sounds that are filthy & nasty. 3. The last 12 months have been really busy for you guys supporting some huge names in the Drum & Bass fraternity. Tell us more about the experience? A - I mean last year was a great year for us and as well as the Bass Scene itself as we saw alot of international artists that we look upto doing tours in India and it was a good year to keep people hooked to the scene as it was peaking after a very long time. We had an honour supporting some of the finest of the Bass Music Industry all over the globe. Names like Flowdan, Symbiz, Anna Morgan, Ivy Lab, Cera Khin, Skeptical & Fracture along with some renowned Indian Acts. We had our debut collective EP released called BREACH for which we got a good support from WIldCity & Bangin' Beats. The most fun was our first anniversary a couple of months back when we brought down The Voice Of Thunder Rider Shafique for his first ever Indian tour and mainly to host our anniversary celebrations. We also tied up with Krunk for their annual BassCamp Festival as the official afterparty in Delhi. We got to hang out with the jolly & energetic Anna Morgan and also got an opportunity of a lifetime of Ivy Lab going in at BASSMNDI spinning some of their iconic tracks at our underground party itself. Previously we were a part of the 2 year anniversary of Boxout.fm called “Boxout Weekender” where we as a collective for the first time ever played a one hour all original set which was a huge milestone for us as producers. It was a fun 12 months period but now we are focusing on other stuff which involves more of local acts trying to push more of them as we need to keep the roots stronger.
4. How would you like to describe Sub-Z's style as a collective? A - Sub-Z as we see is all about DIY concepts, ideas, productions, marketing, and strategies. We all together think of different ideas and conclude it with a final poll of decision which keeps it transparent between all the members. We like to keep Sub-Z very low-key and maintain the dark & dingy vibe that we have through our music as well as our events. 5. What would you guys like to make other than bass music? A - See, Music is our language and bass is our mother tongue, but we always want to explore new genres of music which totally breaks the concept of genres in our head. Right now we very much are focused on bass music but it is not necessary to sit in your studio and think of only making bass music. The best part about being a producer is that we don't have any restrictions or parameters and we are free to create whatever sound or genre we want to. So lets see where this journey of music takes us. 6. What's next for Sub-Z? A - We are planning a lot of things for the future as we mentioned earlier also which has something to do with the local bass scene in the capital and gradually moving to other states bringing all the musicians, artists, producers & dj's together for the sake of bass. Thats all we can say for now. 7. 5 tunes you guys are digging at the moment? A - P Money - Shook V.I.V.E.K - Over My Head ft. Mel Dymond Halogenix - Out Of Line Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Crime Pays Little Snake - ISTHISREAL.MP3 (ft. Kage)
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Tracklist 1] Tanzen - CNG 2] Npstr - Laidback beat 3] Miredo - Swamp 4]Miredo - ID 5] Stain - Cinnamon 6] Npstr - Blood Spatter 7] Mala - Changes (Stain Bootleg) 8] Npstr - Infirmary 9] Miredo - Adagio 10] Stain - The Average Thinking 11] Stain - Why did I Make this beat 12] Miredo - Ret 13] Tanzen - Riddim G 14] Miredo - Icky Shrimps 15] Tanzen - Chor Ki Rani 16] Stain - Disowned Realms 17] Stain - Rukus 18] Tanzen - DNB ID 19] Miredo - Shuvit 20] Npstr - Wig get spun 21] Miredo - Candyflip 22] Tanzen ft. Lacuna - ID 23] Stain - Mogambo (Tanzen VIP) 24] Stain - Mogambo