Subsource
Encyclopedia
Subsource are a British electronic rock band formed in the 2000s. Their current sound is a fusion of dubstep
and punk
/metal
genres and their lyrics have a theme of social commentary
. The group has maintained a strong presence on the UK festival circuit due to the nature of the combination of dance music and live elements and they have consistently received critical acclaim for their live shows. Gig reviewers have commonly described their live shows as being energetic and displaying ferocity. Sound comparisons have been made to The Prodigy
, Pendulum
, Innerpartysystem
and Rage Against the Machine
.
A documentary about the band, Subsource: A Dubumentary was completed in 2011. It has not yet been released.
and punk
/metal
genres. NME described their overall sound as 'fusing dubstep with cyber metal with great aplomb'. They went on to describe their debut album, 'Tales From The Doombox' as being like 'The Prodigy
teaching a noise violation seminar to Sonic Boom Six
'. Other reviewers in print and online generally praised the eclecticness and mentioned facets of dubstep
, breakbeat
, drum and bass
, punk
, hip-hop
, reggae
and metal
being present in their sound.
In their earlier years, their shows were heavily improvised and often took place on the London squat/free party scene and their intention was to be 'playing dance-floor destroyers'.
'Dubumentary' is an amalgamation
of two words: dubstep
and documentary
.
. It featured in the rock-climbing opening sequence of the premiere episode of Season 5.
"Disarm" was used by Sky Sports in the coverage of the first ever World Freerun Championships.
Subsource tracks also featured in the following video games:
The band featured in Metal Hammer's 2010 Hot List of bands to watch.
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
/metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
genres and their lyrics have a theme of social commentary
Social commentary
Social commentary is the act of rebelling against an individual, or a group of people by rhetorical means, or commentary on social issues or society...
. The group has maintained a strong presence on the UK festival circuit due to the nature of the combination of dance music and live elements and they have consistently received critical acclaim for their live shows. Gig reviewers have commonly described their live shows as being energetic and displaying ferocity. Sound comparisons have been made to The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
, Pendulum
Pendulum
A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced from its resting equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position...
, Innerpartysystem
InnerPartySystem
Innerpartysystem is an American electronic rock band. The group consists of Patrick Nissley, Jared Piccone and Kris Barman. The band is also well known for their live performance lighting largely by Andrew Nissley and videos directed by Stephen Penta....
and Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
.
A documentary about the band, Subsource: A Dubumentary was completed in 2011. It has not yet been released.
Musical style
Their current sound is a cross between dubstepDubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
/metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
genres. NME described their overall sound as 'fusing dubstep with cyber metal with great aplomb'. They went on to describe their debut album, 'Tales From The Doombox' as being like 'The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
teaching a noise violation seminar to Sonic Boom Six
Sonic Boom Six
Sonic Boom Six are a five-piece rock band from Manchester, United Kingdom. Their eclectic sound combines different elements of several genres and has been described by Kerrang! as "taking ska, pop, grime, dubstep, punk and metal apart, then rebuilding them as a hyperactive hybrid"...
'. Other reviewers in print and online generally praised the eclecticness and mentioned facets of dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
, breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
, drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
being present in their sound.
In their earlier years, their shows were heavily improvised and often took place on the London squat/free party scene and their intention was to be 'playing dance-floor destroyers'.
Group members
- Stuart Henshall (vocals/bass)
- Stuart plays a Clifton hand-built upright electric double bass through a synth effect unit. He came close to death whilst driving the tour van into a tree at V Festival.
- Paul Frazer (electric guitar/synth)
- Paul plays a Fender StratocasterFender StratocasterThe Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
and A PRS through an Orange amplifier. He is Norwegian.- Dennis Ng aka Borg (synths/electronics)
- Dennis plays a Nord WaveNord (Clavia)Nord is a Swedish virtual analog synthesizer and organ manufacturer. Nord keyboards are handmade in Sweden by Clavia DMI AB.-The company:Clavia was founded in 1983 by Hans Nordelius together with Mikael Carlsson in Stockholm, Sweden...
and a Roland Handsonic HPD-15. He has also been seen using a Wii remote controller on-stage as a MIDI controller. He is British-born Chinese, studied at the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and has a fear of slugs.- Vince Welch (drums)
Subsource: A Dubumentary
Colin Arnold directed a documentary following the band's journey over the course of 18 months, finishing in early 2011. The film's tagline is 'Most music documentaries are produced after bands have made it... very few capture their journey'. The film is currently unreleaesd.'Dubumentary' is an amalgamation
Conflation
Conflation occurs when the identities of two or more individuals, concepts, or places, sharing some characteristics of one another, become confused until there seems to be only a single identity — the differences appear to become lost...
of two words: dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
.
Use of music in films, TV and games
"Parasite" was used in the US TV Crime show Numb3rsNUMB3RS
Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
. It featured in the rock-climbing opening sequence of the premiere episode of Season 5.
"Disarm" was used by Sky Sports in the coverage of the first ever World Freerun Championships.
Subsource tracks also featured in the following video games:
- Juiced: Eliminator (PSP)
- MotoGP 07 (PS2)
- MotoGP 09/10 (PS3/XBox360)
- FIFA Street 3 (PS3/XBox360)
Band trivia
Stuart suggested in an interview in 2009 that the name Subsource came whilst the group were experiencing a hallucinogenic drug trip together.The band featured in Metal Hammer's 2010 Hot List of bands to watch.