Paul Rose is coming out of his shell. Not that the Berlin-based artist is a quiet music maker; far from it. His effectively honed, bass-driven discography, as alias Scuba, has already made plenty of noise but with the advent of a third studio album – Personality – things are about to get much, much louder.
Louder not only in terms of bass wobble, but greater experimentation and sheer, unbridled creativity. “That’s the main thing for me” he begins, “I finally feel confident enough to really experiment and push boundaries. I’ve been recording properly for about eight years but it’s only in the last 18 months or so that my skills have reached the point where I have that confidence… that reassurance that I’m fully in control and able to do what I like.”
Personality is a deliciously unfettered electronic affair, engaging with everything from house and techno to vintage hardcore and pop - eighties pop to be precise. The album, distilled from over 50 tracks purposefully recorded over the past 12 months, is wildly varied yet consistent in its accessibility and flow.
“Some of the cuts that didn’t make the final draft are even more out there,” Rose laughs. “The 11 tracks I eventually chose were tracks I thought people would be able to connect to but which also showed off my wider range of influences and wider range of abilities in the studio.
“The more I’ve grown as a producer the more personal my music has become, too; I’ve felt able to allow more of me to come out in the beats. There was no specific blueprint in piecing Personality together, I just went with what I know and feel. I hate it when people try and over-intellectualise albums; Personality is instinct and raw flow, simple as that.”
But is it really? What is Rose’s ‘personality’ really like – how much of himself is he expressing these days when he heads on stage or into the studio? There has to be some characterisation surely? “Not really” he argues. “As I say, I’m producing what I’m feeling. In the early days I was fairly detached from the releases going out, in that I didn’t fully know the production process; it was a bit of trial and error and there were no common denominators of any sort.”
As such, Rose is extremely happy with the new release. “It’s the most comfortable I’ve felt going into the promotion of a new album” he says. “When I got to releasing my first two albums everything was relatively new; no one had really heard the tracks and I really didn’t know what to expect. But with Personality, I’ve been playing out most of the tracks for months now… testing and tweaking them. I’m in that weird place between the record’s completion and its release, when it feels like nothing’s happening and your mind starts to wander, but I know how well a lot of this music has already gone down in the clubs so I’m fairly relaxed.”
Rose, who grew up near Finsbury Park, London, played guitar and keyboards in various bands before discovering techno and then, in turn, jungle and garage. He went to Bristol University in 1998, after which he founded local clubnight Hotflush – a mix of garage (not then spread to Bristol from London) and jungle vibes – and further advanced his DJing career.
Hotflush was the beginning of everything. In 2002, Rose started dabbling with bedroom production and by 2003 he was producing seriously “with a mate” – via his newly-founded Hotflush Recordings imprint. The label would push forward-thinking bass-wise releases by Benga, Luke Envoy and Toasty, not to mention Scuba. The latter, also rinsing the London pirate radio circuit, would become synonymous with dubstep’s early rise.
Scuba’s first album A Mutual Antipathy eventually arrived in 2008; his second, Triangulation, in 2010. A series of acclaimed EPs, including Aesaunic, Bleach, Eclipse and, most recently, Adrenaline surround both releases; it is undeniable that Scuba’s remit, further fuelled by splinter production alias SCB, has widened considerably over time.
“Like most DJs and artists I dislike pigeon holes. I work across so many interests these days that I don’t think I can easily be pinned down” Rose explains. “Certainly, I’ve moved away from all those old, narrowing dubstep references. Take Personality - at around about 125 BPM it’s much slower than Triangulation, which was 135 BPM. That’s partly down to the house influences; in general, house has come back massively over the past 12 months and that brings a whole different tone and tempo to dancefloors; even if they specialise in other styles. That tone has definitely rubbed off on everything I’ve tried to express with the new record.”
Rose has broadened his horizons to such an extent, that the very mention of ‘dubstep’ prickles. “What do I think of dubstep today?” he drily questions, “I think it’s shit. It’s been shit for a while now, in actual fact. There are isolated examples of good, challenging stuff but on the whole there is no real development on the scene. It came about in the first place when another scene [garage] died but after those heady early years it kind of fizzled out.”
He continues: “The Americans have taken dubstep to a new level of awfulness but, in doing so, you have to admire them. The British scene hasn’t managed a step change of any sort; the American sound is brash and uninspired but you can’t deny that those American producers are slick and well organised.”
What, then, does Rose suggest will happen to the electronic music scene in 2012? “In general, I think the dance scene needs to watch itself. I mean, proper house is back in a way that has taken a lot of people by surprise. There are some really good records being made off the back of that but when the initial momentum dies down, what happens next? House has effectively come full circle so where are the innovations? It needs a more radical shift, but artists aren’t always confident enough to provoke one; more so today.”
Rose refers to ongoing – seriously buffeting - economic headwinds, many club labels and protagonists scared of taking creative risks when they need to know that their revenue streams will continue to surge confidently on. New ideas have a possibility of failing and damming profits.
“Hotflush remains a lot of work to run but we’re in an OK position because we’re not prepared to sit still” he indicates. “We’re growing in a shrinking market. People are digesting music in so many other ways these days but there’s no shortage of interest in music which means as long as we have our releases right then we’ll hold our own. It’s all about maintaining our agenda – balancing risk with quality product.”
An agenda typified best, perhaps, by the signing, in 2009, of Joy Orbison and Mount Kimbie. But away from labels and albums, Scuba is also busy planning for a live tour this spring. “I can’t tell you too much at the moment because there’s still a lot to put together” he grins. “But, look, this will be my first proper live tour, probably with somebody else. I play out regularly with an Ableton set-up but that’s not the same thing and I’ve always wanted to develop a live side to my work. Expect some shows from April onwards.”
And that’s not all. Rose has another batch of Sub:stance parties up his sleeve, the eclectic, bass-led club night he first conceived in Berlin hothouse Berghain and which, in February and March, will travel excitedly to Amsterdam and London, whilst also back to New York and, naturally, Berlin.
Rose has been living in Berlin since 2007, yet he still feels distanced from it. Constant travelling and promoting around the world means he’s had little time to embrace its rich musical and cultural offerings. Is deeper integration a New Year’s resolution?
“I know Berlin has much, musically, to give… I simply don’t get the time to embrace it; I’m always on fucking planes and I don’t k now if that’ll change any time soon” he reflects. “Berlin is crazy, because it has massive unemployment on the one hand and yet all this focus on creative flair and artistry on the other - the split attitudes is massive. I’d love to live here a bit more… it’s full of amazing, radical characters.”
When the time does come, Scuba should fit in nicely…
Words: Ben Lovett
Single The Hope is released by Hotflush Recordings on February 6; Personality follows February 27.
