London-based producer Scuba (Paul Rose), released his LP Claustrophobia on March 23rd; a culmination record for Scuba who has balanced through techno, house, and electronic styles of music. His new album is filled with rhythms that expand from one song to the next, with a modern approach that provides an intoxicating energy of classic rave music to listen to.
Besides his LP release Scuba has been touring and playing numerous festivals world-wide, including his own “Europe Late Winter” tour that ended on March 25 at Steelyard, London. While managing his own record label, Hotflush Recordings with artist s like Mount Kimbie and Paul Woolford who are working on releasing some new material this year. Proving that he is able to work on various projects and still deliver with consistency, he compiles his most exciting and complete release to date.
Claustrophobia consists of 10 solid tracks, providing a rare set of rhythms and tempos that execute Scuba’s sound with a refreshing style bundled specifically for this album. Reflecting his process that required him to work diligently with the hassles of touring and managing personal health, Scuba was able to give us some insight on Claustrophobia before his last stop tour stop recently. He provided some insightful feedback about his album and what fans can expect for his next couple of projects.
EARMILK INTERVIEW: Scuba (Paul Rose)
EARMILK: You recently finished your “Europe Late Winter”, how was that for you?
Paul Rose (Scuba): The period in between announcing an album and actually releasing it is always a bit strange, you're used to the music but no-one has heard it yet. But there's been some great shows and it's been a lot of fun. There's no let up though, the shows are pretty much full on til the end of the year.
EM: While on tour are there any artists that you have been listening to or have been playing/supporting in your live sets?
PR: I've played quite a few shows with Locked Groove recently and he's really coming into his own as a DJ. Obviously he's had some big tunes out in the past few months but DJ'ing wise he's really smashing it as well.
EM: What made you choose "Why You Feel So Low" as your first single for this Claustrophobia?
PR:I wanted to push one of the dance floor tracks and that one felt like it combined that approach with the vibe of the rest of the album the best, which is quite melancholic and introspective.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84aPSkMkVBk[/youtube]
EM: While working on Claustrophobia, did you have a different approach compared to your other albums in the past?
PR: It was done in a much shorter timescale than my previous three, where there was a lot of junking material and re-writing things. This time it all came together very quickly and I think you can hear that in the final result.
EM:The album has a solid set of tracks, each reflecting your rhythm and sound is there story or narrative behind the album?
PR: There's not an explicit concept or story behind it, but I guess generally the album reflects a period in my life where I felt able to be very free creatively in a way that I hadn't in the previous couple of years to that.
EM: What's going on with your side project "Spectr", is this something you're trying to keep quiet about or focus more after your tour?
PR: Spectr is a VERY occasional thing, I'm not sure if that'll ever see the light of day again but you never know. However, I am working on some new SCB material.
EM: Do you have any projects or plans when you are done with your tour?
PR: As I mentioned, there is an SCB project that I'm working on but I'm not sure exactly what kind of timescale that's going to be completed on. I'm going to be touring the album pretty much for the rest of the year so there won't be a lot of time for other things, but I do like to keep busy and making music is what I like best so I'm going to try.
EM: When fans listen to Claustrophobia what would you like them to take away from this listening experience?
PR: I guess any artist would say this, but I hope people listen to it all the way through and try to consider it as a whole rather than just dipping in and out of it. The album format has become a bit neglected with the way people consume music now, but it's still an important thing to me and that's how this is meant to be listened to.
