Music for Heros and Fools (Print Version, possibly for December)

Hot on the heels of their latest opus 'For Hero, For Fool', The Skinny recently caught up with Adam 'DoseOne' Drucker of Anticon/Lex Records collective, Subtle. Things got deep...

In his book, 'More Brilliant than the Sun', Kodwo Eshun suggests that hip-hop is an omni-genre, a way of putting sounds together rather than a specific sound in and of itself. In this respect, it could be said that Subtle are very much a hip-hop group. Would you agree, both with that definition and that categorisation?

DoseOne: Well I would have to say, I agree completely. Approaching hip-hop's definition, or essence, in this fashion, is the very way we in fact do it. In lesser terms, it is an inspired thief's genre much like collage or any other multi-parts faceted medium and in that regard it is our era's most modern music, one which sees both the sampler and source material as instrument. As a medium for the spoken word it is by far the most "words-per-minute" one can get per song listening experience. In this regard hiphop is built for speed, and allows one to really incorporate their views on the world and art making into their physical music making aesthetic. Unlike dance music, or ambient electronica, it is a medium that is primed for charging and its very composition as a type of music sort of protects it from the permanence and dystrophy of being from a certain "genre."

Do you get frustrated with being talked about in a hip-hop context?

DoseOne: After all we've been through good and bad, it sort of just bounces off me. My biggest concern now, with being stuffed into the "wrong" lump, is the effect it has on our audience's rate of growth. As I mentioned before, the way the working world has things set up, it can really "hide" your music from people who would otherwise love it, by putting it into genres it may only half fit into. But this is an age old problem had by many artists; anyone who is on a fringe becomes a genre orphan after some time, its inevitable, or you simply morph into another genre all together and become a foster kid. But, due to our six headed composite, I can see us staying trans-genre for the rest of our days.

How do the Subtle songs come into being?

DoseOne: Some songs begin as demos from an individual member. On 'For hero, For Fool', most of the demo skeletons were made by Jordan. They are then taken by the band to our respective antarcticas, homerecording stations and parts of the demo are re-sampled, re-played and
elaborated on. We then reconvene and process the changes, at this
point we will re-record portions, or improvise on the existing song to
develop changes, bridges, rideouts and again each song calls for
something both unique and tried and true from our practices.

Obviously you are a very innovative band, but what do you see yourselves as innovating?

DoseOne: Maybe in the end we are innovative in the realms of the meaning behind music, or maybe we are innovative because Jel can play any drum kit in the universe with his fingertips... because I don't see us getting a big budget and making music from endangered synthesizers and contact mics placed on the scalps of homeless people. But, I can see us marching clear down the path in front of us; making only the songs we would make from the way our days break us.

Harry Potter was gaining praise for getting kids into reading. Do you
hope to have accomplished a similiar thing for contemporary hip-hop?

DoseOne: I'd hope we can get hiphop kids and young magicians everywhere into reading poetry. If this happens then subtle will be a.o.k. going into the next stretch of decade.