Subject 13 Reflects on Rave Roots and Future Sound on "The Whole Truth"

The foundations of Subject 13’s sound and his philosophy were forged in an absence of structure. “There were no rules back then, you were completely free to be experimental and outrageous without being labelled or pigeonholed.”

The early 90s rave scene wasn’t just a moment; it was an environment that demanded instinct over expectation. “That environment shaped me into being fearless and always staying true to myself,” he says.

That same fearlessness pulses through "The Whole Truth," his latest release on R&S Records, a track built on “swirling synths,” “rattling” breaks and a low-end he describes as something that took relentless refinement. “Finding the right bass took ages, I went through so many different versions and sounds before landing on the one that finally pulled everything together.”

But before the technical precision, there was a scene defined by unpredictability. “Producers in those days were given complete freedom creatively,” he explains. “The unexpected was everywhere and that spirit pushed the music into places nobody had explored before.”

His own sound emerged slowly from that chaos. “My sound evolved naturally because I was still learning,” he says. “My sound didn’t really start taking shape until about two years after I began releasing music.” Even then, the intention wasn’t to define a signature, it was to follow instinct.

“I knew we were onto something different,” he says of early breakthrough moments like Eternity. “But I had no idea that years later people would be looking back at it with this kind of reverence.”

Success, when it came, arrived fast and was disorienting. “When The Promise charted, a lot changed very quickly,” he recalls. “Suddenly there were management approaches and label offers coming from everywhere. It was overwhelming because how do you become a professional artist when you don’t even really know what that means yet?” With distance, he’s candid: “Looking back, I definitely made a few bad decisions out of inexperience.”

Yet the wider movement was impossible to ignore. “Myself and others were shaping the future with the music we were making,” he says. “I knew there was going to be an explosion… when the crowds heard it they responded with pure frenzy, they just wanted more.”

What made that era so explosive was its openness. “The times were inspired by so many great genres: house, techno, hip-hop, reggae, jazz, funk, electro and synth pop.” For Subject 13, that cross-pollination never really stopped, it just became more intentional over time.

“Musicality came to me over time,” he says. “In the beginning my approach was raw and based purely on instinct and gut feeling.” Only later did structure enter the process: “It wasn’t until later that I really started focusing on keyboards and developing that side of things.”

That evolution is central to "The Whole Truth," a track rooted as much in atmosphere as rhythm. “This track came from reflecting on the instability we’re seeing in the world today,” he explains. “I started by laying down the swirling synths, then built the beats around them.”

From there, the meaning deepened. “Then I searched for the right spoken vocal for the middle section to speak on the truth. In many ways it’s a silent protest track.”

Even after decades in the genre, his sense of identity remains rooted in originality rather than adaptation. “Being distinctive has always come naturally to me. I’ve never followed trends,” he says. “What I bring is the experience of a creative urban artist, it’s real, raw council estate creativity and hunger.”

That refusal to conform extends to his relationship with R&S Records. “Renaat and Sabine really get me,” he says. “I’ve often felt misunderstood… people sometimes make assumptions about what I should represent musically because of where I come from.” At R&S, those assumptions fall away. “They’ve heard the music I make beyond DnB and Jungle and they’ve embraced it… It’s another part of who I truly am.”

That idea of embedded meaning is deliberate. “Everything I write has a deeper meaning,” he says. “Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes it’s buried much deeper… I like leaving little mystical blueprints in the music for listeners to discover.”

Sonically, those “blueprints” unfold with a cinematic sensibility. “I always think cinematically when I’m making music,” he says. “I see imagery in my head as the track develops.” It’s in those shifts, “where the music climbs and then drops” that the emotional core reveals itself.

Even in the details, his process reflects that same persistence and independence. “Keeping definition and depth in a bassline can definitely be a challenge,” he says. “For me it comes down to constant tweaking, adjusting things again and again until it finally feels right.”

At the same time, he’s not bound by the past. “Coming from the old school, all the new technology can feel a bit daunting at first,” he admits. “But once you start experimenting with it, you realise just how much creative madness is possible.”

And it’s that openness, to evolution, to risk, to the unknown, that keeps him engaged. “True innovation comes from pure creativity and a genuine love of music,” he says. What excites him now is hearing that same spirit re-emerge. “I’m hearing tracks that don’t fit neatly into boxes… The future is in good hands with these kids, as long as they don’t get caught up in following the crowd.”

In many ways, it’s the same message he’s carried since the beginning: no rules, no limits, only the work and the truth within it.

Read the full interview with Subject 13 on The Night Bazaar HERE.

Subject 13's "The Whole Truth" is out now via R&S Records. Get it on Beatport.