Subset is a New York DJ and producer who has gained fame over the past couple of years through his work on the Bassment Saturdays nights at Webster Hall. Now Sugarcube Productions is bringing Subset to RVA for a special appearance at The Canal Club on Saturday October 20! Headlining the all-night Bass Station party, Subset will be joined by local artists Controlled Kaos, Mike Phear, KöZ M∅Š, DJ Shakeweight, plus special guest NOTIXX, all of whom will be dropping beats through a 30,000 Watt bass rig! Come out to the Canal Club Saturday night and feel the foundations shake as laser lights, fog machines, and a psychedelic solar system display, among other mind-blowing sights, dazzle your vision. There'll be a special light show by The Enlightened Ones, hoop dances, free sugar cubes, and lots more! Expect a night of total sensory overload, with Subset's bass-blasting set capping off the entire evening.
We spoke to Subset about Bassment Saturdays, DJing and producing, and his preparations for fighting off RVA's zombie hordes--here's what he had to say:
Who is Subset? What defines the sound that you play?
My name is Mark Martinez, I'm a DJ and producer based out of Brooklyn, NY. My sets currently consist of a mixture of dubstep, drum and bass, trap, electro, and moombahton. Nothing is off limits though, and I love dropping the random deep house, UK funky, or techno track into a set. I like playing with the crowd, seeing what they like, and then pushing the boundaries a bit. I also like to inject humor into my sets when possible… who doesn't love to laugh and dance at the same time?
Tell me about your Bassment Saturdays party. What started this, and how's it going?
Bassment Saturdays was started by Annie Rinsky last June to bring a different sound to Saturdays at Webster Hall. She had me as a guest DJ a couple times over the first few months, and I was brought on as a resident last September. Our goal with Bassment is to give a spotlight to emerging genres and the underground flavors of bass-heavy music, which I think we've done pretty well. We've had guests ranging from moombahton (Sazon Booya, Kid Cedek) to dubstep (Sluggo, Getter) to trap (CRNKN, Branchez) to turntablists (Shiftee, ALX), and everything in between. I'm incredibly excited for the next few months… we have shows confirmed with Seven Lions, Vaski, Bare, Protohype, Deathface, and more. There will be some packed rooms and ridiculous nights coming up. Our crowds are growing pretty consistently too, which is tough to maintain with a weekly party. We've got a great team.
What inspires you most about Bass music, and who do you feel has influenced you the most?
I love how flexible and undefined bass music is. It's great being able to mix a ton of different music styles together to create something new and exciting. Lately, the boundaries are becoming more blurred, which is leading to some interesting developments in music.
Two of my biggest influences are Melé and Canblaster… these guys master any genre they touch and can incorporate elements from multiple styles into their tracks. Also, check any live set or mix of theirs and you'll see just exactly how much they can blur the lines between styles.
What's your favorite thing about living in Brooklyn?
The food. Oh my god, the food.
What makes Webster Hall unique as a music venue?
Webster Hall is four floors with different styles of music on every floor. On Saturdays there's disco/house in the balcony lounge, electro/trance/mashups in the Grand Ballroom, Top 40 in the Marlin Room, and dubstep/trap/dnb/moombahton in the Bassment. This leads to a pretty interesting mixture of crowds, and gives us the opportunity to introduce crowds to music they've never heard before. I've had a lot of people come up to me at the end of the night with some version of "What was that? I've never heard music like this!" That doesn't happen nearly as much at parties I've played where there's only one stage. [At those parties,] the crowd is usually there because they know what kind of music will be there.
Where do you see your productions going in the future, and while we're on that topic, what do you feel is the future of bass music in all its forms?
There's really no telling where any of this is heading in a general sense, but I definitely see a lot more cross-pollination happening. You'll also start to see more underground music trickle into the mainstream, for sure. As for my own productions, I'm going to continue letting them dictate themselves. Every time I start something new, it turns out vastly different than the last. I might start out saying "this is going to be dubstep," or "this will be trap," but in the end they take on lives of their own.
Aside from DJing what else are you into?
Kittens, lasers, and foreign films I don't understand.
What other artists have you enjoyed collaborating with?
I'm currently working with AlienAudix on flipping a Middle Eastern bellydancing tune. It's turning out really dope, and I love working with these guys. They're teaching me a lot about Logic (I come from an Ableton background), and their mixing and mastering skills are absolutely on point. We just had a session last night and it's sounding awesome. I'm also finishing up a track with a friend, James Chazin--some dirty down South shit mixed with big orchestral brass and strings.
What's your go to crowd-crushing song, and your favorite throw back song to mess with people?
Favorite throwback is Juvenile, "Slow Motion" or "Back That Azz Up." Juvenile all day--never gets old. Favorite crowd crusher changes week to week. I try to stay on top of new music, and the crowd crusher is usually one that the crowd hasn't heard before. Surprises… it's all about surprises.
What do you know about Richmond? Are you awesome of the Zombie Problem? And are you well equipped to handle that while you are DJing?
To be honest, not a lot. I'm excited to come down and check it out though. I wasn't expecting to have to fight zombies while DJing, but I'll come prepared, now that I know it's a possibility.
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BASS Station facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/106771296143501
Event sponsors:
RVA MAG
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Electronica Weekly
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Wicked Photography
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