Before I interviewed Tommy Evans, (founder of Submotion Orchestra, recent BASCA winner for his Jazz Composition “The Green Seagull”, drummer of Gentleman’s Dub Club, the world’s most thinly spread musician; the list is endless) I feared getting waylaid with how Submotion slotted into the increasingly polarised genre of dubstep. Yet I needn’t have worried. Tommy’s eloquent and thoughtful answers (what he apologetically called ‘wafty’) weaved the Submotion Orchestra story perfectly into an exposition on the varied musical backgrounds and flavours of the band members, their own constantly evolving sound and “unfair comparisions to Massive Attack”.
I was introduced to Submotion Orchestra under the impression they were ‘dubstep, but, well, live’ (a description that will forever stick with me, despite their ability to transcend genres). Live dubstep? That can’t be done, can it? The genre is famed for, and originated from, going to clubs to hear a DJ spin records. Records which were produced far away from the public view. Yet this crux, Tommy told me, was the starting point from which Submotion were born: looking for a sound that could relate to the highly produced dubstep sound whilst crucially being within a live environment.
Tommy’s “live dubstep” theory goes back a few years. He explains that he and, now, bandmate Dom (popular dubstep producer Ruckspin) were commissioned for a piece of music to be performed in York Minster (that “large, cathedral-y building”). Mulling over this performance they were increasingly convinced ‘live dubstep’ was a) an untouched musical avenue and b) (probably quite important), very possible to create. Although we didn’t get on to talking about what music befitted our lovely “cathedral-ly building”, it was obvious Tommy was finely attuned and open to exploring sounds based on the merits of the environment in which it is to be played.
Attending Leeds College of Music, he spent years immersed in the city’s strong dub-reggae culture, attending popular club nights Exodus and Sub-Dub, as well as being a well-known figure on the Leeds Jazz Scene (“the strongest jazz scene outside of London, although it was probably stronger a few years ago”). Introduced to dubstep, he liked what he heard, although he made it clear to me that he was not a fan of “the bashy wierd stuff”. Darker, more atmospheric productions caught his attention, particularly those of Burial. Burial’s sound, he explains, was something he definitely thought could be achieved live. Amassing a set of musicians, those he was working with or really wanted to, Submotion was formed and thus began a “group learning curve”, in a new musical direction.
Submotion Orchestra was an organic process, with no end product in sight, he reminds me. “It was more ‘here is an interesting starting point, let’s see what happens.’ I guess we wanted to bring in Jazz harmonies over the top of bass; it was obvious Dubstep was the perfect vehicle for this”. He laughs, “It was quite lucky they [jazz and dubstep] fitted together nicely”.
The product they achieved is defined by the variety of musical backgrounds in the band. “We all try and pull it in our own way. Taz [keyboardist] is constantly trying to refer it back to funk and soul, Ruby [vocals] pulls it in a neo-soul direction, Dom [production] wants to pull it in a darker dubstep direction. Fatty [bass] wants to get his wobble in. Bobby [trumpet] is trying to pull it in a jazz direction”. Every single tune, he tells me, goes through this seemingly endless filtering process until everyone is happy they’ve got their parts in there.
“No way did I envisage this sound”, Tommy tells me, but he is obviously happy with how the evolution turned out. Not that it is a process that has ended, “with everyone still trying to pull the sound in different ways. Submotion’s second album, out this year, sounds much better than the first,” Tommy enthuses. “It has more bite, is crisper and has a more produced sound than the first album which was lush, round and warm. After this album though, we could go in any direction. It could go trip-hop, soundscapey or classical. It could go darker, it could even go more dubstep”.
With a myriad of musical paths open to them, he’s not worried about what people are in to, particularly when I refer to their rise coinciding with the current popularity of dubstep. Tommy just wants to make something which sounds good and isn’t forced. I question if his music will always refer back to the starting point of ‘live dubstep’, “I don’t mind, to be honest”, he thoughtfully replies. He’s convinced that Submotion are a band with longevity though, because they sit in the middle of so many different sounds, garnering a wider appeal. “When you look out from the stage, it’s interesting to see the crowd. You get your dubstep kids in there, your music lovers and then a lot of older people as well. A complete mix. One thing I’m really proud of is we appeal to such an array of people”. Tommy’s got me convinced that the future of the band will not relate to the nature of the explosive dubstep scene.
Although Submotion Orchestra are now incredibly popular, (“We got to something mad, like number four in the electronic charts [with Finest Hour]”) I ask him how people first reacted to their sound. “We first played in a bar called Hukaz in Leeds, near Hyde Park. The set was completely improvised. We just rocked up and played. I don’t think people understood what we were doing”. Only during Outlook Festival a couple of years ago, did the reaction to the music change. “We were scheduled to play on the Sunday evening and were really nervous, yet it went really well. It gave us all a confidence booster, we realised we had a sound we could really use.”
The critical acclaim to Finest Hour, their first album, has also been extremely good. Yet Tommy is surprised by the association with trip hop, reacting to some of the negative reviews saying that Submotion’s sound and construction mimics that of Massive Attack. “It’s unfair, although I can kind of see what people are getting at, we’re coming from a completely different starting point”. He continues, explaining that because of their starting point, trying to get an ostensibly produced sound into something for a live setting, that to really appreciate them you have to see them live. “The live show is nastier and rawer than the album…we rely on a musical conversation. There’s a lot of improvisation at the live shows, coming from the Jazz influences. We tailor ourselves to the venue, so our sound works everywhere. It can be a jazz set if necessary, a dubstep set. It can be whatever it wants to be.”
He recounts tales of a couple of memorable gigs. Sound Wave festival in Croatia this summer seems to stick out in his memory. “The sun was setting over the main stage as we were playing. I was looking over my shoulder at the sunset, trying to concentrate on drumming, with four thousand people going mental. It was perfect! Our most recent tour too, that had a lot of great gigs.”
Between the relentless touring, everyone in the band has other musical side projects. Tommy himself drums for the successful band Gentleman’s Dub Club and also has all his “Jazz stuff”; for which he is highly regarded. “I’ve got a lot of top priorities” he laughs, “but everyone’s main top priority is Submotion. I just about find enough time to keep it all together. I’m glad we’ve all got other projects though, otherwise we’d get bored by the material. For example, if I think of a tune, it’ll take me six months to write. I’ll take it to the band we’ll rehearse for six months and then play it for two years. It’s easy to get bored, so we work hard to make sure every gig is different. The structures are the same, I’ve just got to lay down the groove, but lots of gaps within those for Tazz on keyboard or Bobby on trumpet to be free. We try to keep it fresh and entertain ourselves and of course, our audience. Our new tour has a lot of new material and grooves. (laughs) We’re getting bored of what we’re playing now.”
Although Submotion may be getting bored of their set, it doesn’t appear anyone else is. Before they came along, no-one had properly attempted to break the wall that shrouded the bassy confines of the dubstep production studio from the view of the audience. (Unless of course you want to count the Magnetic Man project, in which case three men standing behind fancy computers for an hour becomes the new definition of live music.) Live Dubstep was a completely new idea. An abstract concept mythologised by ‘dubstep kids’ and music-bloggers alike.
Before the interview I was wary of pinholing Submotion Orchestra as anything near to dubstep, but Tommy embraces the genre as a concept malleable to whatever he wanted it to be. Submotion Orchestra started off as an answer to a question about music in the live environment, and I’d reccomend listening to them as they should be listened to. There’s multiple opportunities to catch them in the coming year: with a UK tour in March; various festival appearances and a likelihood of an Autumn tour as well. There’s also been studio time with Grime MCs, constant ideas about where their sound can go and of course their own successes as individual musicians. This band clearly has a lot still to offer, pushing the boundaries of musical production and performance. Tommy’s a likeable guy, and clearly intelligent, and I finish the interview by wishing him and the band good luck for the year. Being honest, I don’t think they’ll need it.