Animatronic by Scuba
Influential underground favourite Scuba debuts on Last Night on Earth. The two-track release explores bass-driven and melodically rich electronica. Paul Rose is the man behind Scuba, an alias which has shaped the sound of the European underground for two decades. In its early years, he pioneered a new take on dubstep and then made a subtle shift from bass music into house and techno. Scuba’s ‘Digital Underground’ album in 2023 saw him take things one step further into raved-up hardcore and breakbeat, and his Music Not Diving podcast is a fascinating interview series with plenty of the scene's key players. Now he debuts on Sasha's label, a fitting pairing as he credits the label boss’s support for his Adrenalin EP in 2011 as having played a key role in his move towards house and techno. Here he showcases his fl air for melody across a pair of richly musical and immersive new tracks that land perfectly in time for summer.
The fantastic 'Animatronic' has been an exclusive mystery staple of Scuba sets for a while and is a mid-tempo groover with a meandering lead line that is brought to life with bright, prickly synth modulations. The chunky drums are underpinned by signature bass, and a spine-tingling breakdown has heavenly vocals peaking through the clouds. The pace picks up on the sleek 'Waterfl oor', which is a subtle tribute to Berlin’s recently shuttered but forever legendary Watergate club. It has a calming serenity to its widescreen atmosphere as soft hits, clicks and melodic droplets pepper the mix, sleek bass powers the drums and cosmic pads keep things decidedly heady and doused in emotion.
Scuba is a maker of music from the UK. He is also the founder of a record label called Hotflush Recordings.