Italian music production duo Subsurface, mainly known for their recent hits ‘Get Lost’ and ‘Gold Skies’, as well as their successful remix of ‘Paris’ by The Chainsmokers, announced that they plan to implement more acoustic elements in their live performances in the future.
In a post on their Instagram account, the duo consisting of Stefan and Clemens “Subsurface” talk about how they’ve been working on new concepts for their upcoming shows in the last couple of months: “taking singing lessons has really helped a lot, we also worked with guitars and drums and we’re very excited for everyone to see what we came up with”. Subsurface have been dominating the Italian and Austrian bass music scene for years, headlining shows all over the world and sharing stages with international superstars like Sigma, Flux Pavilion, Modestep and many more. When it comes to live performances, most DJs tend to keep their performances as simple as possible, therefore it might be a smart move to bring a breath of fresh air to the performance of a DJ duo.
While clubs in Italy are still closed, Subsurface played five post-pandemic festival shows so far during this summer and teased some clips of their new live performance where fans really seem to enjoy the show. Clemens can be seen playing the guitar and singing in front of the stage, Stefan keeps his position behind the decks. There’s no specific info about how many songs have been performed in combination with acoustic elements, but it definitely seems to be a good balance between electronic and acoustic music.
Electronic dance music, or EDM for short, has seen a big rise all over the world in the last decade. It comprises a large number of danceable electronic music styles. It differs from acoustic dance music in that it is primarily limited to the use of electronic musical instruments. It is characterized by a high degree of repetition in the arrangement. Its musical style is characterized by the increased use of filter effects, such as reverbs, phasers or flangers. Traditionally, a synthesizer, drum computer and sampler form the main instruments of electronic music production. Some subtypes may also rely on the familiar song scheme (intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, outro), such as Eurodance or dancefloor pop.
The genesis of electronic dance music can be traced back to the 1960s. Artists like Steve Reich experimented with novel arrangements that later formed the basis for beats in pop music. Probably the best-known pioneer of electronic dance music was the German band “Kraftwerk” in the 1970s. From here on, styles such as disco music, house, and electro-funk emerged and spread across the globe. The 1980s really made electronic dance music popular. From here on, several sub-genres were formed and the use of electronic music elements was also found in other music genres such as pop music. Other well-known and more recent bands or artists that have shaped electronic dance music are David Guetta, Avicii, Steve Aoki or Marshmello.
Besides working on new concepts for their live performances, Subsurface recently launched their very own label ‘KARDO Records’ together with their close friends Karim MC and fellow music producer Abstrakt. They’re also hosting a weekly radio show on local radio Station Südtirol 1 with guest appearances by international stars like Felix Jaehn.
