'We Are Live' - The Scala - London - 27 March 2009

I was pointed towards Subsource by a mate a while back and I was expecting to hear the ‘next big thing in punk/dance music since The Prodigy’. Now I have to be honest – when I checked out the tracks on their Myspace page, I was bitterly disappointed. They weren’t bad, but they were nowhere near as fresh and new as The Prodigy were when they first hit the scene in the early ‘90s. I thought nothing more of them for quite a while – that is, until it turned out that we’d be writing an article on them for the mag. So, as you can imagine, I was dubious.




When the band came on stage there was a small cheer. Unfortunately it was taking a while for security to let people into the club so they were playing to a dance floor that was only one quarter full, which is always hard. One thing about Subsource that does set them apart from most other dance music live acts is that they are indeed a proper band, playing all manner of instruments connected to laptops and other processing devices.

They started and yes, it was good. Okay, okay, so it was better than good – it was fuckin’ wicked! The band didn’t sound like this on Myspace! I spent the first few songs reeling as the lead vocalist powered a heavy wall of sound into the crowd from his electronic double bass. The whole act was like a banshee out of hell! Their stage presence was spot on as they jumped and dived all over the place – it made you feel like you were witnessing a band likely to make it really big. Oh dear, I’m beginning to sound like my mate. Subsource provide the kind of punk-infused dance music that you have to experience as a live performance to really get the full effect. Stuffed full of drum and bass, breakbeats and electro sounds, they do exactly what they say – tear up dance floors. They were a joy to dance to and rest of the crowd certainly felt the same way. The lucky few that did get in early enough to catch the show were all Subsource needed to get the party truly rocking.

Upcoming gigs
Sat, Jun 20th Rock Against Racism,
Shrewsbury College of Art
Fri, Jun 26th Glastonbury Festival
Fri, Jul 3rd Blissfields Festival, Hampshire
Fri, Jul 10th Workhouse Festival, Wales
Sat, Jul 11th Guilfest, Surrey
Wed, Jul 15th Notting Hill Arts Club, London
Sat, Jul 25th Redfest, Surrey
Sat, Aug 29th Solfest, Cumbria
Fri, Sep 18th Alchemy Festival, Lincolnshire
Sat, Sep 19th Out Of The Ordinary Festival, Sussex
Fri, Sep 25th The Waterside, Carmathen

Website: http://subsource.co.uk/home/

I left the gig very impressed, because it’s rare that you ever get to see an act with a firm opinion in your mind and to then have it totally transformed for the better. But Subsource have truly perfected that live performance edge – if only they could transform that energy onto my iPod. I am now expecting big things from their upcoming album and we will be keeping a watchful eye on their progress. If it matches their live performance in energy and quality, I think we may have a new Prodigy on our hands…

Click below to see all images from Subsource: