For listeners uninitiated to dubstep, Nullboy’s new single “Disconnected” is like being blasted into the sky as part of a fireworks display and hearing the explosions from midair.
It is exhilarating.
Nullboy explains that “Disconnected” and the other three tracks on his debut EP, Tritium Heart, are experimental, aimed at “the seasoned dubstep enjoyer.”
“Disconnected” will be released on June 14, Tritium Heart the week after that.
“I would start with an idea and think, ‘How can I turn this on its head and make people be like, “Oh! What the hell?!”’ I played a lot of the songs from the EP at different shows, and it’s really fun to see the reactions.”
The crowds at his shows, remember, would be “seasoned” dubstep enjoyers.
“For me, and I think I can speak for other enjoyers of the genre, you love to be surprised, and you love to jump,” he said.
“And, like, bang your head to stuff.”
That is exactly the experience he seeks from his experimentation, which is not randomly switching sounds, tempos and bass lines. Nullboy’s explicit intent is to take what he calls the Y2K aesthetic in electronic music and “fuse it to dubstep.”
The Y2K aesthetic he speaks of is the electronic music vibe from the ’90s into the early 2000s, especially as represented in the video games from that era.
He has identified a resurgence in interest in that era’s music, television, movie themes and culture in general and in efforts to make it new again.
“There’s a few artists doing it for dubstep, but I’m trying to marry the two because I have a connection to the music of that era through video games, TV and — well, whatever.”
His idea for “Disconnected” begins with a sample from another generation’s electronic signal that a telephone call cannot be completed: “beep-BEEP-BEEP — We’re sorry.”
“So, I started with that sample, and I wanted to highlight parts in the song with silence and that sample and then come back with a hard-hitting bass line.”
The three other songs on Tritium Heart — “Cypher,” “Ash” and the title song “Tritium Heart” — are experimental in the way of “Disconnected.”
Nullboy, an underground producer living and working from Indianapolis, specializes in the dubstep subgenres of riddim and future riddim. When he is getting technical about it, he explains that dubstep is “bass music with a certain tempo,” and riddim and future riddim are simply other “flavors of dubstep,” flavors based on quarter-note rhythms.
“Quarter-note is what you could, essentially, boil it down to, but the bigger artists in the scene, like Subtronics and Svdden Death, make riddim that is very heavy. The riddim I make is a little more technical and inspired by Y2K aesthetics and vibes.”
In his self-bio, talking to hard-core electronic fans, he says that his music takes riddim and blends it with dark techno, house and hardcore to create “a captivating mix of eldritch ethereal elements, corrupted tech, all harmoniously fused with the nostalgic beats and rhythms reminiscent of the Y2K era.”
Pressed to come up with a more descriptive phrase for what he does, he says, “bass music that makes you want to get up and rave.”
The story of how he began in electronic music begins with video games.
“A lot of music that I’ve come to enjoy I discovered through video games. The soundtracks to games are good gateways for people to get into new genres, especially in electronic. There’s a lot of cool stuff out there.”
The Gran Turismo series occupies a special place in his electronic heart.
“The first game came out in, like, ’98, and that game had drum and bass and jungle music, and I became a fan of that racing game and that music,” he said.
Now a professional who puts on shows — dubstep and riddim especially — Nullboy seeks to expand the boundaries of electronic music and dubstep.
“I don’t think it has to be any more complicated than that,” he said. “I would just bring new sounds to it for people to enjoy.”
He has a lot of other music that he plays at shows, but with the debut EP of his recording career, his focus is on the fusion of dubstep and the electronic music of the turn of the century.
“I’m always trying to play more shows, but I’m going to keep pushing this Y2K aesthetic onto dubstep and see what happens.”
For committed fans of electronic or newcomers to the genre, seeing what happens with Nullboy is an exploration worth taking. Connect to him on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
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