Verboten Presents Seth Troxler & Subb-an at Highline Ballroom – 9/8/2012

Somewhere between the light, permitting sounds of trance music, groovy builds and electrifying drops of electronic music lies a dark, revolutionary groove all its own. In these depths of devious resonance you can find the defiant sounds of Visionquest’s Seth Troxler and Britain’s Subb-an. Verboten New York has blown our minds once more by reaching into the solitude’s of underground sound to bring to our ears some of the world’s most astral, limitless music in the EDM industry.

At just 24 years of age, Britain’s own Subb-an is on a rapid rise to stardom having accomplished more industry success than most with his extensive list of border-breaking productions on major labels including Crosstown Rebels, Spectral, My Favorite Robot, Leftroom and Saved, and was as voted ‘Best Breakthrough DJ’ in the 2011 DJ MAG polls. Ashique, or Subb-an to most, has headlined the worlds best nightclubs and festivals breaking down the walls with his immaculate DJ and production artistry. He began mixing at the young age of 14, mastered a degree in Audio Composition in 2009, and with the release of his debut track ‘Italia’ on Matt Tolfrey’s Leftroom records in 2008, this young Brit quickly became an overnight success. His original productions had gained the likes and global support of idolized industry names including Sasha, Jamie Jones (Hot Natured), Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier, and Luciano within four short years. Subb-an’s productions possess a fresh, innovative sound style somewhere between techno and house that listeners and fellow artists can’t quite grasp yet cannot get enough of.

When I walked into New York City’s Highline Ballroom this past Saturday September 8th, 2012, I walked into a dark, spacious (yet crowded) room rumbling with robust, unrefined sounds. Subb-an made a stir-fry of fiery tech-house to ripple through the Highline’s state of the art sound system which circulates this multi-level concert hall just north of New York’s Meatpacking District. The line was around the block and party-people feverishly poured in after midnight walking into the thunderous roar of Subb-an’s indistinct techno syncs dressed with a hint of flavorful house. His eclectic tech-house style is unlike other tech artists that I have heard and admired. Subb-an reaches into the deep, dark, depths of synth and syncopated snares dissecting through drum-kicks and mechanicalistic effects to create a devious yet tantalizing sea of sound. This past Saturday Subb-an’s midi-controller confused our minds driving between dark tech intertwined with duplicitous house beats which kept the crowd in the groove.

From deviously dapper to daunt and deranged, an opaque symphony came through the sound-system around 2:45 a.m. as Seth Troxler hit the decks at Highline Ballroom NYC. He has been labeled as a blessing to techno music with his decadently debauched production style of defiant techno meets enrapturing house. Without question, Seth Troxler was voted 2nd Best DJ in the world on the Resident Advisor Top 100 DJ Poll (beaten only by Richie Hawtin and Ricardo Villalobos), was labeled as a major young talent to watch in 2012 by Rolling Stone Magazine, and holds residency at Ibiza’s infamous DC10 nightclub. Troxler has gained global praise having headlined major festivals and venues including Watergate in Berlin, Fabric London, Womb Tokyo, Tenax in Florence, The Rex in Paris, Movement Detroit, and Mutek festival to name a few. Seth Troxler plays a major roll in the innovative and acclaimed Visionquest group which has developed into one of the newest, hottest, most respected record labels in electronic dance music today. His performance style, like what our ears were breached with this past Saturday at Highline Ballroom, is undefined and morphs from lurid depths of techno to a mixture of house melodies. Troxler played a very dark tech set so fitting for the dim, capacious Highline venue decorated with LED screens and LED-reflective lightning bolts found above our heads which reflected psychedelic patterns that complimented the submerged tech sound-bars pouring through the speakers.

Overall, the Saturday night that Verboten New York presented to us with Seth Troxler and Subb-an was evocatively satisfying, but I of course expected nothing less from Verboten as they always look to deliver the finest of tunes for the refined dance music lover. I look forward to hearing Subb-an and Seth Troxler live again, but until then I will sanctify my sound-canals with upcoming Verboten parties that include Wolf+Lamb, Soul-Clap, Agoria, Wildkats, Damian Lazarus, Fur Coat and more!

www.facebook.com/SethTroxlerOfficial

www.ResidentAdvisor.net/Subb-an

www.VerbotenNewYork.com

About the Author

Ilenia Cangelosi Ilenia Cangelosi is a native New Yorker with a passionate "MBA" in Electronic Dance Music. A long time connoisseur of dance music having been exposed to New York City nightlife at a young age, Ilenia loves everything EDM from Trance, Minimal, Techno, House, Drum&Bass and all things world festivals. Follow Ilenia (@miSziLenia) on Twitter & Instagram to stay up to date on the latest & greatest in all things EDM!