magine Eprom’s dark glitch-hop meeting Ivy Lab’s halftime Drum & Bass, and you’re about as close as you can get to the unique production of Perth’s SUB FILLA.

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Previously known for producing under Flux, a complete rebrand has seen South African-born Josh Crofton re-emerge under his new handle ready to take bass music to a whole new level.

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With SUB FILLA’s first official release ‘Comfort’ set to start turning heads on April 17, we couldn’t wait to sit him down to chat about his interesting musical journey. Catch how it went down below.

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What was it that first drew you towards EDM?

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I’ve been influenced by EDM since I was quite young. I grew up listening to a lot of house, DnB, that sort of stuff. When I first found it it was something different. It just sounded so different, and I was drawn to it.

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How did you get into producing?‍

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I always loved music. I used to play guitar and piano, and I digged the idea of creating music, but I didn’t wanna learn, I wanted to do it ‘now’.

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My dad ended up introducing me to FL Studio, and I ran that for 2-3 years with no idea what I was doing, but it was a lot of fun just mucking around and experimenting.‍

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What did your early music sound like?

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It was terrible. Until a few years ago I never learned anything about music theory, like making proper chords, so making music back then I just posted things around hoping it’d sound good.

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It was all in key, but there was no structure and there were random sounds all over the place. It was really simple and empty sounding.

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What are your main inspirations for making music?‍

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A big inspiration for me now is the dream of it all, achieving what I want to as an artist. The whole dream I have of putting myself out there as an artist and achieving something, that’s definitely the main drive.

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How would you describe your style of production?‍

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At the moment I typically go for stuff that’s bass oriented. If you were to put it into one genre I try and make halftime DnB, but I’d say my fusion is of trap, hip-hop and DnB.

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Hip-Hop and DnB have always been big influences, and a few years ago I got into trap, so I tried to merge it all together and make my own sound.‍

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Are there any artists you’d compare your style to?‍

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One person I look up to is Zeke Beats, who I feel has a very similar sort of style. There’s also people like Ivy Lab, Alex Perez, but they’re a bit more DnB oriented, and I feel like mine is a bit more on the trap side of things.

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What’s your creative process when making a track?‍

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I have a few ways, but I find a good blend of things. Most of the time what works for me is I start with a simple rhythm, get my beat and my chods down, then get a 16 bar loop going. I just try to find something that really hits home.

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There’s no particular formula to creating a song. Right now I’m trying to work with sampling, finding inspiration from random sounds, and that’s been helping me collect a lot of unique sounds.

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What’s been your proudest achievement so far?‍

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Starting SUB FILLA and this whole new style, it hasn’t necessarily been an achievement, but it’s something I’m super proud of.

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In terms of my production it would be sound design. Actually creating sounds has been a proud moment for me. I’ve got a whole soundbank that I’ve created and it’s all got that same kind of feel to it.

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What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt about making music?‍

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The biggest lesson I’ve learnt is to make music for myself, and to make my own style. I used to take influences from other people, but I just wanted to make something that was ‘me’.

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Don’t go into music thinking you’re gonna be the next Deadmau5. It’s beneficial to learn from emulating other people, but doing that stomps on your creativity and doesn’t allow for growth.

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What do you love and hate most about what you do?‍

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I love the freedom that comes with creating music. For me I’ve turned it into a career, and that’s kind of a dream come true. I can be my own boss and pursue my own dream.

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What sucks is the deadlines, trying to get stuff done when you’re doing it on your own. Staying motivated can be hard. I’m at home every day of the week working, and some days I end up not doing anything.

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‍How do you think your style fits into the Perth scene?‍

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I think it fits quite well. Perth has a weird music scene, it’s very underground, which is great for me because that’s what I go for. The people in Perth want what they want, and if you aren't a part of that then you won’t be accepted into it.

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At the moment there’s a big DnB movement making a comeback, so I’ve timed releasing my style of music at a really good time.

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Tell us about your new release ‘Comfort’‍

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‘Comfort’ is a bass halftime track with some trap inspiration. It’s the first release I wanted to put out for SUB FILLA because I felt that if the first song could shape what people should expect, this is it.

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It’s got that typical gritty bassy sound that I’ve been making in all my songs, so I definitely feel like this track helps people understand what to expect going forwards.

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Lastly, if you had to listen to one album every day for the rest of your life, what would you choose?‍

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Straight up, Porter Robinson’s ‘Worlds’. I’ve been a fan of Porter for a long time, and when he released ‘Worlds’ it was really an inspiration for production. I listened to it and creatively I was like “how do you do this.” It’s just a masterpiece, and nothing like it has come out for a long time.

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With Perth’s DnB community growing stronger by the minute, SUB FILLA couldn’t have picked a better time to drop his track ‘Comfort’ - the first of what will be many big releases.

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Be sure to give the certified banger a listen, and keep your eyes peeled for his future tracks. It can only get better from here.

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As always I hope you enjoyed the read. Party safe, stay hydrated, and I’ll see you next time.

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