After gaining much acclaim for his last LP, the vocal hook-heavy techno throwback Personality, UK producer Scuba (a.k.a. Paul Rose) will release his third LP, Claustrophobia, on March 23 on his own Hotflush Recordings.
This first full-length since 2012 is rife with collapsing, brooding beats and haunting soundscapes; speaking with Exclaim!, Rose attributes his new album's darker sounds with his serious battle with infectious mononucleosis.
"The album was written during quite a short period while I was recovering. I'd spent the best part of two months completely incapacitated, which was a difficult time. It was a hard year generally and it took quite a lot of soul-searching to get through it. The album reflects that, I guess."
After spending most of 2014 in "either a bed or a hospital," Rose recovered just in time to play the Labyrinth Festival, located in Niigata, Japan. He describes the event as "the best in the world, mostly because [of] the attitude of the people who go there, which is so open-minded, and also because there's only one stage and the result is that you get an almost total commonality of purpose in the crowd and the performers."
Rose's experience proved to be so positive that it helped his return to recording. "My set was a lot of fun, but just as important was getting the chance to enjoy the whole thing, and I found myself very inspired when I got home and back in the studio."
Written and recorded by Rose, Claustrophobia is a singular vision that, unlike much of the music made by his contemporaries, lacks big-name guest vocalists, although he did feel "a lot of pressure to cash in. I was being pulled in so many different directions, I didn't feel comfortable with any of it, really, and it was pretty difficult to make music in that kind of environment. In the end I just had to say 'fuck you' to everyone and do my own thing."
This first full-length since 2012 is rife with collapsing, brooding beats and haunting soundscapes; speaking with Exclaim!, Rose attributes his new album's darker sounds with his serious battle with infectious mononucleosis.
"The album was written during quite a short period while I was recovering. I'd spent the best part of two months completely incapacitated, which was a difficult time. It was a hard year generally and it took quite a lot of soul-searching to get through it. The album reflects that, I guess."
After spending most of 2014 in "either a bed or a hospital," Rose recovered just in time to play the Labyrinth Festival, located in Niigata, Japan. He describes the event as "the best in the world, mostly because [of] the attitude of the people who go there, which is so open-minded, and also because there's only one stage and the result is that you get an almost total commonality of purpose in the crowd and the performers."
Rose's experience proved to be so positive that it helped his return to recording. "My set was a lot of fun, but just as important was getting the chance to enjoy the whole thing, and I found myself very inspired when I got home and back in the studio."
Written and recorded by Rose, Claustrophobia is a singular vision that, unlike much of the music made by his contemporaries, lacks big-name guest vocalists, although he did feel "a lot of pressure to cash in. I was being pulled in so many different directions, I didn't feel comfortable with any of it, really, and it was pretty difficult to make music in that kind of environment. In the end I just had to say 'fuck you' to everyone and do my own thing."