SBMRGE
I recently chatted with Cooper Dodge to learn about his project SBMRGE.
So let’s kick this off with a little bit of background info… How’d SBMRGE come about?
I guess coming from a very musical upbringing and background, SBMRGE was just another outlet for me to express my passion for music. I’d grown up playing guitar and drums and very briefly dabbled in writing tunes in FL Studio around the age of 12. I didn’t fully get stuck into making proper full length tracks until I was about 15 or 16, right after finding Shlohmo’s music. At first I started to write Dilla-esque hip hop beats which then gradually transitioned into downtempo, ambient melodies but still remained a slave to hip hop style drums.
The name, SBMRGE, intrigues me, what’s the story there?
To be totally honest, when I came to the realisation that I wanted to post some music online I went through about 20 name changes a week until I just ran out of names – so SBMRGE kind of just stuck from that point onwards.
Was there a specific sound or producer that made you go “Yeah fuck it, I wanna do this”?
Before I listened to electronic music, I was massively into Punk and Hardcore bands (like Xibalba, Trapped Under Ice, Expire etc) and was one of those ‘electronic music sucks’ kind of dudes, but after hearing Archangel (Burial) and Shlohmo’s remix of Shell of Light (Burial) I was blown away by the attention to detail within these kind of productions and from there onwards all I wanted to do was emulate that sort of insanely deep atmospheric vibe within a song. I remember everything about the first time I heard Archangel, I ended up streaming it on YouTube and after hearing it once all I wanted to do was hear more – so I sat up until like 2am on a school night in my room with this track on repeat and my mind being furthermore blown every time I played the track.
Following up on that, who influences the sound you create?
Early SBMRGE days were heavily influenced by dudes like Burial, Shlohmo, J Dilla, Yahtzel, Seekae and Tycho – but as SBMRGE progressed as a project and my music tastes developed, I began taking influence from so many things – at the moment I have a lot of music on my computer that only my ears will hear as I have learnt to take influence from more niche sort of things, and music being a sentimental thing for me I think emotion and the motions of being a human is the number influence for a lot of stuff I write.
You dropped the EP last year through Pilerats Records, what was it like working with those guys and how did you set that up?
Just before teeing up the EP with Pilerats I was really interested in contacting them for a release as I had always enjoyed their work. On the day that I decided I would write an email to send off to them, Dan from the Pilerats team had already hit me up asking if I was down to release something with them. So I guess it was kind of meant to be. The Pilerats crew are a pleasure to work with and are great dudes!
What’s it like to taking a tune you’ve been working on for a while in your bedroom to a live show? Nerve-racking? Exciting?
To be completely honest, I tend to shit myself when playing a track live for the first time – like so much so that I never end up playing the track. But usually when I drop a new track in a live setting its a great feeling, especially with responsive and fun crowds. I suppose its sort of motivating and uplifting seeing a dance floor of people vibing to your own stuff.
Out of your collection of tunes, is there a certain one you dig more than the rest?
I have a whole heap of unreleased garage/ 2step grime beats on my computer that definitely have a softer spot in my heart than any of my other productions, but I think as far as SBMRGE stuff goes I’ve always like ‘Masked’ – not so much for the track that it is, but more so because it was a real turning point in the calibre of my productions and a massive change in sound which has shaped where I’m at today.
Any big artists you’d love to collaborate with?
I’m not sure what big artists i’d love to collab with, only because I could sit here and list off about 30 dudes who I would love to share the studio with – but there’s a guy from London called VACANT who’s music is forever captivating and quite literally just amazing. I would absolutely love to sit down with him and write some shit.
The fun stuff: Strawberry Fields or Maitreya? The Walking Dead or Breaking Bad? 6 Chicken Nuggets or a Cheeseburger?
Maitreya. Breaking Bad. 6 Chicken Nuggets inside a Cheeseburger.
You’ve received feedback from Triple J’s Dom Alessio, Lewi McKirdy and Dave Ruby Howe. How has Unearthed changed things for you?
I turned to Unearthed in the very early days of SBMRGE and to be honest I haven’t really used it since, but receiving feedback and support from dudes up there in the business was really awesome. Kind of warming in a way.
What should we expect to see from SBMRGE in the coming months?
In the coming months I will have released some more singles and I might even start chucking together some ideas for another SBMRGE EP for later this year, but who knows man.
Thanks man!