Jesse Kardon has come a long way from his days as a teenager messing around with Ableton in his bedroom. The 33-year-old DJ and producer better known as Subtronics is now an established EDM star. Over the last 15 years, he has built a career that has taken him from playing small clubs in his hometown of Philadelphia to a fall headlining set at the Sphere in Las Vegas and then a landmark run of six sold-out shows at L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium in December.
Back in 2022, he performed a surprise set at Coachella’s intimate electronic-focused Do Lab stage, but this year marks his proper Indio, Calif., debut where he is the highest-billed dubstep-rooted artist, playing the massive Sahara Tent on Sunday and April 19. He will also perform two Southland shows between his Coachella sets at the Fox Theater in Pomona on Tuesday and at the GV Surf Club in Palm Springs on April 18.
While EDM has emerged over the years as a dominant force, comprising nearly 45% of this year’s lineup, artists from the sometimes polarizing dubstep/riddim scene are rarely given such a prominent platform.
Subtronics’ sound has expanded in recent years. His remix of John Summit’s “Crystallized feat. Inéz” has garnered praise, while “Fibonacci Pt. 2,” his latest in a set of math-inspired releases, interweaves the melodic with the heavy. “Infinity,” featuring fellow EDM DJ Grabbitz, and “Contour,” featuring vocalist Lyrah, stand out.
Although his work has evolved to include more melodic soundscapes, Subtronics remains committed to bringing more people to a better understanding of the genre that first brought his life into focus. He will never forget how playing drums for years as a kid taught him the foundations of rhythm, and he carries the gritty sounds of Philadelphia hip-hop and trap that shaped that sound into his work today.
Dubstep has affected his life in deeply personal ways. As a kid, a shared love of the scene brought him closer to his sister. Later on, he met Sonya Broner, the dubstep artist known as Level Up. Broner is now his wife, and they often collaborate.
In a remote conversation from his new home in Laurel Canyon, Subtronics talks about his milestone Coachella run and shares thoughts on everything from what to expect from his set to his legacy in dubstep and beyond.
This interview is lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
I’m really hopeful to introduce bass music to a lot of new people, because I believe the rising tide raises all ships,” Subtronics said.
(Jason Fenmore)
What is your mindset? How are you feeling going into this weekend?
“I’ve been really super hyper focused on Coachella for about, pretty much the moment we finished the tour, which was about two, three weeks ago. It’s been really all hands on deck, nonstop working on that.”
Take me back to when you first got the news that you booked Coachella. Was that something you and your team had been working specifically toward?
“It was honestly, an almost several year plan where that really was the goal, and we were kind of thinking of the different opportunities we’ve had over the years, and the things we were going to have going forward, and how could we strategize in a way where we can work our way towards Coachella, and that’s kind of what the Shrine was. The hope was like, if we can sell out three [nights at Shrine], we’ve got a pretty good chance of getting a booking, and then we sold out a ton of them. It’s such a good time slot on such a great stage…both me and my inner child are completely freaking out.”
Did you take a moment to celebrate?
“Absolutely, yes. And you know what? It always comes in the form of, like, little moments. Because I do get so… I do have these “pause” moments where it’s like, ‘Stop and appreciate how far you’ve come.’ ‘Stop and realize the gravity of this. You’re really doing these things; all of this hard work has manifested and paid off. This Coachella slot, and even just playing at all, is ammunition to fight back against the imposter syndrome. It’s beyond my wildest dreams and expectations. I never expected any of this to get this far, and I was just trying to learn how to make cool sounds.”
Do you think about historical context, where you fit in in the history of electronic music and in Coachella’s history?
“Oh, man, I love that question so much, because it’s my No. 1 thing. When I first started, aside from wanting to learn and get good at it… my goal was to contribute to the culture and leave a mark that’s remembered, because I’m really passionate about the history of both dubstep and dance music. So many historic moments happened at Coachella. And it really is such an honor, because I just think of ‘Oh my God, dude.’ Like, Daft Punk, you know? I can’t even wrap my head around it, but it is the thing that matters most to me: being remembered years from now and doing things that really feel like they contributed to the culture.
I’m really hopeful to introduce bass music to a lot of new people, because I believe the rising tide raises all ships. There’s a lot of us dubstep and bass music makers. And I think anytime one of us gets an opportunity, it really kind of raises the ceiling for the whole scene, and we are all in it together… there’s so many talented producers that deserve to be able to make a living off of it. And the bigger the scene gets, the more people can fit under the umbrella, and pay their rent and live a successful life doing what they love.”
The highest-billed dubstep-rooted artist on this year’s festival lineup, Subtronics views his performances as a chance to introduce bass music to mainstream audiences.
(Jason Fenmore)
Have you been feeling any pressure? And if so, how have you been handling it?
“Yeah, definitely, because I think I feel pressure from multiple angles. I’ll feel pressure from the very core fan base to stick to a certain style. And then I’ll feel pressure as both a DJ and a music producer. And whenever I get these opportunities, they’re so far outside of, you know, the core of dubstep, I feel the opposite end of pressure where it’s like, you should read the room, be a DJ, you know, like, figure out what their energy is. So it’s kind of pulling me in two different directions, and my answer to that has been to have faith in my own taste — to ignore both of them, to just completely ignore everybody, and to trust what I like and have faith that my taste is what got me here in the first place.”
What is your overarching goal for these shows?
“I make a bunch of stuff, but I do mostly identify as a dubstep and bass music artist. So, to be able to represent that on such a gigantic platform to a whole ton of people who might not necessarily be 100% EDM festival attendees… to play for them is really exciting. And then the livestream as well, it’s like there’s a crazy amount of viewers who might be completely new to bass music or new to dubstep, you know, tuning in. I take it as a responsibility to introduce people to bass music and contextualize it in the best way I can. And also expressing myself as honestly and authentically as I can — having that moment of individuality and uniqueness.
What do you think mainstream audiences might not understand about dubstep?
“Something that I do think is interesting is the original wave of dubstep, the original U.K., 2004 through 2008, it was on the radio. It was melodic, it was musical. It wasn’t nearly as polarizing. Obviously, it got more aggressive and became more of a huge, showy, crazy, overstimulating thing as it, as it moved its way over to the States. But I seek to strike a middle ground. Something I experienced a lot when I first started touring was being in a sub-genre incorrectly labeled [as riddim].
The issue is that riddim is already a genre: dancehall. It already exists…I think that’s not a very well-known thing. It should have been called swamp or something like that…trench. A few names were being thrown around. I called it “wonky step” at the time because it was just really wonky and repetitive. I guess riddim is what stuck for whatever reason. I was playing for a group that was much more melodic, much more theatrical, and everyone who came up to me after the shows told me, ‘I don’t like riddim. I’ve never liked riddim before, but hearing it in your set…it makes sense to me now. So I hope to be almost like a translator. My goal is to express myself authentically and honestly, playing all original music in a way that makes sense to both groups of people [mainstream and insiders].”
Do you remember your very first performance as Subtronics? And is there something from that time you carry with you going into this weekend?
The first time I was ever actually on stage, like at a dance music venue with my name on the screen, like playing my own songs. I was opening at SoundGarden Hall, which is now known as the Ave. One of the things that early on that blew my mind the most, I was playing an after party in one of the worst neighborhoods in Philadelphia, one of the most dangerous places I’ve ever been to, maybe in my whole life, and I was standing by the front door where they’re dealing drugs and selling nitrous and some a stranger walks in the door, someone who I didn’t know, and I heard them say, ‘I heard Subtronics is playing tonight. Is that true?’ And it exploded my brain. It was the first time I had a fan that I didn’t know personally, and I will never forget that. I will never, ever, ever, ever forget as long as I live.”
April 6 (UPI) — A cruise ship in Fiji ran aground at Monuriki Island, a small, uninhabited island off the coast of Fiji where the movie Cast Away was filmed.
The ship is the 180-foot Fiji Princess, part of Blue Lagoon Cruises. It ran aground on a reef while visiting the island. All 30 passengers and 17 of its 31 crew were taken off the boat on the same day, and there were no injuries reported.
“Initial checks confirmed that the vessel has suffered serious damage to its rear left side, including the area where the steering equipment is located. Part of the vessel underneath has also been damaged,” a spokesperson for the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji said.
“The vessel also experienced engine failure and was reported to be taking in water following the grounding. Due to rough seas and strong waves, officers were unable to safely inspect the vessel underwater at the time,” the MSAF said.
The main priority is protecting the environment, a spokesperson said.
The ship was carrying about 5,300 gallons of diesel fuel. The spokesperson said authorities had taken oil spill equipment to the area “as a precaution” but that the sea was too rough to use it.
“At the time of inspection, there were no signs that the fuel tanks had been damaged,” the spokesperson said.
Salvage teams, with the help of an Australian salvage specialist, were working to remove the fuel and oil from the ship.
”Msaf’s main concern at this time is the safety of all personnel, the protection of Fiji’s marine environment, and ensuring that response efforts continue safely,” a spokesperson said. “Msaf will continue to work closely with the vessel operator and all response teams, and will provide further updates as necessary.”
Monuriki Island is where the 2000 movie “Cast Away,” starring Tom Hanks, was filmed. It is part of the Mamanuca Island chain, on which “Survivor” has been filmed since 2016.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Videos have been going viral of A-10s doing strafing runs on targets in Iraq, largely focused on force protection of U.S. interests in the country. The threat from Iranian-aligned militias and other groups in Iraq has spiked since Operation Epic Fury began over four weeks ago. While seeing videos shot overseas of the Warthog using its GAU-8 30mm Avenger cannon is anything but new, the duration of some of the ‘trigger pulls’ shown certainly is.
One of these caught on camera appears to be roughly nine seconds long, with another being around six seconds long:
We reached out to various Warthog pilots to get commentary on what we are seeing with these prolonged strafing runs. They all have said the same thing, that it definitely isn’t normal or really trained for.
Dale Stark (@dalestartA10), a veteran A-10 pilot, told us that “it’s usually two to three seconds.” The A-10’s gun does its job by squirting out 3,900 rounds per minute, or roughly 65 rounds per second. It can technically deplete its 1,174 magazine drum in around 18 seconds of fire. But this is usually done in short bursts. The nine second gun run seen in the video above would have emptied half the drum. Accuracy also degrades during longer strings of fire. “Correct, bullet dispersion increases as the barrel heats up” from sustained firing, Stark told us.
Another A-10 pilot said the videos are indeed an outlier, and that they think doing such a long strafing run could only possibly make sense under very unique circumstances, such as dealing with a target dispersed over a large area, such as a group of troops, and with little time for subsequent strafing runs. Another former A-10 pilot said just the sound of the gun could be an intended effect to scare away potential attackers, but that isn’t a usual tactic.
Regardless, for ‘hog fans’ out there, seeing the A-10 in action during the swan song of its celebrated career is surely welcome, especially when some of the videos we are seeing showcase the aircraft’s most iconic feature in truly rare form.
The A-10’s activities during Operation Epic Fury also come as it appears that dozens more of the venerable attack jets are headed to the region to partake in the conflict. The timing is of special interest as a ground operation into Iranian territory could occur in the near future.
All of this comes as the USAF has demanded the A-10’s career comes to a close by the end of the decade, and has been pushing to retire the jets well before then, mainly due to concerns over the aircraft’s survivability. Still, its special capabilities are clearly in high demand, now apparently including extremely long-duration gun runs.
Emmerdale favourite Cain Dingle is hit by a car in deadly scenes next week with three possible culprits teased, but will he survive and does the driver leave him for dead?
Emmerdale: Cain left bloodied and unconscious after being hit by car
A horrifying new clip for Emmerdale shows the moment Cain Dingle is left lifeless after being hit by a car.
Next week on the ITV soap, Jeff Hordley’s character is on the phone to his wife Moira Dingle when he is struck at speed. A clip appears to tease the identity of the mystery driver, with one of three characters behind the wheel.
Kerry Wyatt, Jacob Gallagher and Graham Foster are all seen emotional or distracted before they speed off in their own cars. Jacob has just faced more drama with his bullying boss Dr Todd, and we see him breaking down in his car.
Graham has a run-in with Paddy and Marlon Dingle it seems, after his near-kiss with Marlon’s wife Rhona Goskirk. Kerry is crying over something – but is it linked to Dr Todd, or Eric Pollard?
As all three of them drive off, suddenly someone speeds towards Cain who is in the middle of a road. Slamming into him, Cain is left bleeding and unconscious as he hits the floor.
He’s not in a good way, but the clip ends there. So will Cain die and who runs him over? Whoever it is seems to leave Cain there as in another clip, it’s Cain’s young son Carl calling desperately for an ambulance.
Kyle confirms his dad isn’t waking up and is badly injured, as he tells the emergency services what has happened. The fact that Kyle is alone and making the call could suggest no one else is there, and it’s a hit and run.
All will be revealed soon in terms of who the driver is, but the clips certainly hint it will either be Graham, Kerry or Jacob. As for Cain’s fate, the spoilers do not reveal if he lives or dies.
It isn’t thought he will die given his huge cancer storyline that is ongoing. Cain has been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, with him deciding whether or not to have treatment, and only recently did he tell his family including his wife Moira.
So surely they wouldn’t kill Cain off in such a brutal way when there’s still a way to go with the cancer storyline. So it’s safe to assume Cain will survive being hit by the car, but it’s not certain.
It’s also not clear if he will be badly injured and if there will be any consequences. Fans will have to stay tuned to find out what happens to Cain and who is to blame.
