Bruce

Bristol-rooted techno DJ and producer Larry McCarthy, performing as Bruce, moves fluidly between functional dancefloor material and exploratory studio work. Early influences from the middle and later phases of dubstep gave way, once he started making his own material, to a focus on post-dubstep aesthetics; that approach soon evolved into an overlapping zone of techno and bass-driven music, crystallized on his first full-length release, the 2018 album Sonder Somatic, whose tracks displayed his preference for irregularly shaped club cuts.

Raised in Chesham on London’s fringe, McCarthy absorbed rock and punk during his formative years and even took up drumming in several bands. Exposure to dance music arrived via Caspa, Rusko, Andy C, Benga, and Skream, whose sets he caught at London’s underage events; he soon began producing tracks himself, beginning with post-dubstep as his entry point. Further refinement toward techno occurred while he completed a Creative Music Technology degree at Bath Spa University, a program whose earlier graduates include Addison Groove, Vessel, and Asusu. After finishing in 2014 he relocated to nearby Bristol, where his debut EP, Just Getting Started, appeared on Dnous Ytivil, the sister imprint of Livity Sound. Over the following three years he issued additional EPs on several forward-thinking Bristol techno labels: Not Stochastic on Hessle Audio in 2014, The Trouble with Wilderness on Idle Hands in 2016, I’m Alright Mate on Timedance, and Before You Sleep on Hemlock in 2017. When Sonder Somatic arrived in 2018, he returned to Hessle Audio for its release.