London-based creator Aaron Jerome, recording as SBTRKT, taught himself production and wove dubstep, 2-step, garage, house, soul, and techno threads into a bass-dominant sound of sweeping melodies and detailed rhythms. He surfaced toward the end of the 2000s when BBC airplay turned 2009’s “Nervous” into a radio staple, after which his profile rose through repeated work with vocalist Sampha and reinterpretations of tracks by M.I.A. and Radiohead. The self-titled debut arrived in 2011; a follow-up, Wonder Where We Land, appeared in 2014 alongside several EPs before SBTRKT stepped away, resurfacing with a run of singles capped by “FORWARD” in 2022. The expansive third album The Rat Road, featuring numerous guests, surfaced the next year.
Jerome chose the project name specifically to detach the music from any individual identity and performed in masks modeled on ceremonial objects from African, South Asian, and South American traditions. After refining his material for years, he forwarded recordings in 2009 to BBC Radio 1’s Graeme Sinden and Mary Anne Hobbs, whose support helped turn tracks such as “Nervous” into hits. Remixes for M.I.A., Basement Jaxx, and Underworld gained traction, as did the independent singles Timeless and Right Place. Further releases came via Brainmath with LAIKA and 2020, plus the Ramp Recordings single Break Off/Evening Glow that again spotlighted Sampha. SBTRKT’s debut live appearance took place at Fabric; a Plastic People DJ set led to contact with Young Turks, which issued the Soundboy Shift EP in 2010 and both the Step in Shadows EP and the 2011 debut album the following year. “Wildfire,” featuring Little Dragon’s Yukumi Nagano, drew notice from Drake; its remix received rotation on New York’s WQHT and Miami’s WPOW. In 2014 Jerome issued Wonder Where We Land together with the Transitions I, II, and III EPs, then returned in 2016 with Save Yourself, an EP that included the-Dream, Sampha, and Mabel. Six years later he ended the break with productions such as the 2022 singles “Miss the Days” and “FORWARD” featuring LEILAH. The Rat Road followed in 2023, an exploratory set spanning drum’n’bass, chillwave, grime, and art-pop that welcomed Teezo Touchdown, Toro y Moi, George Riley, and D Double E.
