Swole Sauce flaunts melodic dubstep skill on ‘Lost’ [Q&A]IMG 6610

Swole Sauce flaunts melodic dubstep skill on ‘Lost’ [Q&A]

At the intersection of dubstep, brostep, and bass is a name that has been coursing through virtual bass circles: Swole Sauce. A self-instructed New York native motivated in part by a push to disrupt what he describes as a stasis in the dubstep context, Swole Sauce—known offstage as Steven Zaslow—has steadily drawn a digital following since he first began disseminating his sound via SoundCloud in June.

With a trio of inventive remakes of cult classics—”Seek Bromance,” “I Could Be The One,” and “Ocean Eyes“—in his back pocket and the Marshmello-sampling “Colors” in the immediate rearview, Swole Sauce is continuing his career-building campaign with “Lost.” Underscoring Swole Sauce’s imaginative ear, the potent output sees him harness melodic dubstep in a collision of sound that is characteristic of the genre and simultaneously carries his own distinctive touch.

A rising experimentalist with clearcut potential in various electronic subgenres, Swole Sauce is an ascendant talent that electronic enthusiasts will want to bookmark. Dancing Astronaut spoke with Swole Sauce about the catalog-expanding single and his stylistic aspirations in an interview that can be canvassed in full below.


For those unacquainted with your sound and the releases that you’ve put out to date, how does “Lost” build on your release history and how does it embody the Swole Sauce sound?

Swole Sauce: “My sound is mainly melodic dubstep and brostep, and ‘Lost’ is a mix of both. The songs I’ve put out so far have been more melodic, but with ‘Lost,’ I wanted to highlight the heavy parts, while also complementing the song’s softer vocals.”

What can you tell your listeners about the creative process behind “Lost” and how the record came together?

Swole Sauce: “First, I familiarize myself with the vocals and really get a feel for the melody, then I work on the chord progression, then I like to slowly build up and focus on the break. The break is really important to listeners, you can have a hell of a buildup, but if the break doesn’t fit with the buildup and the rest of the track, then it’s not a bop.”

 When you were producing the track, did any of your influences color how you approached it?

Swole Sauce: “For this particular track, I thought a lot about Virtual Riot and his sound. In terms of sound design, I generally like to use a reference track to inspire me and then I start with a patch in serum and then develop the baseline.”

Musically, who are your main inspirations?

Swole Sauce: “Virtual Riot, Kompany, Leotrix, PhaseOne, Barely Alive, and Slushii.”

How would you describe your sound, and how do you see it evolving in the future as you continue to expand your catalog?

Swole Sauce: “I would say my sound is a mix of nice melodies, good chord progressions, and gritty bass lines. In the future, I hope to evolve and develop melodic dubstep even more. I feel like the genre is kind of stuck, so I hope to bring my own unique spin to it and revamp the genre.”

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