Two years ago when I first interviewed Paul Rose, aka Scuba, artist and head of the Hotflush label, he explained to me that the label was never “intended to be a dubstep label.” But life sometimes gets in the way of intentions. Today, Hotflush is one of the most well-known, respected and productive labels in a seemingly ever-expanding scene, and Scuba’s debut album is about to drop. And while some things may not have gone according to plan, Paul Rose is more confident than ever about what directions to take from now.

In September last year, Paul decided to leave London for Berlin, a natural move considering his musical roots. “Techno is huge here, and that was the music that originally got me into the whole electronic thing, so it's kind of a homecoming for me.” It wasn’t just that though, as he explains: “I was bored of London. I wasn’t really interested in what was going on there musically. When London works well it really works, but a lot of the time the music that comes out of there is terrible.” Like what? “Well funky house. A lot of the stuff these guys play sounds like late-90s deep house to me actually.” Paul’s move from the ‘home of dubstep’ to the ‘home of techno’ echoes the recent minimalist influences that pervade the music of artists such as Pinch, Appleblim and Peverelist, all Bristol based. This new Bristol-Berlin axis is seen by many as a refreshing take on a sound that has become a little too formulaic. “I love the concept of minimal. I love it that people go mad when a little hi-hat comes in. And I do think that some of the most interesting dubstep being made today, maybe even the only interesting dubstep, is the minimal-influenced stuff.”

Listening to recent Scuba productions you get a feeling that Paul may also be playing to this dubstep-techno axis. The tracks are a lot more stripped down and the often standard ‘intro-drop’ template isn't really anywhere to be heard. “The whole intro-drop thing has never made complete sense to me as I’ve always been more influenced by electro and techno than the whole jungle/rave thing. Since moving here I’ve had a lot more time to write and that has helped changed my approach. I give myself a lot more freedom now when I write; I don’t try to pertain to a certain genre or formula anymore. I mean, it’s not like I was trying to get things that explicit before either.” As it turns out though, the move to Berlin was not that influential in the making of the album, despite what you might think listening to it. “I wrote pretty much most of the album within a month of moving here, so it wasn’t explicitly influenced by Berlin really. I started on it before the move, and I actually wrote almost an entire album before moving and decided I hated it. A couple of the tracks made it in the end, but I just didn’t think it sat together properly. Overall though I’m much more comfortable with the music I’m making now. When I made the album I consciously wanted it to be very free.”

Comparing the album to earlier Scuba releases, this new found liberty is all the more apparent. As a whole it feels incredibly coherent. In a scene driven by dubplates and 12” releases, albums are always going to be a challenge; dubstep albums are still few and far between, and among those there are only a few that stand out as albums in their own right, breaking away from any boundaries that the genre’s popularity has set. And Scuba’s effort is one of those few, unsurprisingly considering that in a scene where jungle, reggae and dub are often referred to as major influences, Paul’s roots lie elsewhere. So I was intrigued as to how he would describe the album to someone who hadn’t heard it. “Well it’s a dubstep album, but only in the sense that it has a lot of sub bass and is around 140bpm,” he says, adding quickly “which is the proper definition of dubstep of course.” Jokes aside, what would he really say without boxing the music into any one genre? “It’s a retro-futuristic electronic album.”

As we talked about the album, dubstep and the music in general, one thing crossed my mind regarding the title of the album, A Mutual Antipathy. Was it a reference to his relationship with the music and the scene? "It’s basically a reference to my personal experiences of making music. When I was a teenager I played in bands, wrote songs, made a bit of extremely amateurish techno, but was really immersed in the process of writing and was quite confident in myself and how I thought it might develop. But then I had a period where I did nothing musically apart from DJ, and when I finally started trying to make music again something had changed and it took a long time to get it back. I find it a bit easier now, but I still beat myself up about it a lot. It’s still a battle.”

While interest in Scuba is bound to increase with the album release, Paul still has to deal with both sides of the music business, being an artist and a label head. And that’s a position that in recent years has become not so enviable. Whether he likes it or not, Hotflush stands today as one of the bigger, founding labels in dubstep. When you compare Paul’s earlier stated intentions for the label with the reality of its standing today, you might wonder what happened in the two years to take Hotflush away from those intentions. When I asked, what I got wasn’t the explanation you’d normally expect. “From a label perspective I still don't just want to be tied to dubstep. I'm not completely happy about the way the label went from mid 06 to late 07. We released too much stuff; some really amazing music but also some that just wasn't right for the label,” he explains. “I think it happened partly because I was running the whole thing on my own in quite an isolated way for lot of that time, and getting distracted by other things, and partly I was unsure of the direction I wanted the whole thing to go in.”

Considering the state of the music industry today, and the reality that running a label is difficult, some might even say pointless, it’s easy to see where difficulties may have arose for someone in Paul’s position. As expected, the popularity of dubstep has led to a smattering of new, small labels cropping up left, right and centre. But quantity has never ensured quality, whether for one label or a genre as a whole. “Labels are a thing of the past. If anyone asked me now about advice on setting one up I would tell them not to do it. Obviously they still exist, but as a commercial idea they are pretty much irrelevant today.” When you look around, from major label to independent, it’s hard to disagree. They may well serve a purpose, but, as we discuss this further, we both come to the logical conclusion that today the money comes from performing not selling records. “If I was just running a label I wouldn’t be too happy about the fact that things are like this now. But from an artist’s perspective it’s just the way things work now and you just have to accept it. It’s only really through the kindness of people’s hearts that anyone makes any money from selling music today. It’s all there for free if you want it already, and it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that sooner or later all music will be free.” While dubstep’s popularity has its downsides, it’s also brought increased sales and recognition. This in turn translates into more labels and more music being released, but for the bigger, longer standing labels it was never about the money in the first place, even if it’s satisfying to know that “people can make a living out of it now,” as Paul puts it. “If I wanted to make money I wouldn’t be doing music. I went to university and had ‘proper’ jobs, but it’s not for me.”

With Paul’s new-found comfort in his productions and music has also come a new-found clarity about the label’s direction, or as he puts it “how I want to do it.” Part of this new way of doing things involves a slowdown in releases. A few singles, including a split 12” from 2562 and TRG, Scuba’s album and some free mix downloads are all planned up until June. The mixes are a thank you of sorts to those who buy records and legal files: “if you reach out to people on one level hopefully they will return the favour,” as Paul puts it. They will come in high quality, complete with artwork, just like a mix CD. First up is Vaccine, whose announced album for the label is now unconfirmed but whose mixing skills are undoubted. After June, Paul wants to give the label a break for a while and concentrate on his music. What happens after that is undecided, though he says that he wants his next album ready by summer 2009, whether or not it gets released on his label. Going back to the new reality of where money comes from in music today, Paul is also contemplating taking his music live to the stage, though talking about it is a lot easier than making it reality as far as he’s concerned. “I wouldn’t want to do just a laptop set, I’d want a live show to be more than that. And even though I play the guitar, I wouldn’t necessarily want to incorporate that into it either. I’d rather get more live percussive elements into it, get a sort of jam thing going on.” Thinking about the few live shows that exist at the moment in the scene, what Paul has in mind could well include other people, if it wasn’t for one thing: “I’m not a very good collaborator to be honest. But it would be difficult to do what I’ve got in mind solo, so we’ll have to see…”

As for dubstep, beyond an interest in the minimal-influenced productions and the recent resurgence of garage elements, such as 2-step, it seems Paul’s opinion is the same as it was two years ago. “The best and worst thing to happen to dubstep was the music catching on. I just wish more DJs would be experimental with what they play. It’s not just the crowds who are to blame for formulaic music. What’s happened to the music is quite predictable. When something becomes popular, people put it in a box and then that’s what it is. What was exciting about dubstep is that it was quite a broad, open-minded thing.”

It may have taken Paul Rose two years to figure out a fresh, new approach to making and spreading music, but as they say, good things come to those who wait.

 Scuba’s debut album, A Mutual Antipathy is out now on Hotflush. The first mix in Hotflush’s new free series from Vaccine is also just out; the second will be by Scuba. The split single from TRG and 2562 is out on May 12. A shortened version of this article was recently published in Spain's Serie B magazine.