SBTRKT

SBTRKT is the London producer, songwriter and musician Aaron Jerome, and the name is the word "subtract" with the vowels knocked out, which is fitting for a man who spent years trying to take himself out of the picture. He performed in masks inspired by ceremonial masks from South America and South Asia and designed by the anonymous "A Hidden Place", so the music would do the talking instead of the face.

The music talked plenty. His self-titled 2011 album, released on Young, carried "Wildfire", a skeletal, bass-heavy post-dubstep strut, and live he worked with Sampha, who sang and played keyboards while Jerome ran synths, drums and programming. BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music both playlisted his records, and he remixed the likes of M.I.A., Radiohead, Basement Jaxx and Underworld.

Wonder Where We Land, in 2014, brought "New Dorp, New York", as jittery and nervy as a city at 3am. In 2016 he announced a 'non album', a rolling stream of songs meant to reach fans faster than album cycles allow, and The Rat Road finally arrived in May 2023, his first album in nine years.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.