Doctor P and Flux Pavilion on Forging a Path Through Friendship and Dubstep

Modern dubstep pioneers Doctor P and Flux Pavilion stopped by to discuss their first joint album, a new milestone in their longstanding friendship.

When thinking of prolific pioneers in the dubstep scene, Doctor P and Flux Pavilion quickly come to mind. Gaining momentum from their respective releases “Sweet Shop” and “I Can’t Stop” in 2010, the producers quickly became an international success, thanks in part to their playful energy and signature wobble sound. Hailing from the UK, the childhood friends had no clue they would become a defining force as dubstep crossed over into the mainstream.

For years, the two British titans have produced forward-thinking tracks, pushing the envelope with their ever-evolving sound. Working together through various collaborations and their record label, Circus Records, the pair’s careers have become intertwined. While their fearless friendship and adventurous production styles have united them, Doctor P and Flux Pavilion had yet to release a full-length collaboration.

The long-awaited self-titled album marks a milestone in their more than 20-year friendship. Their debut studio album features a whopping 15-tracks that teeter on the line of nostalgia. Celebrating the joy in everyday life, the collaborative work of art aptly encapsulates the history between the pair. At the same time, it showcases their knack for constructing progressive music reflective of their individual growth as artists.

In our exclusive interview, we caught up with Doctor P and Flux Pavilion to chat about their new album, the landscape of the dubstep scene, and their exclusive Ultra Music Festival performance.

Read on for the full interview with Doctor P and Flux Pavilion, and be sure to stream their new self-titled album on your streaming service of choice.

As pioneers of the modern dubstep sound, how has the landscape of the scene evolved since the beginning of your respective careers?

Flux Pavilion: I’m not sure if other scenes are the same, but it changes so quickly! A lot of people focus on differences, but there is something in the scene that I think has always remained, and that’s a highly creative attitude. There is A LOT more music to go through than there was when we started. There are a few copy-and-paste tunes to wade through, but at its core, the most innovative and creative dance music I’ve ever heard is coming from the dubstep scene.

Doctor P: The scene has continued to grow bigger and bigger, year after year. Even though dubstep fell out of the mainstream commercial world, it’s continued to grow in size and scope. The scene has branched and evolved so much. There are so many different subgenres now, like colour bass, riddim, and the newer 140 style. I remember back in 2010, people kept telling me that dubstep was dead, but it feels like it’s just gone from strength to strength since then.

Since its inception in 2009, your joint venture, Circus Records, has been on the forefront of independent bass music. In what ways has the label influenced your growth as artists?

FP: It afforded us a lot of freedoms in the early days that I think were fundamental to our work. By having a sonic space that was ours, we could swerve expectations a little more and be creative without having to answer for ourselves.

DP: Having the label has kept me connected to the scene in a much deeper way. I’m aware of so many up-and-coming artists as a result of running Circus Records. It makes me feel like I’m part of the scene, rather than just being a solo artist.

You’ve been business partners for over 15 years, yet the self-titled album marks your first full-length collaborative project. How did the idea for an album come about?

FP: I definitely strong-armed it into existence. Shaun and I worked on “247” for my Fluxiverse EP, and something in how easily that track came together made me remember how well we worked together. I pretty much woke up with a vision for the album and told Shaun it’s what we were going to do for the next 18 months [laughs].

DP: I was feeling a little lost creatively, so the idea of doing a bigger project like an album really appealed to me when Josh suggested it. Working alone as a producer can be difficult and, frankly, sometimes a little boring. Sitting in the studio alone doesn’t always feel inspiring, so working on a big project like this with another person was very much needed.

Doctor P previously mentioned that this record was created in the spirit of “not caring what people think of the music, just doing it.” In an era where many producers are chasing fleeting trends, how did you stay true to your sound while creating a body of work reflective of your journeys in music?

FP: I guess my work has always been feeling based. If it feels good, then it is good. That doesn’t necessarily rip you away from modern culture because often trends feel good, too. If you are trusting your gut, then it gives you the final word. I’ve always believed that my sound isn’t a sound, it’s just a feeling I like my music to have.

DP: As a musical style becomes more established, I think the variety in the music can start to fade, and things start to feel a little homogenized. We wanted to break out of that and create something that felt fun and new, while still staying true to the conventions of the genre. We didn’t think too much about what that meant logistically, we just created music with that seed of an idea in the back of our minds.

Leading up to your debut album, you’ve released a slew of singles, including “Turbo Time” and “Wasabi.” With 15 tracks on the album, what factors made you decide which would be dropped as singles ahead of the official release date?

FP: We rented the main room at Ten87 Studios in Tottenham with the team and listened to all 27 ideas back to back in one day, letting the tracks choose themselves in that space. We wanted the campaign to feel kinda’ like that studio session, where we are just showing people music that we’re excited about.

DP: We decided to do seven singles spaced one week apart. Rather than being traditional singles, they just built up to the release of the album. We tried to pick songs that felt like a nice variety of music, representing all the different styles on the album. The individual pieces of artwork for each single were also a big part of the idea behind doing singles.

Each single’s artwork features colorful, zany characters hand drawn by Doctor P. What led to the decision to create the artwork yourself?

FP: The idea of trying to explain what we wanted was just not an option, because what we wanted was so vague other than that it “has to feel like us.” The whole process was one of us trying to have people understand what we think about our music and the space that it lives in. I think it always had to be homemade for it to work.

DP: The weird drawings have always been part of our friendship. When we were teenagers, we used to have band practices in my garden shed and would draw weird pictures on the walls. Channeling that art style seemed like the perfect way to visually represent the album.

“Fluffy Cowboy” is reminiscent of early 2010s dubstep with a fresh, innovative spin. To what extent did your early works influence the production on this project?

FP: I remember hearing somewhere that creativity and analysis are two different processes that should be kept separate, so I always try to avoid any sort of analysis while I’m working on a song. So we didn’t deliberately try to take influence from early dubstep while working on the song. I think it just happens quite organically as we take influence from all the music we like.

FP: In the ideas stage, we probably had somewhere between 50-60 sketches in a folder. I would keep zoning in on the ones that felt the most exciting, and it felt like we had a huge mass of creative slop I was constantly editing down. I honestly didn’t think about it too much, just chose the ideas that felt fun and interesting.

In celebration of this monumental album, you’re set to perform a back-to-back at this year’s Ultra Music Festival in Miami. What should fans anticipate from your performance? Are there plans for additional shows together in the future?

DP: We’ve got a great set planned. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been to Ultra, so I’m really excited for it.

FP: I’m in Miami right now with my setlist open that I keep tinkering with. The idea is to give a quintessential Doctor P and Flux Pavilion experience to everyone who comes to see it. There are definitely more shows planned for the future.