Halflife is the new collaboration between pioneering bass music producer Distance, and rapper/actor/musician Riz Ahmed/Riz MC. ‘Subtle’ is the British duo’s debut track together, and the brand new video for that track can be watched below.

The track beautifully blends Riz’s incredible lyricism with Distance’s low rumbling beats and soaring soundscape to create a timeless track reminiscent of early Massive Attack soundclashing Boards Of Canada.

Distance is an underground ‘legend’ (not a term used lightly) in bass music, releasing seminal tracks before the term “dubstep” was even born. His classic ‘My Demons‘ is still a landmark of the genre and he tours globally to fans of his trademark bass weight crisp production. He is also the founder of Chestplate Records. 

Riz MC has a rich musical history that has seen him win rap battles, release music on techno label Crosstown Rebels, and record with the likes of Nitin Sawhney and Plan B. He gained major critical acclaim for his debut album ‘MICroscope’ and its unconventional live show. He is also known as a film actor (iLL Manors, Four Lions and now co star in Jake Gyllenhall’s Nightcrawlers). 

The pair came together when Distance was asked produce some tracks for Riz’s second album and they ended up finding a sound which unified them as an act. The forthcoming album deals with issues around modern love, told through the story of a break-up, set against a unique, futuristic, bass driven soundtrack…

On ‘Subtle’, the pair said “Subtle is a song about love in the digital age – we have instant access to everyone but still don’t feel connected. The song’s about the difficulty of trying to get over an old flame when you can binge on nostalgia so easily now, scrolling through photos, emails, or Facebook profile. It’s much easier for the memories to haunt us, cos they don’t fade and they’re always in our pocket.”



On the video for “Subtle”, Riz said “I shot the video on a 7 hour drive up the coast of California from LA to Big Sur. I just strapped a go-pro to the car and didn’t stop. I needed to clear my head, but the open road can bring up a lot of ghosts. I wanted the video to share that feeling in a visceral way. So I mixed it with footage of Skype conversations I’d had with a girl. DNR films overlaid it all, edited it and pulled it all together.”




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