We often talk about subliminal messaging and its quiet influence on how we live, think, and perceive the world around us. But instead of coded messages, imagine someone infusing the most blissful melodies directly into your subconscious, especially if your mind is tuned, even just a little, to the tone of drum & bass. This is the powerful, gentle magic Alex Cobe, better known as Sub:liminal, delivers with his music.
Sub:liminal goes well beyond the simple act of making lush soundscapes. Thanks to his delicate sense of emotional awareness that he channels in his productions, Sub:liminal has become one of Romania’s important names in electronic, propelling him to the role as one of the flagbearers of his country’s flourishing drum & bass landscape; someone you can bank on to deliver drum & bass designed to connect human sentiment to rhythm.
His dedication and vision shine through a steady output of releases on respected labels like Fokuz Recordings, Pilot, Galacy, Four Corners Music, and Vandal Records, where he has stopped at nothing to communicate directly with the listener’s inner self, offering warmth and solace through his trademark sound.
This devotion and consistency led to one of his biggest milestones yet: a debut on Hospital Records. Appearing on the Hospital x Quite Lucky – Echoes compilation, Sub:liminal stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the genre’s most celebrated artists like Unglued, Flava D, Degs, Hugh Hardie, and Charlotte X, as well as an exciting wave of emerging Romanian talent including Blocksberg, Azotix, and soulDR!P.
Among the standout tracks, ‘No More Excuses’, featuring Degs, Hugh Hardie, and Blocksberg, and the Flava D collaboration ‘Cling’, showcase Sub:liminal’s penchant for emotionally charged songwriting, powerful vocal lines, signature delicate melodies that are a feature of his music.
Sub:liminal’s focus has always been on delivering music with heart, and if you are into something like that, he has releases lined up on Fokuz Recordings, Vandal Records, Galacy Records and tons more for you to dig into.
Also, with the surge of Romanian talent steadily marking its footprint in the wider drum & bass scene, there couldn’t be a better time to sit down with Sub:liminal and chat with him about his journey, explore the making of Echoes, and understand how Romania’s growing drum & bass community is shaping itself for a meaningful, lasting impact in the years to come.
How life been recently both personally and musically?
It’s been interesting both personally and musically. I’m an architect as a day job and also trying to finish my PhD right now and these two overlapped a bit more than before. The summer of 2025 was hitting hard with work in the office, and now it’s starting to slowly relax. Musically speaking I’ve been sitting on a lot of music recently. Right now, I have16-17 tunes in the works or maybe more I reckon. Some of them are finished, some of them are still a work in progress but I’m not rushing anything at all. Good music takes time, you know? I find autumns and winters more productive at least for me in the studio and when the summer is hitting hard the festival season pops in and amazing gigs in between plus I always take one of my annual leaves during the summer so yeah.
Were there any standout moments last year that really shaped your journey as an artist?
There are quite a few to be honest. I have played some wicked gigs this year and they keep coming. We did the first Vandal Records night here in Romania with Monty and SKS at Escape Venue in Timisoara. I’ve played before Grafix in Bucharest. I have also played at Quite Lucky Hospitality Takeover at Electric Castle this year alongside Flava D, Hugh Hardie, Voltage, Azotix, Scatterbrain and PVC. What a day it was! I released my debut EP on Galacy and a 2-track single on Vandal Records. It really was an exciting year for me to be honest.
How would you say your sound has evolved? Are there specific creative risks you’ve taken that have paid off?
I have tried a lot of new things recently, especially on the drums. I’m always keen to learn new things, so this was one of those things I tried to focus more on recently. I’m also working on a 140 EP which is still a work in progress and I would love to release it in the future. It’s a lot of fun to try new things so I always wanted to make a 140 EP. Now there it is and first sketches or tracks have started to come in really nicely and I feel I wanna do that more often. The challenge right now is to finish a full 140 EP and to try to release it sometime in the future. When I’m in the studio to be honest I always make what I feel when I’m there at that moment.
Has your approach to production changed either technically or creatively this year, compared to when you first started?
I would say a little bit, yes. As I have mentioned earlier from time to time, I’m always keen to learn new things and exploring new ways to make music. For example, the 140 EP was in my head for a long time now but I wasn’t actually trying to do it before recently like this year’s spring. And I could say the vibe of that on the first try went deep actually and might be one of my first attempts to try to use more 808 basses and a bit of grit in that. Just speaking about this makes me really impatient to show these tracks to the world. Not rushing anything at all but fingers crossed it will happen soon.
You recently took part in the Hospital Records production camp. What was that experience like?
The Echoes writing camp which was a collaboration between Quite Lucky and Hospital Records happened last year in Viscri, Romania. It was one of the best experiences I ever had. Musically speaking it is the best experience I’ve ever had to be honest. I am still processing it and still buzzing after this one. I’m super grateful that I have got to be there. I have never written so much music in a week before. The environment is from the books and the inspiration really clicks there. The way you relate to nature and at the same time you just get disconnected from everything and just make music. I think the power of collaboration is amazing. I always loved to collaborate with artists and vocalists and I always wanted to see how it feels to do it live when you are there and everyone is in the same place. Just speaking about this gives me goosebumps.
Were there any key takeaways or new perspectives you gained from working in that environment alongside other producers?
I have learned so many new things there that I’m using right now in my productions. For example, on one of the tracks which is titled ‘No More Excuses’, me and Hugh Hardie tried to write an instrumental on an idea written by Blocksberg, who is one of my favourite vocalists right now. Then Degs jumped on it later and we wrote the core of this tune’s idea on the first day of the camp. Just being there in the same room with so many talented producers and vocalists it is a dream that I always had. I really can’t wait to share what we did there with you all!
What can you tell us about your upcoming releases without giving too much away?
The Hospital x Quite Lucky ‘Echoes’ VA is already out in full since October last year. I do have two collaborations inside – ‘No More Excuses’ with Hugh Hardie and Degs & Blocksberg on vocal duties and ‘Cling’ which is a collaboration I’ve made with Flava D and Charlotte X. But there are loads of things locked in for this year: a remix I did for Marble Elephant, a tracks EP on Galacy, 2 singles on Vandal Records and a single on Pilot titled ‘En Busca del Sol’ with more things locked in the pipe. Super excited for these tracks and I can’t wait to share them with you all!
Are there any collaborations in the pipeline that you’re particularly excited about?
Yes! For sure these ones that came out last year. I’m really excited about these! I’m always keen about the collaborations I’m working on or I have been working on. I have lots of tunes in the works right now and exciting collabs in the works that are finished or need to be finished. I have more stuff in the works with Tempza, Syren Rivers, Indigo Reign and Kinsella just to name a few. I made some new tracks with Aaron Payne, Phrase, Hiraeth, SoulDR!P and Scatterbrain which required more work to finish them.
How do these new tracks represent your artistic evolution compared to your earlier work?
I think all the new things I have been learning recently are something that helped me get better. We learn new things everyday so I think it’s really important to watch tutorials from time to time or if you get the chance to sit with talented producers and vocalists in the same room working together and I think learning new things from each of them is something that can help you a lot. Sometimes I just listen back to some of my earlier work and to be honest I can’t believe I did that but in a good way. I’m not too harsh with myself because I realise evolution and experience comes with a lot of time and hard work.
How do you stay connected to the emotional core of your music while navigating the business side of being an artist?
Honestly, I was always on the spiritual side of things. But I think it’s important to get paid for your work no matter what. I try to keep things fair and square for the places I am booked to play a gig at – whether it is a festival or a club venue – I really think artists need to be paid for their work. I just make and play music because I love it. It’s a part of me and sometimes it’s hard to separate the emotional side with the business side of it.
Romania has been gaining recognition for its festival scene and drum & bass culture – what’s your perspective on this rise?
I think it’s amazing to be honest. The scene has been growing and evolving so much in the past years that looking back till today it’s mad to see it. I think Romania has always had a solid drum & bass scene ever since back in the late 90s. The rise of it has been constant and it can be seen throughout the years to be honest. We have so many talented producers and vocalists that are making waves in the scene right now that are gaining some serious recognition: Blocksberg, Azotix, Yoshuu, kVR, Bogdvn, Rezilient, Scatterbrain, SoulDR!P, Resurgence and Nelu just to name a few. It’s amazing to see all these talented people gaining wide recognition and support worldwide.
How do you think Romanian festivals are contributing to the global drum & bass movement?
I started to see more people interested in coming to festivals in Romania hosting drum & bass takeovers and line-ups. I really think this is a huge thing in my opinion. Just imagine people traveling from different parts of the world to the festivals in Romania to see drum & bass artists playing is already contributing to the global drum & bass movement. I think we have a pretty solid scene here that’s all I can say
Have you noticed changes in how Romanian audiences are receiving drum & bass compared to a few years ago?
I have been a promoter in my hometown between 2014 and 2023. I started to see more and more people being interested in drum & bass especially after COVID, I have seen so many new faces at my events that I haven’t seen before and some of those people came to tell me that they have discovered drum & bass during the lockdown. I have seen it’s been a phenomenon happening here in Romania and that was happening in different cities here back then.
What does success mean to you at this stage of your career?
The fact that I’m having all these forthcoming releases and gigs that are locking in every year is a reason to be grateful for every day. Doing this for me it’s already living the success. I’m super grateful for all the labels I’m working with and for all the beautiful people I have met in this journey.
If you could describe your artistic journey so far in three words, what would they be?
Never give up!
