It’s an exceptional return for Jonas Briere, known to fans as Submarine.
The Runna EP is a big statement for the Berlin-based producer. Emerging from a break in releases – and from one of the more dark periods in his life – he sees this project as a weight lifting. It’s a new chapter for his career, as well as for himself personally.
The tracks haven’t arrived out of the blue though. Teased sparingly across sets from a few hand-picked DJs, they’ve been building a reputation for a few years – with fans chasing the identification well before it became known they belonged to the 1985 Music mainstay.
‘Something Special’ has to be the first mentioned – an outstanding track with a rich story of inspiration beneath it. Briere draws from a golden era of soulful drum & bass, when his label boss (Alix Perez) was first starting to put out his own future classics like ‘Forsaken’ (with SpectraSoul) or ‘Maiden’ (with Ivy Lab).
‘Grounding’ gives a similar feel – confirming the Colognian’s ear for writing liquid drum & bass with a veteran prowess. But he’s not just a one-dimensional man. Title track ‘Runna’ goes in heavy contrast – as twisted, dark bass weaves between aggressive thumps and snaps. Then finally, ‘List Of Issues’ goes way out left – scatty breaks and eerie atmospheres complete the EP with a foray into jungle.
After such a strong return, UKF reached out to Jonas to check in on the stories behind the Runna EP…
Last time UKF spoke to you was back in 2018. A lot’s changed since then. What’s happened in your life since those early releases?
A lot, actually. Back then my first EP was on 1985 Music, which was a huge blessing. I was really young, and it felt crazy to have a project on one of the biggest labels I could imagine. At the time, I was also promoting nights in my hometown, Cologne. It was a small club, maybe 250 cap, but we had some of the best sessions there. We booked artists like Alix Perez and Calibre, and I met loads of people through that time who later became friends – guys like QZB, Scepticz, M-Zine.
After that I worked on the Fate EP (another 1985 Music EP), finished my studies as an audio engineer, and then during COVID I finally moved to Berlin. That had actually been the plan for a couple of years already, but life and COVID messed things up a little.
What was that move like?
It was strange because Berlin was completely shut down. I remember doing my uni exam during COVID and we had to put condoms over the microphones for hygiene protection. We were only allowed a couple of people in the studio. It was kind of a grim time.
When I got to Berlin, all the studios were closed, or at least not looking for new people, so I had to rethink everything. I ended up working in elderly care – basically like a nurse for elderly people – for about a year and a half.
That must have been intense?
Yeah, it was a really heavy experience. I’d never been that close to death before. Suddenly I was around people who were very sick, very old, unable to move, sometimes just lying there staring at the wall. I had to wake up at 3am for shifts and really push myself. It was tough, but it changed a lot in me. It changed how I think about death, about life, about what really matters. I kind of grew up through that period. It gave me a stronger sense that life is short, and that in a way, nothing is too serious.
After that, once COVID had eased off a bit, I started working in audio properly. I got a job at a dubbing studio, doing German documentaries, films and series, and I ended up becoming Head Of Audio there. I did that for around two years.
And that was around the time of the XIII EP?
Yeah, around then. There were a couple of remixes too, but that and then the Mask Off EP were the last big projects before this one [Runna EP]
The problem was that life in Berlin changed massively after COVID. During lockdown it was quiet and calm, and I actually really enjoyed that. But afterwards the city got crowded again, tourists came back, parties started again – it became stressful. I was also working full-time in this dubbing studio under pretty bad conditions. I was doing loads of extra hours, the colleagues weren’t great with me, and I’d spend nine hours a day sitting alone in one room, barely talking to anyone.
After two years of that, everything collapsed a bit. I burned out completely.
A bit of a dark time to remember?
Yeah. That was when I realised I really had to change something. I had no stability apart from a handful of people in a city that wasn’t my hometown, and I’d already had to distance myself from Cologne – for private reasons. Moving away had actually been one of the most important steps I ever took, because it finally forced me to concentrate on myself.
At that point I had to deal with everything that had happened in the previous 29 years of my life. So I started therapy. Then antidepressants. And honestly, for about a year, I was completely out of it.
This was around 2024?
Yes. I had panic attacks, depression, and socially I was completely off. I was stuck in my own head. I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t feel joy anymore. There was a lot from my childhood that I’d never really dealt with, and it took me way too long to finally take that step and try to fix things for myself.
I tried to get into a clinic, but the waiting times around Berlin were insane. I waited something like 12 months to finally be seen. Eventually I got into a full-time clinic and stayed there for three months.
Did that help?
A lot. Really a lot. Just being away from my normal surroundings and being somewhere where everyone was struggling with something, and where the focus was fully on getting better – that was a really important experience. It helped me become stable again and get back on my feet.
After that, I slowly started coming back to music.
You actually mentioned you made a whole album in the clinic.
Yeah, I did – but I’ll never release it. That one’s a secret.
What does it sound like?
Totally different. Kind of lo-fi garage, ambient stuff, maybe some drum & bass, but more in a Homemade Weapons sort of half-time direction. Very different to what people expect from me.
More importantly, I took about a full year off from music mentally, and that was one of the best decisions I could have made. There’s always pressure to make music, to be creative, to keep going – and for once I had to tell myself, no, I don’t have to be creative right now. I just have to focus on myself.
So when did the Runna EP start to take shape?
I think while I was still on antidepressants, I made most of the EP. I had so much time and I was just at home making music. ‘List Of Issues’ was actually one of the first tunes I made for it – that was kind of the kickoff point for the whole project.
There’s one memory I really connect to that period. I went to the 1985 night at the Roundhouse, and I remember Alix playing ‘List Of Issues’ for the first time. But during the event I got a panic attack. There were too many people, too much stimulation. I had to go and sit up high in the seating area and basically watch the whole night like it was a film. That tune is tied to that whole period for me.
How about ‘Something Special’ – incredibly sought after tune – what’s the backstory?
At that time, my girlfriend was helping me a lot. I was in a very melancholic place when I wrote that tune, and when I showed it to her, I basically said, “This is for you”.
The EP as a whole is about letting go of that whole period in my life. It’s like finally closing that chapter and sharing it. Exposing something from inside me through music. Because art and life are very connected for me, releasing it feels like a kind of freedom.
I was listening to your SWU FM show and you mentioned ‘Something Special’ was heavily inspired by Alix Perez & SpectraSoul’s ‘Forsaken’.
Yeah, 100%. That was really the reference point. That whole era – artists like Alix, dBridge, SpectraSoul – they made these completely timeless tunes. I feel like that sound kind of stopped because everybody wanted to push sound design further and make everything more technical, but actually it’s often the simpler ideas that stay with you.
With ‘Something Special’, I really wanted that aesthetic. I think it started with the drums. Originally I was going for something more Skeptical, quite tight and minimal, but then I added a big reverb to the drum bus and suddenly it completely changed the vibe. In that moment I realised, okay – this is the aesthetic I’ve been craving for a long time.
This was before the piano and vocal were added?
Yes. After the drums I found the piano loop, chopped and stretched it, and built the tune around that. The vocal came much later. I tried loads of different acapellas for maybe a week, but when I found that one, it just fit perfectly. Then I knew that was it.
And ‘Grounding’ feels like another long-awaited one, and gives a similarly soulful vibe.
Yeah, but Grounding was a lot more technical actually. More clinical in a way. I was really inspired by Ivy Lab, Halogenix, that kind of sound – very clean, reduced, with just a handful of frequencies doing the emotional work.
I used this plugin on the chords where, when you release the notes, you hear little incidental sounds – floor squeaks, the piano hammer clonking, bits of the room. I layered some of that in to make it feel more human. Even if you don’t consciously recognise it, it adds something organic and imperfect.
So ‘Something Special’ got the soul from a sample, whereas with ‘Grounding’ you built that soul right in the DAW?
Exactly. ‘Grounding’ was very technical to make, but I like that contrast – something clinical and warm at the same time. That balance is hard. If you get too stuck in, you can lose creativity. So a lot of the process is working on a tune for hours, leaving it, coming back months later, focusing on drums one day and mood the next. It’s never like I sit down once and the tune is done.
That contrast really comes through on the EP generally. You’ve got the soulful liquid-minimal side, but then tunes like ‘Runna’ and ‘List Of Issues’ stretch into heavier and jungle territory. Was that range intentional?
Yeah, definitely. I’m a versatile producer and I want that to show. I never wanted to be just one guy making one specific sound. Alix [Perez] also tends to curate my releases that way – because I make such different stuff, he looks for a palette of styles and skills.
That’s exactly what I want too. I want to show range. I love early-2000s techstep, I love deep drum & bass, liquid, jungle – I don’t really want limitations on what comes out of me. So a project like this is a good way to reflect that.
Does that make things harder in some ways – especially when it comes to promoters or labels trying to pin you down?
Maybe, yeah. It’s probably harder for people to categorise me. I’m not the guy who only makes deep drum & bass or only one specific style. But that’s just who I am creatively.
And to be honest, there’s even more variation coming this year. I said on Instagram that I want to release a lot of the music I’ve got sitting around, and I think that will make the overall picture even broader. I’ve got a lot of music that doesn’t necessarily fit one label, and I want people to hear that diversity.
So what else is coming in 2026?
I started my own label, which is still very low-key at the moment, but after this EP I want to get back to that and build a proper schedule for the rest of the year.
Gig-wise, I’ve got a few nice ones – a big one in Bristol for 1985. And festival season is starting where I have a few cool bookings. It’s not too busy though, if I’m honest. I wish it was more.
I think because I work in the industry as well, I see how hard things are right now. Especially in the UK, promoters don’t always see the value in bringing European artists over when there are already so many strong UK artists. That’s fair enough, but it does make things tricky. Most of my bookings are in Germany, Austria, Poland, places around Germany basically.
I’d love to tour Australia and New Zealand one day. Hopefully that happens, maybe next year, but nothing’s planned so far.
Has your relationship with music changed after going through everything you described?
Sometimes I think so. I still criticise myself way too much. But then there are moments where I’m like, no one cares – it’s just music – and I can actually enjoy it again. It really depends on my mood.
Sometimes I still feel like I need to be in a dark or depressive state to create emotional music, but I don’t know if that’s actually true, or if I just got used to working that way because I was in that place for so long. I’m still figuring that out.
When I listen back to this EP now, I genuinely think, how the f*** did I do this? I can’t exactly reconstruct the mindset I was in or recreate that situation. But I’m also optimistic. I don’t need to remake the past. Something new will come. I’m trying to focus on the future and let things happen.
And where are you at mentally now?
I’m still working on myself. That journey’s not over – I think it’s a lifelong thing, trying to figure out who I am and how to be the best version of myself. But I’m in a better place, and I’m trying to keep music fun. That’s important.
If there’s one feeling you want people to take away from the EP, what would it be?
There’s a lot of anger in it. ‘List Of Issues’, for example, has this aggression in it – it’s nostalgic, but aggressive at the same time. ‘Grounding’ is very melancholic, and so is ‘Something Special’. Then ‘Runna’ is like the party tune. So it’s got different vibes throughout, the same as how life goes!
