From Promoting to Producing, Subcentral Studio Mixes More than Just Music
Image courtesy of Subcentral Studio
When you hear the phrase “the heart and soul of Cambridge,” it’s hard to imagine any area besides Central Square. Home to mom-and-pop shops and artwork that transforms mundane structures into reimagined canvases, the vibrant neighborhood is defined by its community and culture. The futuristic, glass-walled businesses tucked between 1800s brownstones represent the industrial aspects of this community that are essential to Cambridge’s character and college population. Inspired by the harmonious intersection of technology and multicultural expression in this area, Derek Haddad, Kristina Khan, Victor Marreiro, and Jose Zamora could think of no place better than Central Square to open Subcentral.
“What we’re [Subcentral] trying to do is a little bit of what we see around Central Square culturally, visually, but also with a little mixture of the techy side of MIT that’s nearby too,” Marreiro, a marketing coordinator, DJ instructor, and co-founder of Subcentral, shared over Zoom.
Zamora also emphasized how his Mexican-French heritage played a large role in his personal connection to Subcentral’s location.
“In France, electronic music is part of everything,” Zamora described in a phone interview. “When I moved to Boston, I realized here it was a little bit smaller. The first time I went to Central Square, I saw all these places that are constantly playing electronic music. It reminded me of Europe, and it made me really happy. During the Trump era, as a Mexican and also as an immigrant, it was really refreshing to be in a place where I felt safe [and] where I felt that there were other people like me. I promised myself that one day if I opened up something related to music, it would be in this area because it has given me so much over the years.”
Located at 645 Massachusetts Avenue, Subcentral is a creative epicenter for local artists looking to showcase their work and/or expand their DJing, VJing, and music production skills. Before Subcentral was born, Zamora founded Infra, which is a Boston-based underground techno collective highlighting prominent international DJs. Acknowledging that the foundation of Infra’s industry was created on the backs of Black and Queer folks, the collective is dedicated to uplifting underserved communities through collaborations with nonprofit organizations and providing a space for people to gather regardless of race, spiritual orientation, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. Danna Kahn, another marketing coordinator for Subcentral and a recent Emerson alumna, described the diverse crowd that Infra attracted pre-pandemic.
“When I would go, because I used to go a lot, it would be from drag queens to 40-year-old real estate [agents] to 19-year-old Russian girls. People from anywhere and everywhere. It’s a really cool mix. We are all bound together by this love for techno,” said Kahn.
Central Square’s music venues, such as The Phoenix Landing and Middlesex Lounge, were frequent locations for Infra’s events. Although the pandemic forced Infra to adapt from in-person performances to a more digital format, Haddad, Khan, Marreiro, and Zamora saw it as an opportunity to open a cultural center for electronic music arts. The founders transferred Infra’s audience onto Subcentral. Taking the protests of racial injustice that occurred this past summer into consideration, Subcentral decided they wanted to nourish new members with the knowledge of the underground music community’s roots by implementing it into each course’s curriculum.
“The music comes from minorities [who] were excluded from the mainstream. Now, this music is mainstream; a lot of people are profiting not only financially, but also in a spiritual way. Unfortunately, not everyone knows where it comes from. That gave me the idea to not only teach the technical aspect of DJing, but also the history and everything I’ve learned over time. We wanted to make sure that we can give back to everyone that has contributed to us to make this possible.”
Subcentral offers a defining, industry-level studio experience equipped with specialized digital music players known as CDJS, professional-grade mixers, digital audio workstations, drum synthesizers, module synthesizers, and analog-run machines. Subcentral provides group instruction through courses and workshops, ranging from introductory to advanced levels, as well as private lessons; its studios are also available for more experienced students to schedule practice hours. The instructors call on their learned experiences to educate and inform their respective performing arts courses. The DJ and Live Performances classes cover the background of electronic dance music and contemporary practices, familiarize students with basic transitions through beat matching techniques and looping, aid in the transition from using controllers and laptops to CDJs, improve the understanding of the psychology of the dance floor and reading crowds, and focus on improvisation of live electronic music with drum machines and synthesizers. Their music production classes provide the groundwork for developing electronic music using digital audio workstations (DAW) and analog synthesizers. For students looking to gain a solid foundation on the design and execution of their own visuals, Subcentral’s VJ and Production mapping classes utilize softwares like Madmapper for edge animations and Resolume to develop live performance and video sequencing skills.
VJing, which is the creation or manipulation of imagery that is synchronized to music, is only one facet of Subcentral’s artistic vision. Masha Keryan, a Boston-based artist whose work is influenced by her Armenian and Russian upbringing, is Subcentral’s art curator and coordinator. Her “Dancing People” mural is a vibrant, 360-degree piece inspired by the “Dance How We Dance” sliding wall partition she created this past summer. According to Zamora, Keryan plans to collaborate with local artists each month in order to set up in-person exhibits showcasing their work in Subcentral’s space. Subcentral also plans to feature, and hopefully sell, the work of other local artists by displaying it on the walls of their 2200-foot space.
“Mixing art and making something cultural around it makes it easier to explain to other people who don’t necessarily understand that this [electronic music] is also art,” said Zamora.
In-person classes will begin April 5, 2020 with a maximum of four people per course. In accordance with CDC recommendations and Cambridge’s COVID-19 Reopening Guidelines, six-feet of social distancing will be enforced and masks are required at all times. The business will be sanitizing each station and equipment after every use as well as conducting contact tracing for all guests who visit Subcentral. Their main goal is to provide “a fun and memorable — but most importantly, safe — learning experience,” according to a recent Instagram caption.
To promote their business, Subcentral has been building its presence on social media. Their series “Subcentral Instructs” features simple, educational tips for DJs and music producers through Instagram Reels and TikTok videos. Subcentral aims to post on their Instagram three times a week with each post highlighting different information about Central Square and its staff.
Although Subcentral is not currently offering their services virtually, the business is exploring a potential partnership with Cambridge Community TV to teach one or two weekly introductory classes via Zoom, according to Diego Torres, Subcentral’s press liaison. They also hope to install 360-degree cameras in the near future so people can visit the space virtually. Zamora disclosed that the founders are working on coordinating private club nights for local and international DJs to host workshops or play sets as well as offering their space as a venue for community-oriented events once it is safe to do so.
“We’re constantly looking for opportunities to support the surrounding community, whether it’s [through] music, arts, or community development,” Torres said over Zoom.
For more information, to sign up for future courses, or to showcase your artwork, email contacts@subcentral.studio.