Sub Urban | Get It While You Can

REESE COOPER jacket, shirt, pants, and shoes.

Sub Urban sits in an otherworldly time period where technology hasn’t yet ruled the world. Surrounded by the convergence of Alice in Wonderland and the Victorian era, the 21-year-old, known to his birth certificate as Daniel Maisonneuve, meticulously crafts his sonic universe. The artist got his big break after his song “Cradles” went viral on TikTok. He attributes the success of the track to his past in EDM music and considering the basic formula behind these hits—arpeggiated drops with fat bass, paired with whispered lyrics for a nice punch. “‘Cradles’ was essentially a pioneer and what people branded as TikTok music,” Sub Urban shares. “I’m incredibly honored to be one of the forefronts of that sort of musical movement.”

SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO coat, cardigan, top, pants, shoes, and belt. 

SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO coat, cardigan, top, pants, and belt. 

Sub Urban feels as though he has made all the mistakes he can make as a young artist, and he hopes to redeem himself with music he knows he’s capable of producing. “I’m grateful for the past year being a blank slate for most people,” he considers, “because I’ve been able to reflect and create music more acutely—to really develop a cohesive style that I feel like is reminiscent of what those songs had that I was lacking in my older production days.”

MICHAEL KORS COLLECTION jacket, sweater, and pants and GENTLE MONSTER glasses. 

MICHAEL KORS COLLECTION jacket, sweater, and pants, GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI shoes, DAVID YURMAN ring, GENTLE MONSTER glasses, and talent’s own bag.

Describing himself as a “passionate idiot,” Sub Urban’s commitment to the quality and artistry of his projects is apparent, but it hasn’t always been easy. “With [Thrill Seeker], it’s all songs that I made when I was 15 to 18,” he shares. “I’m 21 now, and I don’t connect to those songs anymore. It’s just very angsty and childish in a lot of ways... Back when I dropped out of high school, I was going through a lot of mental challenges. I ended up releasing all of that in 2020. Five years have passed since I made some of those, and it was a wake up call.”

PRADA coats, shirt, pants, and shoes.

PRADA coats and shirt.

While his new style will include both Spanish and hyperpop influences, Sub Urban plans to venture into utilizing more classical and nylon guitars, as well as nods to artists Suicideboys and Ghostmane with airy falsettos and deep, crunched vocals. “I just hope that my upcoming tour is like the window to production and creativity beyond the world that I’m currently sitting in,” he shares. “I definitely feel confident that I can do a production style in any lane and credibly better than a lot of the people within those. I feel like I’ve actually really had to play the game of attrition, with holding myself back from venturing, just because I have to stay consistent with the style so I can be recognized.”

DEATH TO TENNIS jacket and JORDANLUCA vest.

Sub Urban was the creative director for TikTok star Bella Poarch’s “Build a Bitch” music video, which premiered in May. Sub Urban recalls, “Poarch told me while she was in the Navy... deployed out in Japan, her and her friends would be zooming down the highway blasting ‘Cradles’ and they’d be like, ‘Oh my God, we have to go to Sub Urban’s concert. It blows my mind.” While the excitement to be back in front of an audience is palpable, the stage fright is ever present. “The stupidest thing is it’s a build up thing,” Sub Urban concludes. “But I definitely need this to progress as an artist. I feel like now more than ever, my curiosity is blossoming within every stage of art and conversation... Touring is definitely the gateway to the first step at least, to actually experiencing life while I’m here.”

BOSS jacket and sweater.

Photographer: Andi Elloway
Stylist: Jenny Haapala
Groomer: Alyssa Fall
Stylist Assistant: Gabrielle Ram
Written by: Lauren Castro