James Hancock, an electronic music producer from the United Kingdom known as RUBIX / Grace Bones and as one-half of the group Digital Analog Hotel, moved to Santa Barbara almost two months ago, delivering his own style of house music to California. “The U.K. is a melting pot of amazing music,” said Hancock in a recent interview. “[It’s] very cutting edge and I want to bring that sound to Santa Barbara.”
Before the move, Hancock was calling Hollywood his temporary home. “I came over to L.A. to work with a record label and work on pushing the house sound of the U.K.,” he explained. “After a few months of COVID, I decided to get out of the L.A. area.” He hails Santa Barbara’s atmosphere as complementary to his active lifestyle, as well as a “great place to get inspired to produce.”
Hancock quickly established a regular gig at the Backstage Kitchen & Bar. Every Friday from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a..m, Santa Barbara residents could catch Hancock at Backstage’s “House of Chic” outdoor events. The venue had started shows in compliance with requirements put forth by health officials, but the shows are now shut down due to the latest shelter-in-place order.