Jus Wan has always been a producer we’ve watched. In the same way as DJG he’s been pushing the boundaries and blurring the perception of dubstep music Stateside, releasing music on labels like [nakedlunch], Pushing Red and Appleblim’s Apple Pips imprint. With all his music released to date there’s been a telling level of quality. His frequencies pound and swell in the right manner, his drums trickle like gloopy cough medicine - coming thick and fast with sickly sweet remnants – and his melodies have always backed off enough to allow his rhythm section to dance in the limelight.
After a relatively quiet 2010 he today sent word of a ‘pay-what-you-want’ album project called Miles Away. Something that both excited and saddened us as it came with word that he’s “basically given up writing music, so this is probably my last hurrah so to speak.” Intrigued, we exchanged emails trying to pry without being too intrusive; quizzing him on the 12 track project...
Sonic Router: So what’s the idea behind Miles Away?
Jus Wan: One of the feelings that has inspired me to make music is being miles away from home in some remote place. It's kind of a bittersweet feeling with a mixture of excitement and melancholy. I've tried to evoke that sort of vibe with my tunes.
It was never written as an album right? Do you think it flows as one even tho it wasn’t expressly made that way?
I've had the idea of an album in mind for a while, but I've never really been able to think with that big of a scope when writing tunes. However, I think there is a thread linking them together. Most of these tunes were scheduled for release on various labels but never came out for a number of reasons. I've put them together in as cohesive a manner as I could.
I recently asked DJG the same question when he offered up his ‘Voids’ series but, What makes you want to give these tunes out for free? I mean I know how much time and effort tunes and music in general can take - so why dish them out for nothing? What’s it all in aid of?
For me, it's just wanting to get the music out there. I've recently come to see the light in terms of digital distribution and I like being able to determine how my music is presented. And there's an element of me trying to cut myself lose from music by just putting everything out there and releasing my attachment to it.
You mentioned that it’s kind of like your last hurrah with music. Why so?
It's a long story man, but suffice it to say that I feel like I've said what I had to say creatively. It's been an obsessive thing that sort of took over my life very quickly. I may come back to it someday, but it feels like this is the end of the road for Jus Wan. Thanks for reading!
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You can download the Miles Away project for whatever price you like via the widget below.
DJG has been a great compatriot of the Sonic Router operation since day dot. His words of enthusiasm, encouragement and music (including his contribution to our ongoing mix series) have been a great source of inspiration to us. Its people like him that’ve given us that vital boost when life takes over and post frequency wanes, so when he got in touch to tell us about a unique and innovative project he was pushing, it was our pleasure to be able to reciprocate in the encouragement stakes.
Today his website, djgsound.com, went live with 12 unreleased tracks, bundled as two EPs: Voids One and Voids Two available on a pay what you want, Radiohead style scheme. With the generosity and production levels both riding high we caught up with the man himself to explain, in his own words, the thought process behind his recent actions.
Sonic Router: So... what’s the concept behind the ‘Voids’ series? I mean the name itself suggest kind of a vacumn thats sucked you in...
DJG: Ha! I guess the title came about when I was thinking about where these kinds of tracks belong, and ultimately where my music belongs inside the context of dubstep or whatever genre. Since 2008 I’ve kinda walked this line between wanting to make more personal and experimental music but wanting to retain a dance floor edge, I’ve never really been able to pick one side or the other and I think in many ways this sometimes puts me in a bit of a funny place. My music is not entirely this but not entirely that. It just sort of exists in this void I suppose.
What makes you want to give these tunes out for free? I mean I know how much time and effort tunes and music in general can take - so why dish them out for nothing? What’s it all in aid of?
It honestly is not in aid of anything – I really hate cynicism and I’m not looking for anything in return, I just want the music to be heard and presented in a way that I feel good about. Purely; I had this folder full of songs I just thought man, I don’t know what will become of this stuff unless I do something myself. I just think the music marketplace is such a polarized place these days and I was shuddering at the thought of trying to work with a label to push this stuff in the right way. I’ve had some really positive experiences with record labels, and some where I felt like little care had been given to the release and I just wanted to try it myself I guess. I’d always wanted to give music away, there is something really satisfying about it to me – and I feel good with the way I’ll be doing it by allowing people to pay whatever price they want.
When you release music through a record label there are all these entities between the artist and the listener – the label, the distributor, the store, graphic designers, marketers, press, etc etc. In this case I get to be all of that, and it’s all like a personal adventure.
I had a lot of people tell me that I was crazy to give away so much music, that people look down on things that are free. But I don’t know, I think that’s probably because so much sub-par music is given away for free with very little effort or thought put into it. I hope that people can see I’m not trying to do anything like that.
So they’re not just like unfinished bits or ideas you had lying around on some hard drive someplace?
No; not in the slightest. In fact the majority of these songs have been pulled from various labels and projects over the last three years, for one reason or another. Nearly all of them have been supported by some of the biggest DJs in dubstep. All these songs were written over the last three years, with ‘Doodlebug’ being the oldest (2007) and ‘BC3’ the most recent (about two months ago). These are just songs I still love and feel connected to, and strongly believe in.
You mention that they come in two parts. Can you explain the difference? I mean Part Two definitely seems more melodic in a sense...
Voids One is really for the ravers & the DJs: it represents a sound I pushed hard in the club over the last few years: dark, energetic, techno fused moody rave vibes. Voids Two is more personal, a bit lighter maybe, and closer to my heart.
What else have you got coming up in the future? gigs/releases etc.
My 12” for Transistor comes out September 29 (‘Time Is The Fire’ b/w ‘Escape Pod’). I’ve got a track on the Wheel&Deal album called ‘NYC’ and Kutz and I did a collab called ‘Hella Tight’ that’s coming out on his album on Soul Jazz.
I’m playing a gig in San Francisco on September 25 with Mount Kimbie, Mary Anne Hobbs and DNTEL. Then on September 30 with Club Root, Djunya and Jon AD. I’ll be in the UK in November playing gigs in London and Bristol with more TBC.
Voids One & Two are available to download now from djgsound.com.
Having hit DJG up with a successful pitch to helm one of our mixes months ago after hearing a couple of rips of ‘Avoid The Noid,’ our correspondence fell by the wayside, caught in the midst of conflicting schedules and missed myspace messages; he recently got in touch admitting a pang of guilt at his failure to seal the deal. Delivering what he’s nicknamed his ‘Deep Rave Tape’ on the eve of a string of awesomely assorted releases has only really made us love him even more; and I can confirm we’re super stoked, proud and excited to be able to bring G’s Sonic Router Mix - the 40th (!!) in our ongoing series – to the internet’s attention.
Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
Gladly, my name is Dean Grenier and D.J.G. are my initials. I’ve been making dubstep since 2007, inspired early on by DMZ and N-Type’s Rinse.fm show. I was born in San Jose, an hour south of San Francisco. I’m a middle child. My mother is from South Africa and my father is from Sri Lanka. My favourite fruit is watermelon. My astrological sign is Gemini, and my Myers-Briggs Type is INFP.
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
I’m a workaholic and thrive off doing too many things at the same time. Predominantly I split my time pretty evenly between making music and doing freelance graphic design. Creative work is all I’ve ever been good at. I also help run the Surefire Sound record label, consult a San Jose-based shoe company called PLSTK, and travel a lot for DJ gigs. I live in the Lower Haight district of SF and as far as daily… lately I’ve been redoing my kitchen and living room cause my girlfriend and friend Ryan Comma just moved in to my apartment!
How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do produce?
I’ve been making music all my life. Some of the earliest memories I have are playing the violin. I was in punk and industrial bands as a teenager and started messing around with samplers, sequencers and computer-based music about 11 years ago. Probably more than anything I think what inspired me to make dubstep music is going to the DMZ 2 year anniversary in March ’07. In all honesty I probably visualize the inside of Mass at least once every time I build a track.
What’s your production set up like?
Well it used to be quite a bit more exciting sounding because I have a background in using gear in my studio (also known as “my bedroom”) like old mixing consoles and hardware compressors and effects and synths. A few years ago though I ditched just about all of it and now solely work in Logic with an Apogee Duet and a simple midi controller. It just allows me much more freedom to work how I need to at a given moment without physical constraints, while adding the benefit of greater control over the sound of my mixdowns.
Where do you take inspiration from when making music?
This is a difficult question to answer for me; when I start to think about all the music that has inspired and affected me over my life I get overwhelmed and could probably write a short book about it all. Aside from my friends and peers I would say I take inspiration from the city, San Francisco; the nature, the ocean, the trees, the culture, the food, the insane people, the crackheads, the beach, the hippies, the hipsters, the romance, the moodiness, the weather, the magic. This city kind of has it all and it’s a daily source of inspiration. And in sort of a reactionary way I also feel inspired to write the kind of deeper dubstep stuff because I’m one of very few people in America doing this sound - the role of subversive or renegade suits my anti-social side very well hahahaha.
How would you describe your sound?
I’m gonna steal XI’s answer to this same question: manic depressive.
What draws you to the deeper, melodic, rolling end of the dubstep spectrum?
It’s really just what resonates with me as an artist; it’s not much more complicated than that. I just love emotive music, music that is personal and expressive, but I also have such a strong love for the energy of a dark room full of people dancing to bass music through a massive sound system. These two things propel me to make the music I make. I often am just trying to blend those two vibes (to varying degrees of success).
There are some tech-ier elements to your sound, does that come from a profound love of techno?
Yes I would say I have a deep love of some styles of techno, both conceptually and sonically. Obviously I find a lot of the emotive tension and sort of tribal repetition - within a dance-music context – inspiring and I tend to draw from those ideas. My techno education begins with Berlin, and through all that back to Detroit. Most of the stuff I like though is 10 or 15 years old now. A lot of the newer stuff feels a bit rehashed.
What’s the scene like over in San Francisco, who’s representing?
I would say that the dubstep scene in San Francisco is pretty vibrant. Like the rest of the States the drum & bass influenced ‘brostep’ sound has sort of taken over the big shows but there are a few nights like the monthly Surefire Sound event where experimental sounds get support.
You’ve done a few collaborations (Headhunter, XI and Jus Wan spring to mind), how did they come about and how did you work together?
Those all just came about through friendship and mutual respect. I generally always like to have one session in the studio then I like to work on my own. A lot of producing is just tedious busy-work and experimentation which is best suited for loners like me.
Are there any other collabos on the cards?
Yes...
You’ve got a positive glut of releases hitting wax and shops imminently. Can you take us through them?
Indeed I can. In the last three weeks three records of mine have come out, after almost no releases in 2009. My 12” for LoDubs (‘Obsessed’/’The Gate’), Surefire Sound 002 (‘Putney Says’ w/ XI) and my Pushing Red 12” (‘Avoid The Noid’/’Duality’) are all out in the shops now and selling quickly. In the next few months my 12” for N-Type’s Wheel&Deal label (‘Pressure’/’Spacecake’ w/ Headhunter) as well as a 3-track 12” for Headhunter’s Transistor label (‘Time Is The Fire’/’Lost Time’/’Escape Pod’). I’ve also contributed my track ‘NYC’ to a Various Artist album N-Type is putting together.
What else have you got coming up?
The most over-used word in music today: album.
Can you tell us a bit about the mix, what did you just have to put in there?
Well I really just wanted to try and capture the kind of set I’ve been playing in the dances and raves over the last 12 months. I made the tracklist as I went along, though it did take two takes to record as the first one was just too sloppy! I recorded it with turntables, so it’s not really surgically perfect or anything but I enjoy hearing that to be honest. It’s not very conceptual, but I think it does present a statement about what I do with dubstep, and features a lot of my own tracks which was important to me. I wasn’t able to get everything I wanted on there; I sacrificed quite a few tunes by other people so that I could fit more of my own stuff. In a way I approached it less as a DJ mix but more of a presentation of the kind of sound I’m feeling - heavy deep rollers.
The next edition of Sonic Router on URB.com is live now, presenting a snapshot of the dubstep releases that are imminent or ominously close on this date in March 2010. It includes words on Addison Groove, Ramadanman, Shortstuff, Blunted Robots, Joker, Pariah, those Mount Kimbie remixes, DJG, Simon/off, Milyoo and this particularly handsome sentence:
"my position deep in the colon of James Blake is patently well documented if you’re adept enough to use google at even a novice level"
