Jamie Jones and his brilliant debut album

Jamie Jones and his brilliant debut album

9 September, 2009 | 10.07AM

• Written by: Zack Rico
• Filed under: Music News: crosstown rebels, jamie jones

Jamie Jones came from a small village in the green hills of Wales. His first gig was at Bangor University Student Union aged 17, where he fluffed every mix because he had only ever played on belt-drives and never on Technics.

He ran away to East London, and slowly rose through the underground party scene, first as a connected clubber, and then as a DJ and producer. He played regularly at London’s Fabric, and became friends with London DJs Damian Lazarus and Clive Henry.

His first music landed on Dan Ghenacia’s Freak N Chic label, and then Leftroom Records, Tsuba, and Hypercolour. Now Jamie Jones has finally released his debut album ‘Don’t You Remember The Future’, and much like its creator it is hypnotic, soulful, obsessed with sci-fi, and groovy as hell.

For years Jones has remained on the cusp of the mainstream, but with his new LP being heralded by critics, and a new music video, Jamie Jones might just break through.

“I don’t really aspire to be a big superstar or play at big clubs, for me to be able to make music that I love that touches people is enough,” he says. We sat down with the fuzzy haired producer from Hackney to find out more about his brilliant new LP.

How’s promotion for the album been going?

It’s been going very well, and we’ve had lots of great feedback from DJs and the press. It’s always a bit difficult to get press when you release a house and techno album, but so far, so good.

Your album is very dancefloor, but there are a few new strings in the Jamie Jones bow. Like the recent music video for ‘Galactic Space Bar’.

Yeah that was the first time I had ever done a music video, and it was a lot of fun. People seem to really like the tune, and the guys that directed it were old skool breakdance fans so they knew who Egyptian Lover was.

We were lucky, as they’re pretty big time music video directors. After they shot my one, I think they went and did Madonna’s video. I never thought I would be doing music videos when I started out in dance music, but that track definitely seemed like the right one to do it for.

It’s exciting to be able to take electronic music to that more accessible level.

With your album, are you trying to reach a new audience?

A little bit I think. My usual fans will still like it I hope, but there’s also some more song-based tracks on there because it’s an album after all. The main idea was that it could be played all in one go, and I wrote it to be heard in one sitting.

And there’s quite a lot of vocals, because I think if vocals are done right they can actually sound great on a dance track. Actually for my next project, I’ll be working a lot more with vocalists. I’m currently influenced by the band LaRue who are making some great electronic pop music.

Are there some DJ friendly cuts on the album too?

There’s definitely some more club friendly tunes. ‘This Is How’ for instance, is more peak time. There’s also a track called ‘Turning Tricks’ which is upbeat and mildly disco. It’s actually become a sort of secret weapon for me, as it’s not an obvious bomb, but the heads have been really getting into it.

Why did you take so long to release your debut album?

I had wanted to make an LP for two years. I actually wrote some of the main hooks for some of the tracks a couple of years ago, like for ‘Summertime’.

I held these hooks and tracks back as I knew they would be good album material. At one point, I thought I was finished with it, but then I didn’t want any filler tracks on the album so I kept plugging away.

Your album is on Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels, who himself just released his debut album. Did you guys discuss your albums and share ideas when you were working on them?

Yeah, me and Lazo spoke about my album about a year ago actually, and I told him that I wanted to do a more poppy and fun vocal track. He suggested that Egyptian Lover might be a cool vocalist to work with, as we were both fans of him.

So I contacted him on Myspace, and he was up for doing it. I didn’t actually meet Egyptian Lover face to face until we filmed the music video.

Where was that filmed?

In Los Angeles. I actually plan to spend a couple of months in LA as the winters in London are not great. It’s going to be nice to wake up to the sun too.

Damian Lazarus lives there doesn’t he?

Yeah, I know quite a few people there actually, some singers, and some club people. It’s a good base to do South American tours from actually, and I have a few coming up.

What about London, how’s the club scene there at the moment?

Well London still has some great parties, but there needs to be more. There’s not a lack of demand, but the police have been closing a lot of places down.

Fabric’s got quite good again recently, because a lot of the mainstream crowd who like bigger names have moved on to Matter.

Where else has been good for DJing?

The Wolf N Lamb parties in New York have been really good, they’ve got a great crowd there. The Standard Hotel rooftop parties with Droog have been top.

Do you only play underground parties?

I do tend to play clubs for about 200 to 400 people, but I also do big ones and festivals too. I did the main terrace of Space in Ibiza last week which was great, but then I also did Mr. C’s Superfreq party for 300 people in this really cool spot. I do generally prefer more intimate crowds.

And on the partying front, have things been quite hectic?

Up until my album I was just working on music, so I kind of hibernated. But now it’s summer and my album is finally done, I’ve been having fun and touring a lot. I’ve also been taking a few extra days in between gigs to explore cities and countries.

I just did a few weeks in Berlin, and it’s nice to not have to go to the studio.

Do you feel like your profile has grown in recent years?

I’m not a star or anything, but it’s quite funny how I used to look up to a lot of these DJs and now they’re my friends. I remember seeing Clive Henry rocking DC10, and I’d stand there in awe, and then I’d go record shopping at Plastic Fantastic in London and he would come in, and I’d be all nervous and try to act cool. Now we’re best mates.

I don’t like having people hounding me in clubs as I’m quite shy, but it is nice to have people come up and tell me they like my music. That makes it all worth it.

You’re from a small village in Wales originally, aren’t you?

Yeah I go back to Wales a couple of times a year to escape. I’m from a really small village there, but my family has moved recently. Wales can be such a beautiful place.

How old are you now?

I’m 28.

Is there anything you want to achieve in the next few months with regards to your music?

I just want to keep releasing music, and work on my new album. Musically of course, I want to develop my sound. I always like to look forwards. I’m listening to a lot of music at the moment. I’ve been buying a lot of vinyl to get inspired, a lot of disco and funk records.

I’m also doing my Hot Natured thing with Lee Foss, and we want to launch a label.

You mentioned disco a couple of times. The sound is back in a big way, it seems.

Yeah I think it is. I’ve always been into disco and have a lot of disco on vinyl. The sound seems to be coming back around again.

What I’m DJing at the moment has a lot of live instruments, live drums and guitars in it, which is very disco. But it’s still edgy too, and quite electronic.

So there’s this interesting clash between classic disco sounds and techno and house, and that’s the sound that I’m liking at the moment. It’s breaking away from the stripped back sound that has dominated clubs over the last few years.

Can you play any instruments?

Yeah I’m a fairly good keyboardist, and I’ve been taking lessons. I’ve always had a good ear for melodies and I play all of my melodies in my tracks.

What’s your studio set up like?

It’s nearly all analogue, about 90%. I finally bought a Jupiter 8 synth the other day, which is something I’ve wanted for years.

When I play on live in clubs, I usually take an analogue keyboard with me, an MPC, and a drum machine. But I always pick and choose my live dates, as they take a lot of work and planning.

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