The Underground Quality of Jus-Ed

The Underground Quality of Jus-Ed

17 July, 2009 | 4.57AM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: jus ed, underground quality

Drugs and alcohol took over Edward McKeithen aka Jus-Ed’s life, and rendered his DJ career all but dead. Then after 15 years of retirement, he dusted off his turntables and tried once again.

He slowly convinced the house music community of his talent first via mix CDs, and then through a radio show and his record label Underground Quality. Now Jus-Ed is the toast of the American underground house scene, but the mission is far from over.

“I did a lot of soul searching, trying to figure out who I was,” says the Bridgeport, Connecticut resident, about his time away from the decks which began in 1985. “I mended broken hearts and broken spirits. I spent a lot of time figuring out who I was, and I learnt to live with myself. Then I realised that I needed music. My grandma and grandpa were jazz musicians, and my father had a record contract in the 1950s. Music is who I am.”

In person, you get the impression that McKeithen believes every word that comes out of his mouth. After his long sabbatical, and as a father of three (his youngest daughter is 11 months), Jus-Ed doesn’t fluff around, or speak in parables. He’s a man of experience, who knows what he wants from life.

“I came back as a person who was not going to be governed by politics, drugs, or alcohol,” he explains. After deciding that he was going to push his DJ career, he personally handed out a staggering 10,000 mix CDs to clubbers and electronic music fans across Connecticut. “I just wanted to get recognition for being a good DJ,” he says.

The Label

One day, Kevin Hedge from the US house music group Blaze and Shelter Records told Jus-Ed that if he wanted to get recognition he needed to produce records. “That was a disappointment for me, but I decided to start producing anyway,” says Ed, who launched Underground Quality in 2004.

“At the start, there was no aim other than to make and release music that filled a void,” says Ed. The label has just gone digital on Beatport.

“I was tired of soulful house. Me and a few other DJs were jaded with the scene because all the parties had the same music, the same records, and the same styles. But rather than just complain about it, we did something about it,” says Ed. “I decided to make music that was danceable and emotional, and hopefully create some new life in the community.”

McKeithen’s first solo release was the LP ‘Carnival House’ in 2005 and for it he pressed a modest 100 CDs. “I organised a label and album release party at New York’s Halcyon records and about 30 people showed up,” he says, laughing. “I managed to sell 10 CDs.”

Things changed when Jus-Ed handed Detroit’s Omar S some of his music in Miami during WMC. The FXHE boss and staunchly underground DJ decided to include McKeithen’s ‘AM Mix’ on his ‘FXHE Compulation #1’ release.

It’s an underground sound. The sound is much closer to where it all started - there used to be loads of guys making this style, but there are not many now, I don’t know why.

“Germany embraced the track and immediately I started getting attention,” says Ed, who off the back of the Omar S inclusion quickly gained a reputation for being a key thinker of the US underground house scene.

“My music is true to deep house, but it’s not anywhere near current styles,” he explains. “It’s an underground sound. The sound is much closer to where it all started - there used to be loads of guys making this style, but there are not many now, I don’t know why.”

Digital Beginnings

Jus-Ed’s label Underground Quality has since been named “one of the finest deep house imprints in the business” by ResidentAdvisor.

For the first time, all of the label’s CD albums and compilations will be available to download. “All of my vinyl projects will remain vinyl only for now though, because I started with vinyl and I have a following that would feel betrayed if I took the uniqueness of vinyl and made it digital,” says Ed.

When pushed, Jus-Ed explains his reasons for not fully embracing digital distribution just yet. “Vinyl is about ownership of music and when you buy a record you own it,” he says. “That’s more exciting than downloading a file. Vinyl stands for credibility, high quality, and ownership.”

However, he is not a vinyl purist and he also plays digital files when he plays because he “doesn’t have the money to play just vinyl.”

“When I started DJing the prize was research,” he says. “You went to a record store and you researched records and listened to them. But now with digital, the whole research and effort surrounding DJ culture has been lost.

“When I DJ, no matter where I am in the world, people ask me ‘what the hell is that record?’ That proves my research is good. I find quality music. Buying what is hot or selling - that’s easy. Digging for records, and finding stuff that no one else is playing or charting - that’s hard.

“Quality music is timeless. You should be able to play it anytime, anywhere. A lot of this new music today is cookie cutter music. They just copy each other’s stuff.”

Jus-Ed isn’t afraid to speak up against the more commercial elements of house, or against the DJs who buy that style of music, and throughout our conversation he says “you can quote me on that”, knowing full well that he might have steered into controversial waters.

“A lot of the best sellers are crap,” he says. “A lot of those records are over-publicised by the media. And DJs will buy what is put in front of them, instead of taking risks. DJs are afraid to take risks because they don’t want to blow a mix or get a bad report in the media.

“I get a lot of DJs coming up to me and saying ‘oh, I love your track’, but they would never play it. My music isn’t safe, and maybe I understand that. But as DJs, we should take risks. That’s how the scene moves forwards.”

I don’t care about the promoters or the club owners, I’m only concerned about the party and the people. Are their clothes wet? Good, then I’ve done my job right.

At the heart of Jus-Ed is a desire to rock a party, whether through his solo DJ sets, or with his raw and undiluted productions. As such, his DJ profile has taken off with regular appearances at London’s Fabric nightclub.

“It was an honour to have Fabric invite me to play for the first time, as they are one of the top five venues in the world,” says Ed. “Just to be asked to play says a lot about Fabric’s music policy, and Craig Richards and Judy at Fabric took a great risk by asking me to come.”

McKeithen will play at Frankfurt’s Robert Johnson club in August, and an Underground Quality label night will take place at Berlin’s Tape in September.

“I don’t care about the promoters or the club owners, I’m only concerned about the party and the people,” he continues. “Are their clothes wet? Good, then I’ve done my job right.

“Of course, there’s always going to be one person at the club who doesn’t like what you’re doing. But they’re only there to complain. And as my man Omar S says, ‘They can suck a dick’,” says Jus-Ed, laughing.

His music might be serious, but McKeithen is clearly having fun. Despite his desire to be recognised, he’s not afraid of failure. “Win, loose, or draw, I’m just doing what I’m doing,” he says. But that is surely the talk of a man who is slowly winning.

5 Essential Underground Quality tracks

Jus-Ed ‘Macaroni’

Taken from Jus-Ed’s ‘Redemption’ EP, ‘Macaroni is a deep and trippy house track, with stripped back percussion and soulful chords.

It’s a sweet blend of tranquil house and machine funk.

Jus-Ed ‘Sweetness’

Originally released as a mix CD, ‘House Goodies Volume 3’ is packed with Jus-Ed goodies.

‘Sweetness’ was a strange mix of heavy bass-fueled house with classic hi hats, hypnotic pads, and a funky melancholic lead line.

Jus-Ed ‘PJ 255 Old School’

Another cut taken from ‘House Goodies Volume 3’, ‘PJ 255 Old School’ is a driving underground deep house cut.

With sweet piano chords constructed around jumbled up drum loops, soulful vocals, and techno percussion, the track is a lesson is brilliant deep house.

Jus-Ed ‘My Spirit’

‘My Spirit’ is a staggeringly beautiful house record led by choral vocals, twinkly pianos, tribal drumming, and an overbearing sense of sadness.

Jus-Ed ‘Dada’

Jus-Ed’s debut album ‘Carnival House’ contained many great grooves, but ‘Dada’ stood out thanks to its multi layered soul and clever drum patterns.

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