The first artist up in our Fridgejet exclusive mix series, is someone we've been very excited about for some time, John Roman. Hailing from Toronto Canada, he has been killing it this year creating crates of originals and making remix upon remix, with everything he touches turning to gold. His upcoming track 'Sala', charted by Brodinski in June, heads a number of releases waiting to be unleashed from his Reclusion mix, a collation of 16 productions made by the man himself, after he drifted away suddenly from the scene to solely produce some absolutely stunning tracks, that are sure to be DJ stalwarts and club destroyers once they drop. With multiple number 1 Hype Machine chart toppers and an incredible djing talent, which has seen him head huge line ups in many clubs across canada and soon the globe, we are delighted to have him onboard and the Fridge even managed to catch up with him to talk about everything from his mix for us, to blueberries and Kanye West!
FJ: Glad you could find time for us man, stuff must be pretty hectic for you nowadays! What’s new?
JR : Just always keeping busy in the studio – making music, researching music, trying to create something fresh and original. Working on a lot of official remixes that will be out in coming months. And I’ve also been preparing my “Sala” EP for release on Plant music this Fall. There will be some big remixers!
You've been producing for a while now, but only in the last couple of years you've made to switch from producing Hip Hop to Electronic music. What spurred you to change?
I think what I value most in music is innovation. And once I had exhausted most of the old school and underground, I found the genre a little stale. It wasn’t that great hip-hop wasn’t still being made, but you had to sift through so much wack stuff to find anything good it just became frustrating. I was listening to some dance music at the time, but it wasn’t until I heard some of the Ed Banger artists that I really took notice. I think there’s something very hip-hop about that sample-based, dirtier, distorted production style of Justice, SebastiAn or Mr. Oizo. It was new, authentic and creative, and it wasn’t long before I was trying to emulate them.
Who would you say are your biggest influences, on an electronic and a hip-hop front?
There are just too many names to mention in terms of electronic music now, but artists that are inspiring me right now include Tiga, Simian Mobile Disco, Perc, Egbert, Tim Xavier, Green Velvet, Azari & III, Renaissance Man, Riva Starr, Jesse Rose, James Blake, Flying Lotus, Mount Kimbie, Nosaj Thing, Four Tet and Aphex Twin.
As far as hip-hop producers go, DJ Shadow is my number one, but also RJD2, Prefuse 73, J. Dilla, DJ Premier, Kanye West, RZA and Madlib.
Lets talk about your Reclusion mix. It was dropped in June, and is packed full of tracks waiting to kill clubs worldwide, but what was your motive to suddenly go into hiding and produce when you had international gig and record deal offers and a massive growing hype surrounding your name in the scene?
The idea of Reclusion started when I made some of these “dub” bootlegs of Nadastrom and Proxy back in late 2009. I knew these tracks would definitely surprise some fans that knew me for “Martyr” or “Carnivores”, but I really wanted to explore this production style and learn from it. So I created Reclusion as a way of showcasing all of my unreleased work under one theme, rather than confusing people with individual releases. Instead of just “cashing-in” in the short-term from past tracks, I wanted to make something bigger, a project that I could look back on years later and be proud of.
I know you’re always in the studio cooking up some outstanding originals and remixes, but do you have any plans for a tour or do you have any gigs your particularly looking forward to?
I’ll be doing some touring within North America for the duration of 2010 and dates can be found on my MySpace and Facebook. In February of 2011 I will be doing some UK dates, so stay tuned for those if you’re in the area!
Name an artist you think is definitely someone to look out for?
Azari & III.
Whats your favourite studio snack?
Blueberries.
and whats your biggest career moment that sticks out so far?
I think when I got charted by Brodinski for the first time with my “Save Us” dub was when I really realized that I wasn’t just a fan but a peer of some of my favourite artists.
Now, about this mix you've done for us, what can the people expect from it?
It’s very rhythmic techno and will give you a good idea of what to expect from me in the future – taking tribal ideas and using more electronic/high-tech sounds. It starts with a groove, builds to a banger climax and then cools off into ambience.
Thanks a lot man! We look forward to everything new, and we are delighted to have you onboard!
Cheers man, thanks for having me.
Now its my pleasure to unveil #1 of our exclusive fridgejet mix series, coming courtesy of John Roman.
And if i can say so myself. It's quite brilliant.
JR : Just always keeping busy in the studio – making music, researching music, trying to create something fresh and original. Working on a lot of official remixes that will be out in coming months. And I’ve also been preparing my “Sala” EP for release on Plant music this Fall. There will be some big remixers!
You've been producing for a while now, but only in the last couple of years you've made to switch from producing Hip Hop to Electronic music. What spurred you to change?
I think what I value most in music is innovation. And once I had exhausted most of the old school and underground, I found the genre a little stale. It wasn’t that great hip-hop wasn’t still being made, but you had to sift through so much wack stuff to find anything good it just became frustrating. I was listening to some dance music at the time, but it wasn’t until I heard some of the Ed Banger artists that I really took notice. I think there’s something very hip-hop about that sample-based, dirtier, distorted production style of Justice, SebastiAn or Mr. Oizo. It was new, authentic and creative, and it wasn’t long before I was trying to emulate them.
Who would you say are your biggest influences, on an electronic and a hip-hop front?
There are just too many names to mention in terms of electronic music now, but artists that are inspiring me right now include Tiga, Simian Mobile Disco, Perc, Egbert, Tim Xavier, Green Velvet, Azari & III, Renaissance Man, Riva Starr, Jesse Rose, James Blake, Flying Lotus, Mount Kimbie, Nosaj Thing, Four Tet and Aphex Twin.
As far as hip-hop producers go, DJ Shadow is my number one, but also RJD2, Prefuse 73, J. Dilla, DJ Premier, Kanye West, RZA and Madlib.
Lets talk about your Reclusion mix. It was dropped in June, and is packed full of tracks waiting to kill clubs worldwide, but what was your motive to suddenly go into hiding and produce when you had international gig and record deal offers and a massive growing hype surrounding your name in the scene?
The idea of Reclusion started when I made some of these “dub” bootlegs of Nadastrom and Proxy back in late 2009. I knew these tracks would definitely surprise some fans that knew me for “Martyr” or “Carnivores”, but I really wanted to explore this production style and learn from it. So I created Reclusion as a way of showcasing all of my unreleased work under one theme, rather than confusing people with individual releases. Instead of just “cashing-in” in the short-term from past tracks, I wanted to make something bigger, a project that I could look back on years later and be proud of.
I know you’re always in the studio cooking up some outstanding originals and remixes, but do you have any plans for a tour or do you have any gigs your particularly looking forward to?
I’ll be doing some touring within North America for the duration of 2010 and dates can be found on my MySpace and Facebook. In February of 2011 I will be doing some UK dates, so stay tuned for those if you’re in the area!
Name an artist you think is definitely someone to look out for?
Azari & III.
Whats your favourite studio snack?
Blueberries.
and whats your biggest career moment that sticks out so far?
I think when I got charted by Brodinski for the first time with my “Save Us” dub was when I really realized that I wasn’t just a fan but a peer of some of my favourite artists.
Now, about this mix you've done for us, what can the people expect from it?
It’s very rhythmic techno and will give you a good idea of what to expect from me in the future – taking tribal ideas and using more electronic/high-tech sounds. It starts with a groove, builds to a banger climax and then cools off into ambience.
Thanks a lot man! We look forward to everything new, and we are delighted to have you onboard!
Cheers man, thanks for having me.
Now its my pleasure to unveil #1 of our exclusive fridgejet mix series, coming courtesy of John Roman.
And if i can say so myself. It's quite brilliant.
Tracklisting:
1. Hello Chicago - Giulio LNT [Autan Records]
2. 1992 (Vocal Version) - Dexter [Dolly]
3. Cyclone (Vocal Mix) - Jamie Anderson feat. Mr. K-Alexi [Mija Recordings]
4. Hypnosis - Ben Sims [Drumcode]
5. Vaporizer (Rynecologist Remix) - Gingy & Bordello [This is Music / More Music]
6. Back Down (Save The Robot Remix) - Olivier Giacomotto [Definitive Recordings]
7. Yourself - Egbert [Gem Records]
8. Brut Beton - Cosmin TRG [Phonica Records]
9. Shelter (Tiga Remix) - The XX [Turbo Recordings]
2 comments:
Top work!
I love this masterpiece. Due to the fact that he is simple awesome performer, I have been following John's work. He is my favorite artist ever, then I am always looking for the freshest news about him.
I will be looking forward to hear more from him in here.
Post a Comment