This week’s interview & mix comes from Titeknots
Selector AfterDark – Titeknots by The Selector on Mixcloud
My name’s Jon James. I make music as Titeknots and I live in Brighton on the South Coast of the UK.
Can you tell us a bit about what you’ve been working on recently?
I’ve set up my own label called Press Something Play Something. First release is out now, second is due at the end of October. So that’s taken up a lot of time – learning how to release and promote my music effectively. I’ve also just delivered a remix for Murder He Wrote, forthcoming on Sounds Of Sumo. The rest of the time, I just write new music.
And can you talk us through the mix?
It’s an overview of a lot of the current and recent British dance music that I enjoy and play in my sets. I tried to fit in different levels of intensity – doing a mix for radio allowed me to put in a wider variety of sounds that I wouldn’t necessarily include all together in a typical club set. It was recorded with turntables and then edited to help it fit better into the required time slot.
Nice, talk us through the British music featured in this mix? Which British artists are you most excited about?
The Maghreban is making very interesting British House music. His background is in Hip Hop production, and I think you can really sense that Hip Hop sensibility coming through in his tracks. The sound choices and mix style are very distinctive. I also started out making Hip Hop style music and have approached House production through similar routes, but the results are different with my own tracks.
Adesse Versions is putting out some incredible music at the moment. The individual elements are usually quite simple and stripped-down in his tracks, but the skill in the combination and arrangement of those elements is really something special.
Henry Wu is part of what is seen by some as a new Broken Beat-style movement in the UK. I am a great Broken Beat fan and still play a lot of those records from 10-15 years ago, so it’s great to see some of those styles coming back into the forefront of British music.
Cool, tell us about some of your British musical Heroes and influences in general?
Jungle guys like Hype, Brockie and Randall are the reason I got into DJing in the first place. I still go through phases of bingeing on 90’s rave tapes – you can still feel that atmosphere of energy and innovation. Mr Scruff is one of the best DJs in the UK – he’ll always play something you don’t expect. DJ Haus is always reliable for a fix of no-nonsense club music.
Great and what’s on the cards in the immediate future?
Writing music is my main plan. Since starting the label and getting my new tracks circulating I’ve had a few intriguing offers, so I have a lot to think about in career terms. I’m just pleased to see such a great reaction to my new material.
And finally, where is the best place in the world you have performed and why?
It’s a cliché, but going out to Japan and playing a few clubs out there is just mind-bending. The moment I got off the plane I floated around, awe-struck, and the experience of playing music I love to an appreciative crowd on the other side of the world will never get old.