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Music

From Simple Production Ideas to Progressive Masterpieces, Jaytech Always Delivers

One of Anjunabeats’ most exciting talents sits down with THUMP Canada to talk about his “Labour of Love” for writing an album.

Along with the Anjunabeats power duo Super8 & Tab, Jaytech has been taken on board with The Code Red tour to showcase their talent across North America. Jaytech sat down with THUMP Canada to discuss his unique production style and his orthodox approach to making music that has made him one of the key talents at Anjunabeats.

THUMP: Last time you were here in Toronto was in 2012 for Labour of Love at The Guvernment. One of your recent hits was titled "Labour of Love" is there any connection between the two?
Jaytech: "Labour of Love" was actually a reference to the writing of the album itself. It was an intense time for me as I was touring constantly, and trying to bounce back and forth between my studio in Berlin and all these crazy gigs around the world. My friend Nathan, whom I've known since I was in school, we got together and decided to make it a reality, as Nile Rogers once said, "the tracks you do should always have some hidden meaning to yourself." So the meaning for me is the album itself, but it also has a romantic theme people can relate to.

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So it doesn't really have a connection to the event?
I suppose not! [Laughs]

Can you tell us how your collaboration with your friend Nathan Grainger came about?
We've actually written a number of silly albums together. Something I do quite a lot in Australia is get together with a few of my friends and write stupid music, it's a fun thing to do. For anyone who is involved in music production, I recommend to get out of your skin and give yourself a break from all the serious projects and write music just for fun.

Speaking of getting out of your skin, your music is very diverse; you touch on many different styles. A single will sound futuristic and suited for a soundtrack then your next track has a more club-driven beat, where does this versatility come from?
It's a lot of different musical influences. I started out by listening to some classical and romantic period music in school, so that was always an interest for me and anything based around piano and orchestral arrangements. Then I went through a teenybopper pop phase, this is kind of embarrassing but I was nuts about 90s music like The Backstreet Boys. Then it became an obsession with Euro-dance like Bomfunk MC's and Eifel 65 type records, that were super cheesy but had these cool dance beats.

That's where I started to get into trance through artists like Paul van Dyk. I had people around me in Australia who were listening to trance and progressive music all the time, and we were always searching for underground music. Now all my friends have diversified and a lot of them now listen to glitch-hop, dubstep, and all these new styles that are emerging. So whenever I go back they just play a ton of music for me and it blows my mind, it's so forward thinking, cool and intelligent. I always try to incorporate any of those of sounds to everything I'm doing.

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Let's talk about the label Anjunabeats and Anjunadeep. Year after year they come out with great compilations showcasing the label and you have been featured on almost every single one of them. Can you tell me your journey since it all first started?
I think I really got to build my name on a global level through the label and having my first artist album on the sub label, that's what really got things going for me. It was also great because I was starting a new life in the UK and I was working more closely with them.

What year was that?
This was in 2008.

It was my first time working with a world-class record label in dance music, so that was an amazing experience. I got to use their studios during my free time; I was a kid in the candy store! I had never worked with a set up like that before.

The label also taught me how to tour on a professional level, as I have joined them on a number of tours. It prepared me for the life of a touring DJ where you sleep in hotels and are constantly flying.

Now I am trying to return the favour by helping them out with A&R by sending them new and up-coming producers. I am trying to branch out a little bit and do my own thing, but when it comes to getting album releases I can't think of anyone better to work with than Anjunabeats.

Speaking of your A&R experience with the label, what are some Canadian talents that have captured your attention?
The biggest one from this part of the world was Soundprank, he's another world-class producer and I believe he's living in Montreal right now. He has been featured on the compilations a lot. Nigel Good is another name that comes to mind, more on the electro and progressive side­. Very clean productions.

Can we expect any new releases from you in the near future?
It's no secret that I am working on my next artist album and I've made a lot of noise about it. It's coming along very well.

What do you plan to do differently with this album compared to your past releases?
I'm going to tell more of a story whereas the past albums were an introspective of what I am all about. It will be an electro and progressive release.

You can follow Ani Hajderaj on twitter: @AniHajderaj