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J Boogie Interview

Gettin' to know J Boogie
Interview by Jasko

Jasko: So J Boogie…where ya at?
J Boogie: Just finished a Mark Farina remix called Dream Machine. I did my first horn arrangement on it..I was very excited about that. I’m just finishing up a remix for a Japanese Dj called Dj Tonk(sp) that’s kind of a new excursion into not straight up House music but 115 bpm, really sexy like thumping kind of dancefloor track. It was an R and B tune that I doubled the tempo. It has a Japanese vocalist but she’s singing in English..it sounds so dope .. so butter..it’s just buttery..I’m lovin’ it. I’m hoping that it’ll get a release in the States. Universal Japan is what his label is. So just finishing that. I also got this remix that is out now for Dj Zeph on 10 inch. So that’s where I am at musically.

Jasko: Give me a brief history on how you got in the music world Djing and producing?
J Boogie: Djing started as being a music collector. First started Djing when I moved to San Francisco in 1991 and I got involved with the radio station KUSF…that was pretty much the reason I went to school there, cause I wanted to be on the radio. In ‘91 I was doing the late night 3am to 6 am shift, so far I have been on the radio for 13 years. Around 1993 I started really collecting vinyl and mixing and doing house parties and clubs. We at that time were like, “Get us some beer and a burrito and we’ll Dj your house party”, I was in college you know. That’s where you pay your dues. As far as producing, I was always messing around with music. I played bass when I was younger around here (J Boogie is originally from the Portland area) and making music but it got to the point where I was making hip hop beats in the early 90’s and somehow eventually I really first got a break through Andrew Jervis who I was friends with and he worked at Ubiquity Records. He was the A and R guy there. We went to school together and we used to talk. I started playing him some of my music and he said he really liked it. The first song I pretty much ever made was put on the Audio Alchemy 2 album. People like Cut Chemist, Thievery Corporation we’re all one there. I was stoked on that. The folks at Om Records became interested in my stuff after they heard it..they said hey we are doing this compilation call Om Lounge, can you do a track? I have been on every Om Lounge album since(laughter)….

Jasko: Having lived in San Francisco for some time now …what are your thoughts on the current music scene.?
J Boogie: Well if you were to ask me this just even a month or two ago I would have told you how dead San Francisco is. In 2001 when the economy dropped San Francisco was hit really hard. A lot of the cool people or I should say artist and the those type who were really just hanging on to afford living in San Francisco….they all moved away. The only people that were left were the people who could afford to live there. So it was hard…like a ghost town from 2001 to 2003. It was really bad. But I think also in that, it forced all the people that stayed there and hung on to kind of go underground and with the socio-political things that are going on right now rebel music kinda came back. In the late 90’s when everything was all good everything was all happy, now music seems to be a lot more conscious and has meaning. I think they’re a lot of people in San Francisco who feel this way. Things have gone underground and intimate as far as venues and clubs…things are popping off in Oakland a little bit more…you don’t have as much big huge venues type of shows. A resurgence is happening with all styles of music from punk to blues to electronic to hip hop. No artist has really broken the envelope though except for Digital Underground, Tony Toni Tone, Too Short and then you have Third Eye Blind or whatever..there is no one really repping what San Francisco has to offer. It’s coming up..it’s definitely a musical place.

Jasko: Your full length album on Om Records “ J Boogie’s Dubtronic Science” is truly a classic album. Any plans for a follow up anytime soon?
J Boogie: Well thank you very much. I actually been working on one ever since before the first one dropped, there were some tracks that didn’t make it on the first one and I still want to put them out. So I am trying to get the second album by fall of 2004 but given the way Om Records has worked in the past schedule wise, anything can happen. On the new one I am working with some of the same artist, some new artist, some new vocalist. I’m really excited about it. It has the same vibe but at the same time I am trying to go with a little bit of a different sound. It’s really organic. I moved into a new studio space. I have lots more live instruments. So where it used to be all MPC and some live instruments. Now it’s more a true mix of everything together.

Jasko: As far as your production is concerned, what is your equipment of choice for producing tracks?
J Boogie: My equipment of choice first off would be the MPC-2000. That for me has been, well is where I started. Well I actually started making music on the EPS, then I got an ASR-10 but I never quite warmed up to the ASR. It was fun but I wanted those pads so I got a MPC and that was my main instrument for a while. An MPC, a Rhodes and a bass like synth bass were. Pro Tools is a big one I use a lot. Reason I have started to use a little bit more. I love synths and old analog keyboards. Lately I love making a beat and jamming out with some live musicians.

Jasko: Can you name a couple of your favorite gigs of all time. Just a couple that really stand out as incredible moments as a DJ.
J Boogie: Wow that’s hard!! We did this summer tour with Afro Mystik, Rithma , Kaskade and there was a couple gigs that were off the hook. Austin of all places was great. I did Turntables on the Hudson and that off the hook. I’ve played with my live band Dubtronic Science in SF at the DNA lounge and some of them have been really really great. Oh you know what..we did a show at the Rootdown in LA with Dubtronic Science and I had the rhythm section from Breakestra and my horn player Todd that I work with who used to play in Breakestra and Macy Gray, I had my sitar player with me and we killed it. So much fun..the Rootdown vibe was so good and they were just feeling it. That was definitely a highlight.

Jasko: Your taste in music has always been diverse and eclectic, what tracks are you really feeling these days?
J Boogie: Top 10 super sexy sounds for spring succulence
1 New Sector Movements - Turn It Up (Virgin)
2 Build An Ark - Peace With Every Step (Phantom)
3 Superbacana – Canto De Ossanha (Listen!)
4 DJ Frane - Electric Garden of Delights (Tuff City)
5 Stereolab – Margerine Eclipse (Elektra)
6 Dwele – Money Don’t Mean a Thing RMX (White)
7 Yesterday’s New Quintet – Stevie New Version (Stone’s Throw)
8 Heiroglyphics - Make Your Move feat. Goapele 9th Wonder RMX (Hiero)
9 Ohmega Watts – Illuminate (Ubiquity)
10 J-Boogie’s Dubtronic Science – Live in the Bedroom (Mix CD)

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