On Saturday April 27th clubbers are in for a treat when Jihad Muhammad plays his 1st masterclass mix show in Ldn this year for Househead LDN at Waterloo’s immersive Aures London.
Known for joining the dots between New York’s golden age of DJs, remixes and clubs, to today’s modern afro-soul-deep dance floor, Jihad Muhammad brings his Bang The Drum party vibe in full effect.
Providing a multi-coloured landscape of styles within the soulful house music diaspora, Jihad always pushes the boundaries of complacency, injecting a unique blend of grooves, afro-electro sensibilities and vocal soul. His sets are applauded for their distinctive style and grace exemplified in his 300+ remixes and original productions.
His popular Bang The Drum residency in the States and on Twitch TV catapulted him onto the International stage and he has since spread his musical message far and wide including Paris’ Djoon party, Southport Weekender and bespoke events in Italy, South Africa, Japan and Canada. In the States, he plays at New York’s LeBain and Cielo plus the legendary Apollo and is a Regular guest on Kiss FM. Jihad’s label is Movementsoul Recordings, and as well as his own productions, he’s also worked with House music legends such as Louie Vega, Danny Krivit and Blaze Productions’ Kevin Hedge.
We grab some time in his busy schedule to chat about his forthcoming show and releases…
Welcome Jihad and you’re coming to play at Househead LDN on Saturday April 27th and what are you most looking forward to on your return to Ldn?
I’ve been to London many times but I’ve never played a Household London party so I’m pretty excited. Mark Francis, my DJ friend who played at Christmas, told me he had such a great time so I’m really looking forward to the event.
How is it different coming to play for a LDN crowd and do you play a different style set?
Here in the States the crowds I play for often vary. Some like Afro-House and some like disco classics and soulful house. When I come to LDN I find myself sticking to a soulful house vibe which is refreshing because I get to play things that I wouldn’t normally play at home. I will say the other difference can be that the folks in London may know more about my DJ/ Production career than most do in New Jersey. Here they know me more as the DJ .
For those that haven’t you play, how would you describe your style and sets?
I would describe myself as a journey DJ….meaning the more hours I play the more I can play a range of music. I like to mix things up between new and old. I like to do long blends which is something I picked up from Tony Humphries and I like to create a vibe that’s pleasing to the dancers.
Your Bang The Drum event is keeping you busy I see with your regular Twitch shows and also I see there’s going to be a BTD Festival this summer and is this something you’ve always wanted to do? Who’s on the line up and how excited are you about this?
Yes Bang The Drum has been keeping me pretty busy. I’ve been doing my Bang The Drum Sessions show on Twitch since the pandemic and it’s still going strong. This will be the 3rd year for the Bang The Drum Festivals too. I wanted to do my own festival after playing for so many other festivals here. I wanted to bring a different element to my event. Most festivals here have MC’s but I don’t like a lot of chatter on the mic. I’d rather the people just hear and vibe to the music without having someone get on the mic and interrupt their groove. I’m still in the planning stages of who’s on the line up this year. It takes a lot of planning and hard work to pull these events off but I look forward to them every year.
As well as your BTD parties you’re also playing with Louie Vega and Anane at the Coffee Cave and the Chicago Vs New York Pop Up and do you have DJ faves you like to play alongside and who are you looking forward to playing with on the line ups?
The party with Louie and Anane is going to be a great event. I’ve played with them separately many times before and the vibe is always dope. We always have fun playing with each other. I did the Chicago Vs. New York party a couple of years ago and that also had some great energy as well. Chicago has some of the most talented DJs so I’m looking forward to rocking out with them.
As far as my favs to play with I’ll say Anane Vega, Louie Vega, Danny Krivit, Joe Clausell, Tony Touch, Naeem Johnson, DJ Beloved and Mark Francis. On the UK side I love playing with David O’Neil & Gerard Murray (Drum Club), Neil Pierce and Jamesey from Makin’ Moves.
As well as your events, you’re also a busy producer and remixer and run your Movement Soul label. What’s coming up from the label and what new releases do you have as a producer in the pipeline? Do you have a favourite or pivotal release on the label that’s special to you and can you tell us about it/them?
I have been producing since 2004 and I started MovementSoul Recordings around 2005 I think. I have a new single “Dance All Night” coming out which I did with MissFly and there’s “Epiphany” by a talented new producer, Susan Esthera. Also a few of my New Jersey producers and I are putting out an album in June, which will have many different talents showcased together.
As far as a favorite release…I like them all. They each have their own identity and they show the different sides of who I am musically. 
As well as your solo outings, you also work with DJ Spen regularly and there’s a forthcoming “Voices In My MInd” release to go with your remixes of “Pearls” and DJ Beloved’s “All We Do”. How do you and Spen work together – remotely obviously but is there a pattern ie who does what etc?
Funny I didn’t even know about the forthcoming compilation until I looked on Traxsource last week….lol:-). DJ Spen is my main man and when we do production together it’s usually done remotely. He’ll ask me for certain Jihad elements to a song and I’ll ask him for mastering projects I’ve done. Also I’ve done remixes for the label so he’ll just send over vocal parts and I do the rest on my end. We had the pleasure of hosting him for one of our Bang The Drum outdoor events last year which was great. I’m very grateful for the work we’ve done together.
You’ve also had recent releases on Nite Grooves/King St, 201, Polyrhythm and Merecumbe, and it seems house music is really buoyant Stateside again and what’s your take on the current musical trends and abundance of releases…do you find it hard to get through all the promos?
I’m starting to see the music pick up again Stateside. Over here for a while it was all about Hip Hop and R&B. People want to dance again and most young folks have been discovering that at our House Music events they have the freedom to express themselves the way they want to.
As far as promos go…..yes I find it very hard to go through all the music. It’s like something new comes out every 30 mins…lol. I try to pick songs that I know I’m going to play….songs that have longevity and not just the fly-by-night tracks.
Can you tell us which producers and DJs are lighting your fire right now?
My fave producers are….Louie Vega, Trinidadian Deep, Manoo, Osunlade, Doug Gomez, Coflo, Ron Trent, The Journeymen and Wipe The Needle… just to name a few.
A New Jersey native, you grew up listening to legendary DJs Tony Humphries and Shep Pettibone on WBLS and Kiss FM, and honed your DJ skills from Larry Levan, Timmy Regisford and Merlin Bobb, and do you have a favourite DJ and what makes them so special?
My faves right now are Ron Trent, Louie Vega, Timmy Regisford and Danny Krivit. They all have their own sound and style but what makes them special to me is their knowledge of the music. I like DJs who can be a bit unpredictable, the ones that you never know what they are going to play next. It can be a hot new song or it can be something you forgot about. To me that’s what makes them the DJ’s DJ.
Clubbing in NYC and Jersey in the golden era of house music and seminal clubs, where did you party and again can you tell us some tales from those legendary nights? What did you learn and take from these experiences?
I did a lot of partying in New Jersey and New York. I went to Zanzibar to hear Tony Humphries and went to Paradise Garage twice to hear Larry Levan. Sound Factory Bar to hear Louie Vega, to The Choice to hear Basil and Richard Vasquez (Legends in the New York scene). Partying back then was so much fun. I was young and I hung out all night long with no cares in the world.
What I learned was that I loved music, I loved the nightlife, I loved the behind-the-scenes work and I loved being a DJ. What people don’t know is that I actually used to dance a lot. I don’t dance that much anymore …maybe a two step but I still love hanging out and I still love everything about it.
Jihad Muhammad plays an Extended Set at Househead LDN on Saturday April 27th flanked by the hometown killer selector, Johnny Reckless. Rocking the immersive clubbing feast Aures London from 9pm till 4am, Final Release tickets available from Resident Advisor:
More info at
Instagram: @househead
https://www.mixcloud.com/HouseheadLondon/
https://www.facebook.com/househeadldn
