Written in late 2019, and inspired by themes of loss and rebirth, ‘Lion’ is a deeply personal album born out of a tumultuous period that has shaped Jon’s life. Dedicated to his older brother, this spine tingling Anjunadeep long player is the culmination of Jon’s experiences as a brother and father; his encounters with loss, and his subsequent progression as an artist and human being. DMCWORLD checks in with the man himself for the full story…
Hey Jon, a huge welcome to DMCWORLD! Where on this crazy planet are you today?
Hello DMCWORLD! I’m in a garage / studio near Portsmouth, UK.
What is the best piece of new music you have heard this week?
Delachute – Calagula, he’s a new artist from Montreal, check him out.
So, exciting times for you at the moment thanks to the release of your new album ‘Lion’ out on 14 August via Anjunadeep…which we shall come to later. But before this adventure let’s rewind for a moment and see where this journey began…
What is your earliest memory of music as a child?
Unfortunately that would be Bobby Vinton – Blue Velvet, my Mum and Grandma played that on repeat.
When did a career in music start to form in your mind? Was there anything else you considered as a career?
There has been a lot of different jobs, I was training to be a convenience store assistant manager at the age of 19 when suddenly I won a DJ residency at the local super club at the time, Slinky @ The Opera House in Bournemouth, so from there DJing became a part time job, and then 2 or 3 years later I started doing studio engineering full time. That’s pretty much when the idea of a career in music started to form, I remember being utterly shocked that they were paying a fee for me to play records.
What were your first steps in the music industry, your first break?
That would be the Slinky residency, I wasn’t DJing much before that, apart from putting on a couple of local events where 5 mates turned up.
Ahhh Slinky! Has there ever been a better venue for the sound of trance in the UK?!? What are some of your memories from this time of your life?
The Opera House (now the Bournemouth 02 Academy) is still the best venue I’ve played by miles. Of course there’s probably better venues out there but that place was so special when it was rocking, anyone that used to go will know what I mean. Most people that went, including a few friends, still talk about it all the time. A couple of gigs from back then at Godskicthen and Passion @ The Emproium in Coalville were amazing too. It was a fantastic time for massive super club venues. Slinky @ Creation in Bristol used to be brilliant too.
How would you describe your sound at this time?
It was so varied, most dance music genres were exploding. House, techno, trance, D&B, garage, and lots more were absolutely kicking off in a massive way. There was so much energy.
Your DJ career was put on hold in 2010 when you went through two life-changing experiences – the suicide of your older brother and your young son being diagnosed with severe epilepsy. It was a time when you wondered whether to carry on with music at all, such was the heartache. How did you get through this desperate time, how did you come back?
I’m still coming through it to be honest. Music has become therapy, as it is for a lot of people. It feels good to have music to focus on and to move forward as positively as possible.
After your hiatus, your music changed. It was faster, darker – RA described it as ‘jet-black techno’ and you collaborated with Alan Fitzpatrick and Reset Robot. Do you think you were ready to come back at that point?
No, definitely not, a few dark years came after that spell. I was making music because its the only thing I knew, but memories are so blurred from that time. It’s still important to go through it though, as it leads to the next phase. You can’t get to where you want to go without having all the good and bad experiences prior to it.
A transformative milestone came along after another break from music, all thanks to your EP released on Sasha’s Last Night On Earth label. How important was this moment?
Yeah, that is a fond memory. The music I was making had become completely experimental by then, trying to work out how to get feelings from inside your body into the instruments and out of the speakers regardless of genre. An EP formed which I wasn’t sure if it was good or not, and not sure where to send it. Then Last Night On Earth signed it.. it was probably a routine moment for Sasha and the guys at the label but it gave me a boost of confidence that was needed at that time. Like a gentle nod to say that this was the right path, keep going. Sasha has been such a big influence over the years, I can’t thank the LNOE gang enough for signing that EP.
‘Lion’ was written in late 2019, is inspired by themes of loss and rebirth and is dedicated to your older brother. It’s obviously a very personal album, please talk us through the album…
Writing it was all consuming. You know when you get the bit between your teeth with a project and you can’t stop thinking about getting it done. I like the idea of doing 1 or 2 hours a day and chipping away at music, but then once something starts forming in front of you, you gotta use every hour you have to finish it, because the feeling can disappear after time. I’m going through something similar at the moment, currently burning a fair bit ion midnight oil. Lion started to become a story of what had been happening for the past few years, one track flowed into the next, and to be honest it was writing itself after 3 or 4 tracks, I just had to sit there and let it happen. I’m never sure if it’s any good, but it’s more like scratching an itch, it has to be done.
Why was Anjunadeep the perfect home for ‘Lion’?
Mainly because of how much they loved it. I’d stopped following labels by then and didn’t’ know much about any labels apart from 2 or 3. Lion made it’s way to Anjunadeep via one of their artists and they got in contact. So I researched the label there and then, and had an informal meeting a couple of weeks later. It went great, it was clear it was the right home for it, and it was also clear how much Anjunadeep were a brilliant label. I’m so happy Lion is there. I’m a big believer in letting the music find it’s own home, and that’s what Lion did.
Please tell us about the fundraising that will be happening throughout the album campaign…
KIDS are a charity that helps disabled children and their families in the UK, with things like play schemes and crucial respite services. They’ve helped my son and family a lot over the years, it’s lovely to be able to help in anyway. They have had a lot of funding cuts over the years, and need all the help they can get. There is a fundraising link where you can donate if you’d like to, and we are also selling a3 album art prints where all proceeds go to the charity. www.kids.org.uk
And finally, cannot leave you without a mention of the current state of the world! How has the last few months for you, how have you been filling the hours and what is next on the horizon after the release of ‘Lion’…
Lockdown has been insane in my house, and its still going strong until they open my sons special needs school. There’s barely been a spare minute. And then Lion has come out in the middle of that, haha.. it’s really fitting to be honest, it was born from chaos, it may as well enter the world amongst it too. There’s some amazing remixes of the album coming out over the next few months, and I’ve got a couple of remixes coming out too. Plus a new project has been forming from working late nights the past few months, possibly an album, it’s starting to feel like one. I did have a few tracks that I thought would become an album before the lockdown hit but that changed everything, and now something new is happening so I’ll be cracking on with that and we’ll see what happens with it. There’s a lot of people suffering from the various lockdowns around the world right now and the lasting effects, hopefully we can heal a small bit of that with music!
