The future of American House music putting Chicago right back on the map
Welcome to DMCWORLD young man, where in the world are you right now?
“Thanks. I’m currently in Canada, the small town of Moffat to be exact. I was up here for a wedding this weekend and am staying a few extra days to relax and hang out with some friends.”
A fabulous new tune that has smashed The Buzz Chart this week ‘Brohammer’ with a tasty Nari & Milani remix. Tell us about the history of the tune…
Brohammer has a funny story. It started out as a joke. I was out to dinner with my family for my birthday and my younger brother and I were joking about all kinds of funny dance moves we have seen people break out in clubs. Then we started to make up our own names for some of these moves. I said the word “Brohammer” to describe a move and we both just started cracking up. It was such a funny title that I had to make a song of what I think the word “Brohammer” sounded like. The following week I started to work on something to send my brother, but 2 hours into it I realized that it could actually turn out to be a cool track. Spent another 2 hours, finished the song…and then “Brohammer” was born. It first was released on OWSLA on their “Free Treats Vol. 2 EP”. A few months later it came out on Ultra with a new vocal, then a week later came the music video. Now a few months later we have the remixes.”
Why did you decide on Nari & Milani for remix duties…?
“I was so excited to hear they were up for remixing the track. Their track “Atom” is incredible. I found it to be very refreshing. Nothing was coming out that sounded like it. They really brought that techy groove back to the big room sound. I thought they would be able to do something amazing with the remix and they definitely delivered. Its getting huge support!”
You took a break from music a few years ago because you weren’t happy with your music. What did the process involve that enabled you to fall back in love with your sound…?
“This was a risky choice I made. I was writing trancy stuff and it was coming out on Black Hole (Tiesto’s old label) and Spinnin’, both of which are great labels. I just wasn’t 100% in love with what I was doing though. I felt that if I’m really going to try to make career out of music, I have to believe in myself completely. I have to be in love with the music I’m making or else I’ll always be doubting myself. So I took a few months off of writing music and just listened to music that I love and inspired me. Music that meant a lot to me. Music that truly moved me in some way. I would break down each song and write down all the things I loved about it, so that I could make sure my music had these characteristics. I then decided that I needed to grow as a musician/artist and felt that Indiana wasn’t the place for that. So I moved to England for a while!”
You moved to the UK in 2010 when the Ultra deal happened. It took quite some time negotiating the label deal though huh?
“I arrived in England and worked with a few people who I truly respect as musicians and as people. I wanted to work with people who have nothing to do with dance music so I could truly be stretched and forced to think outside of my comfort zone in hopes of developing more as a musician/artist. We wrote a lot of music and I learned so much. It was definitely one of the most defining moments of my career so far. I then sent some music over to Ultra and they were really interested. They sent over an offer and the negotiating began. The deal took a while to negotiate, but that’s the music industry I guess.”
How beneficial was the move to the UK, what were the work highlights and what clubs did you check out?
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to really put into words how beneficial the move was. I grew so much as a musician/artist but also as a person. I have a completely new perspective on approaching music now than I did before. I definitely miss England. The friendships I made are ones that will last a lifetime and the memories always bring a huge smile to my face.”
You moved to Chicago after college, if you hadn’t have become a musician, what other careers were you thinking of?
“I have no idea what I would be doing. I’m definitely one to pursue things that I’m passionate about and music is something I love. It’s always funny to think about what my life would be like without music.”
Who were your early musical influences?
“I used to be into underground hip-hop. That’s why I bought my first set of turntables. I wanted to learn how to scratch and beat juggle. I wanted to be a “turntablist”. I listened to The Beatnuts, Jurrassic 5, KRS-One, Mos Def, Tribe Called Quest….Then I was given a CD by a friend and he just told me that it was this new music called “Trance”. I instantly fell in love with it. From then on I was listening to Tiesto, Armin, ATB, Paul van Dyk.”
What is the record that changed your life?
Armin van Buuren – ‘Communication’. This was the first ever dance music song I had ever heard. I can still remember the first time hearing it. This was the beginning of my love for dance music.”
At what age did you start songwriting?
“I was a sophomore in college so I was 20.”
Your music is being played by a huge array of superstars, Tiesto, Armin, Knife Party and Skrillex have all been banging them out – did you ever imagine your music would appeal to such a cross section of musically diverse DJs?
“It’s pretty crazy. I think one of the cool things about dance music right now is that people are playing music they really like. Genre’s matter less and less. So you get DJ’s playing stuff all across the board. The whole industry is wide open so it allows for tracks to be played by all kinds of DJ’s.”
Your press people claim that “be ready, the future of American house music is here.” What are your thoughts on how EDM has transformed your home country?
“I think it’s great. I love that it’s started to really grow again in the country where it all began. It’s taken a while but it’s making a very strong statement now. It will be exciting to see how the next few years go. I think there is going to be an incredible amount of new talent from the States that will really come through.”
Chicago is renowned as one of the most important cities in the dance world. How is the city in 2012, who are the producers laying it down at the moment?
“It’s a great city. I’m proud to be living there. There are a lot of people starting to get some buzz right now. For one, I know Krewella is really blowing up right now.”
What is coming next from you studio wise?
“LOTS of music. Here is a little list of things coming out over the next few months:
Gareth Emery-The Saga (Topher Jones Remix) [Garuda]
Jonathon Gering-Let You Go (Topher Jones Remix) [Garuda]
Tritonal-Azuca (Topher Jones Remix) [Air Up There]
Topher Jones and Amada ft. Ido-Hello Chicago
Hello Chicago (The Remixes)
And then what looks like an EP in the late fall!
What has been your tune of 2012?
“Has to be Brohammer. This track has opened up so many doors and really kick-started a lot for me again.”
Away from dance music, who are the artists you are listening to at the moment?
“Mumford and Sons, Jonsi, Sigur Ros, Coldplay, Florence and The Machine. And oh yea…Snapbacks and Tattoos.”
To all of the aspiring producers reading this, what advice can you give to people wanting to follow in your footsteps?
“Work hard, be patient, be kind, be grateful. Don’t over-think things. If you work hard, things will happen.”
And finally, have you ever got a trombone out and played at an after party to freak people out?!?
“Haha. I haven’t. I’m not really an after party guy. I like to go get sleep!”
http://twitter.com/djtopherjones
http://soundcloud.com/topherjones
