Jay Jay - Lexicon

The Source resident DJ and up-and-coming producer Jay Jay has now touched down with his new record label Input Recordings. We went to find a little more on his new endeavour…

You have been playing out for quite a few years now, why did it take you so long to make the move from DJing into the studio?

We tried producing ages ago in about 1997 but it never really clicked. We didn't really know what we were doing and we just lost interest. In the end I decided to just concentrate on my DJing. It was only about a year ago that I thought I would give it another go and this time I was more prepared and it just seemed to gel.

How would you describe the INPUT sound?

There isn't really a sound to the label. I just want to put out good music. I mean we made, what I would call, a jump-up tune last week, its quite lively, I think it's quite different, I wouldn't mind giving it to some different DJ's in the scene. In the end though I think we'll end up making all sorts of tunes.

Will you just be producing for Input yourself?

No there'll be a load of different people, the first release is by me and Mark, the second by Bad Company although I don't know what name it's going under, after that there will be a double pack with a couple of remixes on, that will hopefully have a Fierce and Optical tune on, something from The Invaderz and hopefully something from Total Science as well.

Have you any other releases coming out besides the ones on Input?

I've got a track coming out on L-Plates and something on Core and I'm just finishing a remix of Wax Doctor's 'New Directions' tune that came out in like 1992 on Basement Records.

What clubs did you first go out to?

The first club I ever went to was the Hippodrome, I was 14 then, I used to go to the Rocket every week, the Elevations and Lee Valley Trading Estate. I can remember one particular night when Doc Scott was playing, it was the first time I ever heard him play 'Get Busy' by him and Keith Suckling (Reinforced Records), that was a mental night. That was like 1994, watching people like that made me want to be a DJ badly.

When did you first start buying tunes?

I was probably about 13/14 when I first started buying tunes like Public Enemy and from there I got into dance. I started off with a hi-fi deck, then I bought a pair of Soundlabs and then some Technics when I was 16, I still got the same ones now.

What other new producers are you looking out for?

There's too many to mention, there's good tunes coming from everywhere, I play tunes from all over the world. Two years ago I'd probably have been playing the same five peoples tunes, you know same record labels and artists, but now it's different by all different kinds of people.

What big changes have you seen go on over the last five years?

About a year and a half ago I was thinking the scene was a little bit poor and that's partly what made me want to get in the studio. It was just getting bored with hearing the same sound all the time. But now it's great because one minute you can pull out a Virus tune, the next you're pulling out something on Urban Takeover. I think the scene has really come together again over the past year.

About two years ago there were certain DJ's who might not have played an Urban Takeover tune and now their latest release by Rascal & Klone is in everyone's box, their latest stuff is amazing! There's so much good music around at the moment.

Where do you see your record label in a couple of years time?

I haven't got a clue really, I just want to keep going, make the tunes better and better. Me and Mark have worked hard to get the sound right, we're just knuckling down hard. With the tunes the hard thing is getting everyone to play it, even if you know them, there's a lot of people who DO give you support but it's still hard.

There just seems to be so much good music coming out and there's only so much stuff a DJ can cut, you know? I know there will come a time when it won't be so hard, so we've just got to keep going for it.

The debut release from Jay Jay and Mark C - 'Rumbling' and 'Cross Fire' - on Input is out now in all good shops.