As the career of jozif reaches its peak (to date, at least) with the launch of a new compilation series for Balance, Defected’s Ben Lovett speaks to the London producer about a life lost – and found – in music.
Growing up, London DJ-producer jozif was surrounded by music and artistic creativity. His mother, a dancer with the Royal Ballet, and father, a professional drummer, one might have been forgiven for thinking that his subsequent, wave-making club career was a shoo-in. But, initially, he pursued sport.
“I was super into my sport for a long time and went to college and uni doing sports science” he confesses, “but there was a moment when I was 14 when music just took over and sport didn’t really seem to be that important anymore – bearing in mind that’s all I wanted to do since I could walk, it was a bit of a shock to everyone. I guess that’s how I knew it was something special because I didn’t have any choice over it, it just happened and one day I suddenly found all I could think about was musical arrangement, about sounds, about instruments and, later on, about DJing.”
jozif has been DJing and producing house for around 15 years now. Local ‘rites of passage’ gigs in London and Bristol (where he also lived for a time; he played regularly alongside Dan ‘Eats Everything’ Pearce and Amos ‘Waifs & Strays’ Nelson) have led, over time, to prominent, global spots for We Love...Ibiza, Fabric, Watergate and the Rex Club. And whilst his first notable production only arrived in 2008 – an EP on his own vinyl-only imprint MOG – he has made rapid, stupefying studio ground. 2010 was a hugely significant year, delivering widely praised EPs on Vitalik, Wolf + Lamb and Fist Or Finger, his label with Fabric Musical Director extraordinaire Craig Richards. Recently, there have been remixes of Ellen Allien, Subb-an, Dusky and John Digweed, and tracks for Crosstown Rebels, In Finé and, perhaps most importantly, Culprit. But more on that in due course....
“It was weird” jozif reflects, “that change from ‘into it’ [music] to ‘being it’. It really did just happen.” Existing in an industry that defines itself by increasingly complex levels of fashion trend, business planning and regulation, jozif appears to be just as open and instinctually-minded as he was when he experienced his explosive teenage eureka. In an interview last month, he admitted that “plotting and planning” weren’t his strong points, but does he really think he can continue to operate successfully this way?
“I’m not a businessman, I’m a musician and as far as I’m concerned as long as people like my music and like my shows...that is the most important thing” he counters. “Facebook likes, You Tube hits and marketing strategies are not my forte and, to be honest, maybe that’s why we’re getting ourselves into a bit of trouble right now, because people are thinking too much about careers and business, and not enough about the music.”
It follows that jozif is blissfully unconcerned about the scale of his next endeavour, the launch of a brand new compilation series - aimed at emerging, future-shaping talent - for the revered mix album brand Balance. Whilst the outside world is hyped to bursting point, Jozif remains calm. “I don’t tend to think about pressure and that kinda stuff; I just kinda get on with what I’m doing and hopefully people will like it” he says. “I was quite surprised they [Balance] asked me though and, in particular, to start the new series. It’s a big honour for me as I’ve loved the Balance mixes for as long as I can remember; James Holden’s in 2003 was unreal, as was Agoria’s a few years later.”
Balance Presents jozif was first envisaged as an upbeat mix-up but the death of a close friend prompted a deeper, no less interesting change of tack. “It really affected me” he confirms. “I didn’t think it was right to push out such an upbeat mix when such an awful thing had happened. I went back to it and this is how it turned out.” jozif’s revised one-disc outpouring is warm, melodic, subtle and sophisticated. Opening selection, Charles Webster’s mesmerising guitar lilt Butterfly, sets the tone perfectly, giving way to further deep, introspective flow from Steffi, Glimpse & Martin Dawson, Ian Pooley and Jozif himself. Conventional club mix it is not.
“I don’t find it difficult to be unconventional within house and electronic music at all” jozif urges. “It’s funny you should ask, I was having this exact same conversation with someone else this week. To be brutally honest, I don’t pay any attention to how I might be portrayed; again, it comes down to putting the music first. For me, writing and playing music should be anything but conventional or formulaic. OK, I may not be as super successful or wealthy as some of the other guys who simply repeat themselves, or just do what’s happening now, but at the end of the day that’s up to them.”
The 508 EP, released on Crosstown Rebels last year, qualifies the uniqueness of jozif’s creative vision with crystalline clarity. Here, the artist wraps his delicious, low slung 4-4 grooves around random sound samples taken both from studio and, astoundingly, kitchen, as well as Little Bear’s dark, mournful vocals. It is thrilling experimentation reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s Seventies (but ultimately aborted) play with rubber bands and empty Coke bottles. jozif immediately snuffs out the reference: “I was just fiddling around in the studio, recording different things and testing how they sounded, and The 508 came out. When I start to write music I don’t sit down and say ‘right, today I’m gonna write a disco record’ or ‘today, I’m gonna write a banger’, things just happen. Sounds come out of my head and I’ve just got to grab them and record them before they run away again.”
He continues: “Ultimately, I’m cool with whatever anyone wants to do; I don’t think any of us [club artists] can really judge each other because no one is 110% right all the time. This is what’s so great about music and the music business – everyone has their own view, their own take, their own plans...so it never gets boring.”
jozif’s close relationship with effortlessly cool LA label Culprit has only extended his musical freedom further; if that was even possible. “Culprit played a massive part in my career last year” jozif says: “for one, with both The Lady B and Standard Rising EPs. Again, it just kind of happened, and the boys (Culprit owners Droog, AKA Andrei Osyka, Justin Sloe and Brett Griffin) have been bloody amazing with me...so supportive. They’ve let me run as much as I want with my releases and given me some of the best gig experiences ever! To have a label that not only believes in you but wants you to be involved at every level, sound, look, feel...it’s a rare pleasure."
Last year also saw jozif rocking big festival slots everywhere from SW4 in London to Sunwaves in Romania, whilst holding down that prized We Love... residency at Space Ibiza and securing his first interview on Pete Tong’s stellar Radio 1 show; Tong a keen supporter of The Lady B, so too Damian Lazarus, Andrew Weatherall and Sasha.
The momentum is continuing to build in 2013. Balance aside, jozif has just completed an extensive January tour of the States and South America and is already back in the studio – his first visit in six weeks – to finalise some of the new material that he hopes to unleash upon his eager-beaver public over the coming months.
“My life is music to be honest” he declares. “I know that sounds very cliché but I have my little flat in London with my girly and the cat; I travel every weekend and attend the studio during the week, and that’s kinda it. You do have to work really hard in order to fit everything in – writing, doing interviews, remixing, getting music ready for the weekend. Unless I’m away, I’ll be in the studio Monday through to Thursday from 10 in the morning to nine at night. You never stop working but it’s a great job!”
Things, then, aren’t entirely happening for jozif of their own accord - if he’s freewheeling then there’s no small effort involved to keep the creative spokes spinning briskly. What else is coming up? “Yesterday was the first time I managed to get back in the studio for weeks, which was really exciting” he beams. “I’m just writing a new EP, Under The Thumb, which is a sexy, slow vocal type thing. I’m also doing a few remixes, more dancefloor-orientated, including one for Adam Shelton and Subb-an’s One Records. There are no artist albums as yet... I need a bit more time. I’ll actually be back on tour again shortly to promote the Balance album...back to the States then Australia. You never stop.”
Does he prefer production or performance?: “Hmmm, tricky one. I love them both for different reasons. The studio is such a solitary environment...it’s just you, your feelings and the equipment. But you can’t beat the feeling of standing in front of people and playing them music, especially when it’s your own.”
Does he think technology’s rapid march is endangering the ‘hands on’ DJ, upon which to date much of dance music’s rich and successful history lies?: “I quite like the idea that for some people the mixing element has been taken out – the most important thing now is the music. For a long time, people have been so concentrated on who is the best technician. Now, at least, that’s been taken out. My five-year-old nephew can mix now; it’s just down to how good your music is and how you program.”
Everything, literally, comes back to the music. “I can’t really remember how it happened,” Jozif reminds. “It’s like falling in love, you’re never really sure how or when it happened, it just kinda happened. I could go on and on about why it is that house music motivates me, but in two words? The energy....”
jozif’s vibrant, technicolour career grooves on.
Words: Ben Lovett
Balance Presents Jozif is released by Balance Music (Aus) on February 25.
