Jay Tripwire is not just a DJ or Producer, he is an artist. He has stayed far beyond the glitz of the mainstream, producing over 200 releases in a career that has spanned two decades.
Never choosing the easy route, he looks for something deeper, something worth doing. He's on a voyage of discovery and like any good explorer he has a sixth sense for seeking out the truth. His music plays this way, turning up at gig's with re-edited tracks, playing his own sound and not other way around.
For that reason the most respected players hold him in high regard, Laurent Garnier, Steve Bug, Doc Martin and Mark Farina all cite him as an innovator. His style fuses Detroit textures and intricate rhythms. He remains one of the most prolific artists to date.
Steve Bug asked Jay to mix Pokerflat's - Shaping Elements Vol.8. Which features the finest selection of house, tech house and leftfield european electronica. So we thought it was a great time to speak to him about being the one and only Jay Tripwire...
So what's been happening in the world of Jay Tripwire?
There is always soo much going on, i have been working on some new projects, its a vinyl only project and i feel as if I've been doing my best work for it. I just got a new dog, he is keeping me busy. I finished a special live show at Halloween where I played live and dj'd using drum tracks I put together with a combination of keyboards and lots of effects pedals and tripped out sounds.
What has been your highlight of the year so far?
A mixed cd compilation for Poker Flat finally released last month, nice to have the project finally out there for people to enjoy. I'm also working on a top secret remix of a Classic house track that we all know and love, I'm really happy with the version I've done and excited to be part of the project.
What's been the most banging gig / festival you've played recently?
Its funny over here in North america we only have a few festivals and they are much smaller than the EU festivals, it seems like house and techno over here is struggling to stay alive. The scene here reflects that... it is on life support!
My summer was relatively quiet, I was doing my own parties all summer long, booking people such as Chez Damier, Ron Trent, Charles Webster, Doc Martin and Eddie Richards, bringing them to Vancouver (my home). I wanted to showcase them to people here and give them a little more education about the music than they are currently getting.
As an old timer house DJ I still feel a very strong duty to my own home scene which I helped shape and mould, by not only djing but putting on parties with good music and saving people from bad music, one soul at a time.
How would you describe the music you create?
These days its a blend of everything I like and play, it has a futuristic Detroit sound to it with classic Chicago bass lines, West coast drums and modern production techniques. All blended into what I feel is the true sound of house and techno all meeting in one place.
That is a sound which came about by the style of records that were played here in the 90s, Vancouver DJs had a sort of techno feel with a house sensibility, but always on the deeper side of things.
You are well renound for turning up to gig's with your own re-edits and remixes specially created by you for your DJ performances, where did the idea come from?
Hahaha... well the idea came from the way Danny Krivit rolls out to gigs with his own custom versions of everything. I felt I wanted to mould tracks I play into something that is closer to my own style and make it unique. When the CDJs came out they gave me a platform to play those edits, I have been doing a lot of re-edits for my sets since about 2002. I do my own edits of classics, modern tracks and everything in between its what makes me different form anyone else.
It depends on the day, I usually get up around 1pm, have coffee with my wife, take our dog out, eat something, then she leaves for work, I start dong emails then hit the studio, shop for music, listen to promos then I'm off to run 6-8K as part of my daily routine to clear my head. By that time my wife is home from work and we make dinner and then i go back to work. We both are on a nightshift schedule as she starts work around 4 or 5 pm and i have to stay up late to correspond with people in Europe as I am 8 hours behind in Vancouver.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Weather and the struggle of life... I'm a working class dj and producer, I don't make big hits and sometimes I'm making music that isn't in fashion with what everyone else is doing. I like to play a lot of underground parties instead of fancy clubs so believe it or not I still just make rent, food and bills. I don't think a dj is worth $10,000 for a set by any means and usually the more hype the less substance.
My inspiration is to make music from my soul and not to think about how profitable or trendy the songs are...and when I'm struggling I need to express myself more deeply.
Before you became a DJ and producer what were you doing?
I was in school, I got kicked out in grade 10 and found myself immersed in warehouse party culture. So I took up djing and throwing parties and that was it. This is my only career that i have had and have been doing it for the last 20 years, this is my life... in the good times and bad times this is what I do, it is all i know.
Who inspired you to become a DJ?
There were a few Djs here that were soo awful that played everywhere. They couldn't mix, they didnt even try, and they played the same bloody records in the same order every week. There were only a few other decent DJs... I felt this was wrong and made it my challenge and duty to offer something else with substance and feeling and add to the war on bad Djing, awful music, and none of those Djs are still playing today. The ones who kept true to the craft and their loyalty to the faith of good music are still playing, as so am I.
Is there one DJ who stands out for you as someone to look up to?
There are alot of DJs, people like Doc Martin FK and Eddie Richards are still at it after 30+ years doing this, keeping it real, staying away from the hype and offering an alternative to the nonsense going on that people call music and DJing. Just because you wear the right clothes, have the right haircut and new trainers to go along with your Serato laptop rubbish still does not make you a real dj.
It goes hand in hand with food, if you eat Fast Food and premade ready meals you are doing the equivalent of listening to bad music except with your stomach.
It is important to eat whole real foods, from local farmers and listen to quality music with substance and soul. I like slow food and deep grooves..
What was the first record you bought (no matter how embarrassing)?
My first 2 records I bought at the same times were episodes of Spiderman that you followed along with in your book and the story of Star Wars. I grew up really poor and wasn't able to see Star Wars in the theatre when it came out so i had to settle for listening to it on a 12 inch vinyl and looking at the pictures in the booklet...I still have both of those records today!
What's your favourite tune of all time?
Thats like asking if I like water or oxygen more ha,ha...Herbie Hancock - Rockit.. Chez damier-Closer...Max Romeo - I Chase the Devil, Alexander Robotnik - Problems D'Amour(FKrmx) Vangellis - soundtrack to Bladerunner....
There seems to be a revival of the original house sound before they labelled house or techno and so on, do you think club culture has come full circle?
Its just that our tastes have come back to the real sound that inspired us and that will inspire the new generation of listeners.
What do you think is happening with music these days?
People are treating it as disposable in this digital age, they go on webtorrents and steal it and most of the people who pour their blood sweat and tears into making interesting cool music are barely surviving. Hence probably why the music itself is soo good, happy well fed musicians don't create in the same way someone who is broke struggling and making music because they love it and being inventive making due with what limited gear you have.those are the true jams that come from the soul, music that speaks to us.
Known for creating some of the most authentic house sounds, how do you approach working in the studio and is there a set way of working for you, do you have a roadmap to work to?
I have a degree in sound engineering and I have been making house and techno records for 15 years now, so I just kind of have an idea and that idea takes me on a trip, its kind of like automatic writing, it just evolves and grows into something and iam just the vessel that the creative energy flows thru, I do not approach songs with a mindset of 'is this a hit'? or what label is it for etc. I just make music I want to share with people.
What are your favourite labels of the moment?
Time to get Ill, Quentessentials, Freerange, Tonality, Prime Numbers, 3rd Ear, Compost Black, Drumpoet Community, Underground Quality...off the top of my head..
Who are the new producers coming through who you think are worth listening out for?
Iron Curtis,Tazz, John Daly, Jay Shepheard, Groovenauts, Gfamilly, Alland Byallo, Glacier...
What's your top tune of the moment?
Ability II - Pressure dub - Outer Cosmic World
Are you still an analogue man or are you all digital now?
Bit of both but analog will always reign supreme..
What's your favourite piece of kit?
Juno 106
For Djing... Do you use vinyl or CDJs or another technology?
Vinyl and cds, I dont like laptops for Djing, I dont trust any non-tangible medium to play music, I guess a laptop dj would be handy at a wedding or a school function but I do neither so its not for me..
What does the future hold for Jay Tripwire?
We never know what the future hold for us...Tomorrow the Zombie apocalypse might begin and my future would be fighting Zombies and trying to survive... or maybe not, maybe just keep doing what I do and what makes me enjoy life and whatever path it takes me. You have to be in the present and not always look to the horizon.
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