Jade is probably one of the most interesting Drum&Bass-artists right know. With a sound that is both rough and very dynamic, he managed to become well-known not only in his home city Budapest (Hungary), but also around the world.
Let’s start with a current mix by Jade:
Download Link // Tracklist
Jade got infected with the Drum&Bass virus when he was fleeing from a blizzard in 2000 and ended up in a club where he heard that sound for the first time. He started producing his own tracks soon after that.
His current “Venom LP” is packed with bass-heavy Drum&Bass that has become his signature sound. However, there are also a few tracks that stick out. “The Fool” and “Strip 03″ are just two examples that show what else he can do. Being always curious about what thoughts lead to good music, I asked Jade about his influences and intentions for his sound:
“I grew up on Kemal, Ed Rush & Optical, Usual Suspects, Bad Company, so I guess that inspiration shaped my production as well. I never write music thinking it should sound like anything. It’s always about the joy of creating music. Acutally it would be cool to produce music without any boundaries, no genre, just to express what’s inside. In reality, that’s not possible. I have to walk on the path to make my name consistent, to make ‘Jade’ stand for something. It would be impossible to build a fan base with inconsistent music.
The different genre tracks I put on the bonus CD of my album proves that, those didnt recieve a big response. 3 different genre, 3 different audiences. Most of the people are not universal music listeners, they have a style they like, plus some big bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers. However, I saw an opportunity, and I put some different music on the CD for the open minded people to see what I am about musically.”
Apart from having released over 50 productions so far, many probably know him for his remix of the theme from the movie “Pulp Fiction”:
“I don’t exactly remember how I got the idea, but I do know that I had it in mind long before I actually produced it. I even had a sketch with my then-clumsy skills. Years later, when I already released a few tunes on wax, I picked up the idea again and managed to meld it into a dance floor killer. Everybody knew the original, and it was somewhat connected to the underground through the number one cult movie of all times. A good idea with a good timing.”
Jade’s musical history also contains quite a few collaborations with Matt-U, who is also from Budapest. Jade explains how they met and work together:
“I met Matt-U in 2003. At the time I was working as a Drum&Bass promoter, and Matt had an idea to bring in some new, talented, but unknown artists. This escalated into the first ever Noisia party held. In just half a year they exploded and took the scene by storm. Meanwhile, we started producing with Matt together, and our first fruit of collaboration landed on the massive BSE imprint. Then we made it to Moving Shadow, P51, 1210 to name a few, it was really great to work with him. We always had different idea about the music, I was a dancefloor maniac back then, and he was always about the musical side, all the melodies, so as a result our works were perfectly balanced. Later he left Drum&Bass for Dubstep, but we still work together for time to time, for fun. Our first 3 tunes singe is coming out on LimeDubs very soon. Expect some slow but sweeping vibes!”
His success as a DJ and producer got Jade gigs around the world. While this is certainly the dream of many newcomer artists, you probably should love traveling to enjoy stories like this:
“I love travelling, and years of playing out and touring didnt change that fact. I always took my camera with me, and I always look at the world through curious eyes. However, sometimes it’s completely exhausting. A year ago I was playing in Wellington (New Zealand) as the last date of my tour with State of Mind, and Dose. Right after playing they took me to the airport, and after our sad goodbyes went to Auckland, where I was able to sleep for a few hours, then Auckland-Sydney-Bangkok-London-Budapest, followed by a nice sleep, then off to Russia, Budapest-Moscow-Vladivostok, back to the same +12 time zone that I was just in 2 days ago, but on the other hemisphere. That week I was flying over 70 hours, but it was absolutely worth it! Check out the pictures I made on facebook!”
My other favourite travel related story occurred only a month later, when i was playing in Calgary, Canada. On the plane, I was already suspicious, wondering why was the flight doing that loop around Iceland, and when I landed I was told about the volcano. I was stranded in Calgary for a week, and I couldn’t be more happy. The promoter crew was friendly, they took me on trips to the Rockies, we even went to an university lecture about the street art situation in Canada.”
During his travels, Jade also experienced how different local scenes can be in different parts of the world. One might think that everyone has access to more or less the same music, but the local preferences can still be pretty special:
“Over my travels what I saw is separation is very strong between countries, cities, and sometimes even different promoters in one city. In some cities there is no Drum&Bass at all. I played disappointing gigs in world wide famous metropolises, and I also played massive raves in small towns. I have a good example, recently I used to tend to finish my sets with the huge hit “The Bug” by Magnetic Man. In 2 different Slovakian towns it had the absolute opposite effect. First it was exploding, then it was a disaster.”
Jade has already seen quite a bit of the world’s dancefloors, and 2011 could be another big year for him:
“I’m looking at a 2011 full of promises, I hope most of them come true! Most importantly, I’m launching my own label eventually, it will be called ‘Eatbrain’. First 12″ already sent for test press. First single is Audio Hypnosis / Here We Go w/ State Of Mind. 2nd Single is going to be a remix EP of my album called Venom. Bookings are looking promising as well, hopefully USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand will see me playing besides Europe.”
If you would like to know more about Jade and his music, you can find him on Facebook and SoundCloud.
Thanks to Scott who got me in contact with Jade!
Scott also does the booking for Jade in North America, so if you happen to live in the US or Canada and you love Drum&Bass, you might want to give this address to the booker of your favorite club:
Scott McCusker
Cyber Groove Productions/Artist Management
www.CyberGrooveAM.com
Scott@CyberGrooveProd.com
CyberGroove2k < AIM/Skype
