We had great fun catching up with J, widely known as JKriv and in the spotlight of his upcoming Future Disco Radio Show takeover, which is a very special recording of his Live set from The BBE Store, in London. In our conversation with the talented co-head of Razor-N-Tape, we delved into his resilience, inspirations, journey and what listeners can expect from his eagerly anticipated radio show airing tomorrow (Friday 16th August – 3pm BST).
Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey into the world of DJing?
A:I began playing bass at a young age, studied jazz at Oberlin College and played in the band Tortured Soul through the 2000s, which exposed me to the world of club music. I quit the band in 2010 and began various other musical projects, including Razor-N-Tape, producing my own music and DJing.
Q: What were some of your early musical influences that shaped your sound?
A:Early on it was classic rock like Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, which led me to other 70s funk like Sly and the Family Stone, Funkadelic, James Brown and more. That led me pretty naturally into disco and later to house and other types of electronic dance music. But I also went very deep into jazz and artists like Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus are a huge part of my musical DNA.
Q: What has been your favourite party or event you’ve ever played at and what made it stand out?
A: This is always a hard one for me, because I really find so much joy in different ways from playing various cities and events. But to name a few from my recent travels, Heidegluhen in Berlin was a dream. The club is a real beaut, and playing the sunset set outside for 3 hours was just 👩🍳👌Both of my sets at Pike’s, Ibiza this summer were outstanding. The energy in Freddie’s is really something special.
Q.What advice would you give to up-and-coming artists looking to break into the disco and house music scene?
A: First of all, coming from my jazz background I’m a big proponent of practice. There is no substitute for time spent, and that applies to DJing, production, or any other craft. Try to avoid the trap of comparing yourself to others. And this one took me a while to learn myself, but you need put yourself in the places and spaces where you want see yourself. Meaning, you want to get a gig at xxx club? Go there, be seen by the resident DJs who play there, meet the bar staff, the door staff, the security. The best and only way to move yourself forward is to find a community and build with them.
Q:Are there any specific skills or qualities you believe are essential for success in the music industry?
A:Resilience.
Q: As a DJ, what do you hope to communicate or evoke through your music?
A: I believe music is a higher level of communication, a universal language capable of expressing all the shades of human feelings. My goal as a DJ is to experience together with all the people in the room a a journey through our emotions.
Q: You’ve remixed for Future Disco before. Can you tell us about that experience and what it meant to you?
A: The last one was for Bondax, which was a super cool tune with a great vocal by Andreya Triana, who I absolutely love from her work with the Vision and Quantic. It was a pleasure to work on, and for that mix I had fun bringing in lots of live instrumentation.
Q:What is your creative process like when working on a remix? How do you approach it differently compared to creating original tracks?
A:I generally like to listen to the original song just once to assess if there are elements I find inspiring or feel I can work with. It’s often a pretty surface listen through or sometimes I just listen to a snippet, and that’s because I really don’t want to get the sound of the original song stuck in my ear; I want to leave myself open to hearing a new creative way to realise the track elements. And then ideally I work pretty quickly to get my ideas down.
Q:What can listeners expect from your Future Disco radio show? Do you have any exciting themes or special segments planned?
A:This set was recorded live at the BBE store in London recently during a Razor-N-Tape event. It’s a mixed bag of old and new stuff.
Q: Can you share any details about your future plans and projects? Are there any upcoming releases or collaborations we should look out for?
A:I’ve got a a few edits records that just dropped on Gator Boots and Funkyjaws Music, an original single on Glitterbox at the end of August, a remix for French groups Palavas coming on Ravanelli Disco Club soon, an edit on Make A Dance and an original EP on Razor-N-Tape in January of 2025.
Q: What has been your proudest achievement to date in your music career?
A:My Within EP which I released earlier in the year is something I’m very proud of. It’s a bit different than much of the other music I’ve released, but the songs are very personal to me and I’m very pleased with the way it came out. And also Razor-N-Tape is one of proudest achievements; it’s truly been an honor to bring the music of so many different amazing artists into the world.
Q: How do you stay inspired and continue to innovate your sound with each new release?
A: Haha I’m not sure I innovate with each new release but luckily inspiration generally isn’t an issue for me, when I sit down to work on music it kinda just flows. With all the different things I’m doing, my issue is time!
Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of music? Any hobbies or interests that might surprise your fans?
A: I love to cook, am a huge movie buff and I am also very into fitness. I did capoeira for many years and I currently do body weight training and yoga very consistently (when I’m not traveling.)
Q: If you could play a set anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
A: Panorama Bar is definitely up there. I’d also have my sights set on a few key festivals for next summer.
Q:How do you see the future of disco and house music evolving in the coming years?
A: To be honest I have no idea because I don’t know how useful genre signifiers even are these days. For my purposes I’ve kind of stopped thinking about music that way, and more in terms of energy levels and vibes. But I know there will be lots of artists, both newer and older, who will continue to innovate and carry on the lineage of these styles of dance music.
Q:Any final words or messages for your fans and the Future Disco community?
A:Keep your eye on the RNT release schedule because we’ve got some incredible music on the way, as always! One love, be excellent to each other ✌️
JKriv takes over The Future Disco Radio Waves at 3pm tomorrow, tune in here.
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