I recently caught up with rising dubstep star James Jacob aka Jakwob to see what he’s been up to. Check it out!

OH SNAP!! – Plus Size Model (Jakwob Remix)(Preview) Squeegie First!

Ellie Goulding – Starry Eyed (Jakwob Remix)

Ellie Goulding – Starry Eyed (MacGregor’s #1 tune all year) thanks to Neon Gold

Lily Allen – The Fear (Jakwob Remix)

S: Introduce yourself. From where are you based?

J: What’s up! My name’s James Jacob AKA Jakwob, I’m currently based in
Leicester at the moment but constantly between my home town Lincoln and
around London.

S: What have you been up to? Any projects or remixes in the works?

J: At the moment I’m working on remixes for OH SNAP!!, Crookers, Last Japan,
Little Boots and just finished a remix for Frankmusik. I’m also in the process of
doing a remix for a spazz metal band called Rolo Tomassi, who are a sick
bunch of peeps from Sheff. Working on a load of more of my own material as
well, hopefully featuring some MC people should know which should be out
asap!

S: How did you decide to do the Ellie Goulding remix? In my opinion, it’s
the best song I’ve heard all year and was just waiting to hear a
dubstep remix. And along you came…

J: That’s sweet man thanks a lot! It was a very random occurrence. Ellie sent
me the track and I basically fell in love with it and immediately had ideas
running about my head for a build up and drop; I got to work
instantly. I got the track just as I found some sick ass synth sounds I had
been playing around with, which happened to work well with the feel of the
original!

S: Were you surprised at the reaction from guys like Jaymo and Andy, and
around the internet, especially with the folks at Grindin’?

J: So overwhelmed with the reaction and how well it has gone down, very
grateful to bloggers and DJ’s alike for taking interest, I’ve had so many
emails from people wanting to play it out, which I appreciate so much! It is
sweet because the only real chilled out, melodic dub track that’s got a lot
of play on the floor is the Skream remix of La Roux, which itself is an
epically minimal yet powerful thriller! Andy and Jaymo do a brilliant job in
throwing out new music, and it was awesome they put it in there show and gave me
a big up and an amusing review!

S: Some of us here at Squeegie are producers ourselves and always
appreciate tips from the pros. Is there a certain thing you must put
in your productions to make it sound the way you want it to? How would
you describe the Jakwob sound?

J: Ah well, I always try and make the Jakwob sound as minimal as I possibly can
without making it too bland. I love chilled melodies and harmonies in synths
and slow grinding bass lines. Freaky modulation patterns, always a weird
bass hook and some sort of random instrument in the background that you
would never hear in a conventional house or dance track. I guess you could
say as chilled out as possible with the occasional kick in the balls. I love
to try anything! The Rolo Tomassi is a good example of how I like to branch
to any genre and artist, even if its not strictly a “dubstep remix”. The
idea about my music is to not expect or anticipate anything you’re used to,
it’s not going to be the most obvious drop or sound!

S: Do you have any DJ/tour plans?

J: I am currently in the process of organizing a mini-tour this summer, so if
anyone would like to put me on get in contact please! I just did a sick few
gigs in Lincoln supporting Shinichi Osawa at MODA in Lincoln and at Bungalow
8 in London with Hot Chip and Zinc. Dubstep is certainly growing on more and
more people!

S: What are your top 5 tunes to play out right now? To listen to at home?

J: Oh man this question is always the trickiest!

To play out:

Skism – The Blank (16Bit Remix)

Bar 9 – Murda Sound

Jakes and Joker – 3klane

Any Rusko track! – Ridiculous man/ridiculous producer!

Deadmau5 – I Remember (Caspa Remix)

At home:

Burial and Four Tet – Moth

Laura Marling – Alas I Cannot Swim (full album)

Portishead – Machine Gun

Beirut – Nates

Mumford and Sons – The Cave

S: Who do you see getting big the second half of this year?

J: Ooo well I think Ellie Goulding is going to blow up in a big way! Some
incredible things to come from her! Some incredible things already out
there!

S: I just got into dubstep a little over a year ago, and have seen it
evolve slightly. Where do you think the genre is heading?

J: I think it’s such a durable genre, in that it works well on the remix side
of things with so many other genres. I think you will be seeing a lot more
dubstep commercially and in loud house sets. I see it already growing out of
its roots from being reggae influenced and moving on to a more melodic
electronic vibe and potentially used as a first foundation for artist’s
remixes.

Cheers James! Hope to have you up here again!

posted » May 27th, 2009 by MacGregor
tagged » andygeorge . crookers . djzinc . elliegoulding . frankmusik . grindin . hotchip . jakwob . jaymo . laroux . lastjapan . lilyallen . littleboots . moda . ohsnap!! . rolotamassi . shinichiosawa . Skream