Artist J’owl derives his name both from “jowls of a beast” and from the combination of his first initial (Jason) and the word owl, (because owls remind him of late night jazz sessions). We recently spoke to J’owl about his album, Cyberpunk Jazz genre and what inspires him.
Davi: You play Cyberpunk Jazz. Can you explain that genre and how you’ve created the name?
J’owl: In Cyberpunk Jazz the imagery is just as important as the music itself. It draws inspiration from science fiction works by authors like Philip K. Dick and films like Blade Runner. The artwork for the music is usually either glitchy or gritty (sometimes both). The sound is a mixture of jazz horns over electronic beats, which in the beginning were more aggressive and closely related to industrial music. Lately, however, they have also become rooted in a more glitch or IDM sound.
D: How did you start playing Cyberpunk Jazz? What inspired you to create a new sound?
J: I came up with a concept and then began writing the music that would become the soundtrack to that concept. I’ve always been interested in new genres and sounds, especially if they crossed genres that normally aren’t found together.
D: When you perform, you generally mix mediums. When and how did you start doing that? Was there ever a time that your act only consisted of saxophone?
J: When I perform it’s a combination of playing sax over a pre-mixed down backing tracks as well as live generative synth from an iPad and a drum machine. This gives me more room to improvise. Since its inception, J’owl has always been about the blend of saxophone with electronic music. A previous project I had involved me singing/rapping lyrics over pre-programmed beats. I was never really good at singing, but my beat production had gotten better over the years. So I decided to pick my sax back up and started playing that over my beats instead of vocals.
D: Are there other artists that experiment with sound that inspire you or that you admire?
J: Trent Reznor and Richard D. James are two huge influences on me as far as production and sound experimentation go. I also really dig what Flying Lotus has done to bring jazz into experimental beat production.
“I hope that when kids hear me perform that they’ll want to pick up an instrument and play. I hope when other musicians hear me out there doing my thing, that they’ll be inspired to follow suit and give busking a try themselves in the same way that I was inspired by seeing other buskers.”
D: What inspired to start busking? What has busking taught you?
J: Some years back, I was down at the Warf in San Francisco and I was lucky enough to catch a busker’s performance. It planted the seed of this being something that I’d like to do one day. More recently though, I was in Las Vegas for my birthday and there were street musicians everywhere. It really got me excited about the idea of busking. Last year I finally decided to go for it. Busking has taught me to not waste time being afraid to put yourself out there because you never know who’s going to hear you and enjoy what you do.
D: What is your favourite part of busking in Seattle?
J: I love seeing the looks on people’s faces when they hear me perform (good and bad), especially children- they usually seem pretty enthralled with what I’m doing. I’m noticing that toddlers love to dance to music. I also love being given the opportunity to perform for people who wouldn’t normally hear me in a venue setting or seek out the kind of music I perform. The people of Seattle seem very open to buskers.
D: How do you hope your audience feel when they listen to you?
J: Inspired. I hope that when kids hear me perform that they’ll want to pick up an instrument and play. I hope when other musicians hear me out there doing my thing, that they’ll be inspired to follow suit and give busking a try themselves in the same way that I was inspired by seeing other buskers.
D: How does your personality come out in your music?
J: My love for science fiction comes out in the genre name. My imagination also comes out in this aspect, in addition to the production. I guess when I’m performing on the street, I tend to try to make my music more approachable and this is probably a reflection of my personality because people usually find me pretty approachable as a person.
D: Last question. If could impart one piece of wisdom on the world, what would that be?
J: Be true to yourself. Do at least one thing that makes you happy every day, no matter how small or insignificant that thing might seem.