We all at Waxhole had the pleasure of utilizing Gmail's multi-user chat function to open a dialogue with an artist of whom we had an eye on. Jenova 7 will take you on a musical journey similar to the ones we all took with DJ Shadow, RJD2, Krust and all of the other collage masters.
We highly recommend you check out his work in great detail and show him some love while you're at it.
Dusted Jazz Volume One (EP) by Jenova 7
Jenova 7: wow i didn't know you could do multiple user chat
DNGR: si
JAQUES: yo!
Hypo-Luxa: we learnin ya
DNGR: we decided to bumb rush you for an interview and feature you on waxhole if you are ok with that
Jenova 7: haha cool
JAQUES: so shoot a short bio if that's ok
Jenova 7: hm
Jenova 7: i don't know if i have much to add to a bio like the one on soundcloud
other than im 22
and i went to film school
started doing hip-hop production for fun when i was in my early teens and that evolved into combining elements of jazz and psychedelic music
i started making trip-hop around the time i became obsessed with jimi hendrix
because he represented a new form of creative expression through music
so even though my sound might be more closely related to dj shadow or dj cam im actually mostly inspired by hendrix
DNGR: So with your music videos.. was it something you always intended to do with the music?
Jenova 7: until recently ive never been able to find inspiration to make music videos to my own music
i used to be more self-conscious about my music
more reserved about showing it to people but that evolved because i grew more mature and more comfortable with the style
the 2 music videos i made for the EP came about through random inspiration
i realized my music was a form of collage in a sense because its primarily composed of small obscure samples of various genres of the past
mostly from the 60's and 70's
DNGR: nice
Jenova 7: and because im a very cinematic individual and i went to film school i already had an understanding of the relationship between music and film
i realized i could add context to the music with visuals
but instead of shooting original footage which i could have done easily
i decided to search through public domain archive footage
a. because it has no copyright protection so i would be free to use it
and b. because it directly compliments the idea of my music
taking samples of the past
reconstructing them and recontextualizing
its literally the same thing
sampling jazz and drum breaks, sampling footage of the past
i didnt want to make a video EP, so i knew i wouldnt make a video for every track
dark water jazz and a touch of evil seemed the most capable
DNGR: i definitely noticed that in how they flow with the music
Jenova 7: the footage from the dark water jazz video was taken from a few sources
but the sources had a common theme of being educational videos on the "new" technology of vinyl record players
and since trip-hop is relatively new
it seemed to flow well, because with the dark water jazz song combined with that footage it sort of represents an evolution in music and technology
the ability to sample obscure songs of the past and create trip-hop
and then a touch of evil
i had those images in mind when i made the song
images of bombs and soldiers and guns
thats why the title is a touch of evil
because human error
its also a subtle reference to orson welle's film "a touch of evil"
in which the opening scene involves a very elaborate single take shot that concludes with a couple being blown up in their car
thats the darkest track on the EP so i really wanted to use the most evil image of human creation - the atomic bomb
einstein would agree and he tends to be infallible
i was pretty lucky because it didnt take any extensive time to create the concept
it sort of came naturally
probably because i have a cinematic mind
and i always see images when i create music
it was just a matter of compiling the thoughts that already existed in my head
JAQUES: so are you already planning your next project?
Jenova 7: im currently working on a few next projects actually
Jenova 7: the sounds of sector 7 is a full length album ive been working on for months
but im not the sort of person to sit down and construct that just because i have to
if it takes a year then it takes a year
to find that inspiration
im also working on dusted jazz volume two
for the same reason, because there will be a day im inspired to create something dark and jazzy
and other days where i want to add more hip-hop and electronic elements like with sounds of sector 7
im also making an EP with the rapper Ardamus, which is a jazz hip-hop album with a concept of "creating a film"
the beats are done he is just in the process of writing and recording
my project with ardamus is called "Diegetics"
which is a film term
diegetic sound = sound that is happening in the world of the film
Jenova 7: non-diegetic = sound like voiceover narration or music which is added to the film but the characters dont know exists
yeah
im working on a bunch of stuff
may or may not be a good thing lol
JAQUES: yeah it is.
DNGR: i think it keeps oyur mind open
not too zonked into one thing
Jenova 7: yeah exactly
trip-hop has so many facets of sound you can enter
jazz, funk, soul
and more
i play guitar everyday
i love the blues
Hypo-Luxa: mmm blues
Jenova 7: sometimes illl just jam to backing tracks for hours
just to get into another mentality of music
i would love to do a trip-hop blues project
id neeed a live drummer though
JAQUES: so if your main influence is Hendrix and you love the blues, where did the hip hop come from?
Jenova 7: ive always loved old school hip hop
like from the golden era of the early 90s
much of it reminds me of trip-hop
JAQUES: best time for hip hop
Jenova 7: listen to souls of mischief's 93 til infinity
JAQUES: yep
Jenova 7: or marxman's drifitng
JAQUES: midnight marauders
Jenova 7: yeah the jazz on that album
JAQUES: 93 was the pinnacle year in my opinion
Jenova 7: theres a reason why shadow released endtroducing in 1993
its because trip-hop and old school hip-hop were essentially the same concept
except one had more of an emphasis on lyricism and a commercial appeal
JAQUES: but both had thought provoking beats
something that has gone wayside
Jenova 7: yea thats definitely the common element
i know somme trip-hop artists dont include as much hip hop as they could
JAQUES: well I am glad that you are holding on to that
Jenova 7: but i really try to include aspects of "boom bap" beats
Jenova 7: and styles from the early 90s
DNGR: I definitely see the influences you mentioned earlier like Cam and Shadow. Are there any new artists or styles that you have had your eye on recently?
Jenova 7: unfortunately im more trapped in the past mentally
the artists on dusted wax kingdom are incredible though
i primarily listen to music fromt he late 60s to the early 90s
but i do sometimes hear a new artist who impresses me a great deal
wax tailor was refreshing to hear
Jenova 7: the metaform album standing on the shoulders of giants was pretty good
DNGR: I can see that. With artists and styles that come and go.. its nice to look back and have more perspective on what was lasting.
Jenova 7: yea
another problem with finding new music for me personally is that i do so much
if im not making my own music im working on film stuff
im writing a feature length screenplay currently
a horror/drama set during a zombie apocalypse
so its definitely more difficult for me to venture out and find new music that connects with me
and i hate commercialism
so i listen to very little of what is released in the mainstream
i refuse to buy cable tv and i dont listen to the radio
instead i buy/watch dvds, watch films on netflix or rediscover albums that i missed
recently ive been listening to some obscure Mo Wax artists
like RPM
i completely missed everything RPM did until very recently
JAQUES: Hell yeah man. Well we look forward to hearing more of your music and more about your upcoming film ventures. Keep us posted. Thank you very much for your time.
