On this weeks Select Cuts we sit down with one of our very own Mr Jack Ward from Limerick. For such a young man (aged just 19) he’s already achieved some significant milestones, including signing his much loved record Yogurt to the acclaimed Dirtybird Records. We caught up with him recently to chat about the release that kick started his career and the new direction his music has been taking.
Modest till the end Jack explained that he wasn’t always a cool cat house producer ‘I was making really really terrible electro at the start’ complemented by a keen interest in drumming and music in general. Its clear he’s been steadily working on his craft for a number of years “Junior cert (aged 15 in Ireland) I was experimenting with sounds… if I listen back it sounds pretty awful” with mixed results but over the last 12 months he seems to have cracked it with a number of esteemed productions finally seeing the light of day.
As alluded to earlier, his initial break came almost out of the blue following what could politely be termed a ‘washout’ show in Limerick “I played my first gig in a limerick, no one came, nothing happened ever and the day after I got an email from Claude Von Stroke saying hiya we like the track”. The track they were referring to was a 30 second preview Jack had submitted through an artist forum connected with the much loved Dirtybird moniker run by the legendary American house artist Claude Von Stroke. It was only a 30 second preview owing to the fact that Jack was still in a relatively developmental stage with his productions, not yet creating full tracks on a regular basis. However the initial support was a big motivation to the budding artist ‘the fact that Claude Von Stroke had the faith in my to even reply and say he wanted the track is mindblowing’ and provided Jack with the catalyst for further studio endevours. It didn’t hurt that the Limerick man had already had quite a reverence for the label itself.
There was still plenty of work to be done however as Jack communicated back and forth with Von Stroke to get a working version of the track ‘it was painstaking, I was sitting there like ok.. maybe I should change this track up a bit, I tried my best to make an emulation of the demo but Claude absolutely hated it”. Ward is plentiful in his praise for the patience of the veteran producer citing to the fact that his honest approach. “He was very direct’ which in the long term helped the producer bring his ideas to fruition and get a working version of what would become Yogurt.
The rest of the story follows a well trodden but welcome path, the track was eventually signed to the incredibly successful Dirtybird 10 compilation alongside productions from other well known luminaries Justin Martin and Catz n Dogz. Radio play worldwide and a string of booking requests soon followed but for Ward this can all wait as he carefully negotiates his way through a college degree. One thing is for sure though, his sound has been developing significantly ‘it was a natural progression to sounds like Innervisions and Life & Death, I’m happy with that it’s ok to move on to different sounds’. It bodes well for the future, the young producer hopeful that his continued work might bring further dividends ‘the sky is the limit, I have all summer to be making music and the clock might strike once more’ he divulges modestly.
Either way it appears the future is bright for this intelligent producer with an ear for the infectious hook. Enjoy his mix and get to know one of the most exciting talents to emerge this year on our isle.
Jack Ward plays Soundblast Festival Munich on August 1st
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