LA producer Justin Jay continues his ascent this month, stepping out from the Dirtybird spotlight to present his debut LP Fantastic Voyage – a production, which also features friends Josh Taylor, Benny Bridges and Ulf Bonde. The album arrives in four individual parts featuring on four equally notable imprints. Part I & II came via UK imprint Black Butter and Jimpster’s legendary Freerange Records, while instalments III & IV are billed for the inimitable Soul Clap and the recently founded Repopulate Mars (the creation of one Lee Foss). This week we caught up with Justin to get the low-down on the release and five killer cuts from his Spring tour. 

WWD: Hey Justin. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. What’ve you been up to this week?

I’ve been recovering from my spring tour. Recovery for me means spending insane amounts of time making music, exercising, trying to take on a normal sleep cycle (which is difficult) and practicing piano/singing for fun.

WWD: You recently announced your debut album, Fantastic Voyage (The Album!). Can you tell us a little bit about how you came about making your album?

It started from a very innocent place. I was starting my last semester of college and had a really good friend, Josh Taylor. Josh and I pledged the same fraternity in college when we were freshman. We became great friends, both having a really strange sense of humor and an obsession for music. But while I was making heavy club music, he was interested in acoustic pop music. We always had mutual respect for each others musical interests, it just took us a long time to realize we could make music together. Our last semester of college, we decided to give it a go and once we started, there was no looking back. We made all of these songs in my dorm room studio and involved as many of our school homies as possible.

WWD: The second EP from your album just got released on Jimpster’s Freerange Records, while the first EP got released on Black Butter Records. How did you go about picking the homes for these EPs, and what other labels should be keep an eye on for future Justin Jay releases?

To be honest, I didn’t know of any label that was down for Pt. 1 of the release. With all of the blues/rock influences in those songs, it really wasn’t right for most of my favorite underground house/techno labels. Black Butter was open minded to the songs which was really incredible. Freerange was a dream come true for me. Jimpster and his label shaped my taste in dance music when I was in high school. I met him at one of his parties in LA and was that weird kid who danced at the front until 5 in the morning, then awkwardly asked how I could send demos. A couple months later, I built up the courage to send him some music I’d made with Josh and my good friend Ulf Bonde and my dream came true! Coming up, I have parts 3 & 4 of the album coming out on Soul Clap Records and Lee Foss’ new label, Repopulate Mars. Very humbling to get support from those legends as well on all of this new music.

WWD: Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your Fantastic Voyage (The Album!)?

Fantastic Voyage started as a house party that I was throwing at school with Ulf. At this party we were able to push ourselves to play music we’d never felt comfortable to play before. Whether it was music that was too weird and forward thinking for big clubs/festivals, or music that was so too cheesy/feel good for the cool kid warehouse parties. That same mindset was applied to the music my friends and I made on this album. Fantastic Voyage is about trying new things, pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and having lots of fun in the process.

WWD: What are your favorite songs on the Fantastic Voyage album?

I think there’s a lot of diversity across these songs so it’s hard to pick a favorite. “I See You” off of my Freerange EP is one of my favorites to DJ. It’s dark and jazzy but when I play it at the right time of night, it feels like a club banger and gets huge reactions. “Climbing Trees,” coming up on Lee Foss’ Repopulate Mars EP is one of my favorite songs to listen to. It’s about being a kid and not growing up. Definitely strikes a deep chord for me emotionally.

WWD: Your Justin Jay & Friends project has been a huge hit in both your recorded music and your live sets. How did your relationship with Josh, Ben, and Henry start?

I told you about Josh, but Ben also was in the same frat as us, just a year younger. He was playing guitar in Josh’s band and when Josh and I started our first song, we hit up Ben to join in on the shenanigans. I met Henry my first semester of school and always thought he was the man. We ended up going down very different paths during our time at USC but reconnected during my last year. He was playing drums in the coolest college band around. I spent many night my last semester of college getting down to his group’s covers of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and motown soul classics.

WWD: Some of your Justin Jay & Friends releases are signature underground, Justin Jay tunes. What musical direction do you plan on taking your new project?

I want to keep pushing myself to produce more challenging, forward thinking club music. I also want to dive deeper into songwriting and composition. I just want to keep on having fun and trying new things pretty much.

WWD: You just wrapped up your Fantastic Voyage world tour. What were some of your favorite cities to play, and why?

Our last gig this spring was in Arizona and it was amazing! We played outdoors in a venue called Shady Park that felt like an actual park. It was so warm and intimate. We brought out the live set and it felt pretty magical. Overall though, America across the board is amazing. Whether the cities are small or big, there’s so much genuine interest in proper underground dance music which makes it a pleasure to play as a DJ. I also did a run in Australia which was insaneee. I love Australia so much and find it quite similar to America in all the best ways.

WWD: Your summers are always filled with festival appearances, and you have Lightning in a Bottle, HARD Summer, and more coming up. Do you approach a festival set differently than a club set? How so?

It’s interesting, at the smaller boutique festivals like Desert Hearts or Northern Nights, I’ve found that I can push myself further as a DJ then I can in big clubs. When you’re playing outside and you’re in nature and it’s beautiful, you can play music that you don’t normally get to play in clubs.

WWD: What can we expect to see from Justin Jay / Justin Jay & Friends this summer?

More music, more shows, lots of shenanigans 🙂

WWD: What’s next for Justin Jay? Are you going to be taking Justin Jay & Friends worldwide?

That would be pretty incredible. Honestly, I just want to keep learning about live music and hone those skills so I can try new things as a live act. Lots of time spent practicing and experimenting is required haha.

WWD: Give us 5 Floor-Fillers From Fantastic Voyage Tour!

Alma Negra – Messa: One of my favorite tracks to play right now. The chanting and yelling give me goosebumps… So dope.

O’Flynn – Oberyn: This is off the second EP O’Flynn has put out on Blip Discs. Really fresh grooves and melodies up in this. UK meets afro-tribal.

Je Dàvu feat San Proper – Disco2Disco (Latin Space Dub Edit): Was going through old videos of Ricardo Villalobos DJing and saw one of him dropping this. Such a legend.

Unknown Artist – You Got The Funk: One of those 2 bar loops that you never want to end. Thankfully it goes for 7 minutes in this tune.

Justin Jay & Friends – I See You ft. Ulf Bonde & Josh Taylor: This song needs a very low friendly sound system. In the right context it can be the biggest track of my set. Super heavy and deep.

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