Recently, standout DJ, producer, and dancefloor favorite Justin Jay returned to the Modesto Reservoir Campgrounds in central California for the eighth edition of the iconic Dirtybird Campout.

Created by legendary house producer and Dirtybird label boss Claude VonStroke, Dirtybird Campout featured a mix of international legacy acts and emerging stars that span the worlds of house, techno, bass, hip-hop, and beyond. Justin joined an elite artist lineup of artists that included Claude VonStroke & Green Velvet’s Get Real, Walker & Royce, Sevdaliza, Goldie, Ben UFO, Roni Size, Derrick Carter, DJ Sneak, Mark Farina, Rebūke, VNSSA, Nala, and many more.

Justin performed at Dirtybird Campout’s new late-night stage called the Hideout Stage, where an eclectic curation of tracks and a dose of the unexpected from the fan-favorite producer set the tone into the night.

Justin Jay has been on a release tear lately, dropping new music on several tastemaker labels including Trick, Shall Not Fade, CHILDSPLAY, and Lobster Theremin. He most recently released two new EPs BNGRZ001 – Side A and BNGRZ001 – Side B.

Following Dirtybird Campout, we spoke to Justin about his release activity this year, what’s inspiring him at the moment, his recent festival appearance, and much more.

WWD: You’ve been releasing music on a number of different tastemaker labels lately including Trick, Shall Not Fade, CHILDSPLAY, and Scuffed. Tell us about the most recent BANGERSONLY EP on Fantastic Voyage and how that one came together.

My new EP is the culmination of my chaotic approach to making music. Over the past few years, I started stepping outside of house music. But now, I’ve fully stopped limiting myself to any genre & bpm, even within a given track. If I’m making a techno song and I want it to turn into dubstep halfway through, I will indulge. Making music is so fun when you give yourself permission to explore all the silly whims that show up. Bangersonly.com is the perfect label to showcase this chaos because we don’t care what style of music it is, as long as it bangs, it’s fair game lol. Big ups Danny Goliger for inspiring the name. Couldn’t be more excited for this new label.

WWD: If you had to choose one, what would be your favorite record you’ve put out so far this year and why?

Bangersonly.com/bngrz001 because it was just so absurdly fun to make. I wrote “Ballz” while giving a music production lesson on zoom. I was talking to a student who was facing some intense self judgment and perfectionism – he wasn’t having any fun making music and taking it all very seriously. Mid Zoom lesson, I told him, “you can just be silly and do whatever you want on a track. You can make a song where you record yourself saying ‘balls’ and it could be a banger.” I made 90% of that track in our Zoom hang haha.

WWD: Who were some of your biggest artist influences in the scene coming up and who are some in today’s scene that are inspiring you?

Coming up Daft Punk was by far my biggest influence. Right now some of my fav artists are DJ Heartstring, Lobsta B, Nikki Nair, Overmono, AK Sports, Kessler, Skeptic, Prozak, etc.

WWD: On a broader scale, is there anything else that you’re finding a lot of musical inspiration in right now even if it’s not something particularly music related? Whether that’s something like traveling, nature, etc.

I’ve been spending time in Boulder, Co. Going on lots of hikes, swimming in streams and even jumped off a few cliffs. I’m normally not much of a nature boy but it’s been so awesome stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new things. Definitely very inspiring.

WWD: You had a recent release titled “Want” come out on Dirtybird’s 2022 Campout Compilation just ahead of the festival. Tell us a bit about the creative process behind this one.

I made the song in 2016. I just wanted to make a Dirtybird banger and experimented with some crazy vocal production. I sent the song to Claude, and he rejected it. That year I played it at a few big festivals and people still asked about it years later. When Claude asked for songs for this year’s campout comp, I sent it and he said yes! In the 10 years I’ve released on Dirtybird I’ve never seen him flip flop on a track. So crazy, but I think the takeaway is to never take rejection personally, you might just be super ahead of the game.

WWD: You had a recent festival appearance at Dirtybird Campout this past weekend and have played it in the past as well. What was it like playing the event this year and at the festival’s new late night stage?

This year, I had to switch my set time last minute to attend my niece’s Bat Mitzvah. I got to play a very intimate late-night stage, and decided it would be the perfect place to test out a brand new solo live show. It was such a last-minute decision that even the festival had no clue what I was doing. I did an hour of performing my original songs, singing and playing instruments live. It was so fun and magical. I hadn’t done a proper live set since before Covid and it was so fulfilling to get back on the horse. One of my favorite aspects was how I decided (5 minutes before my performance) to set up my equipment on a few boxes with me seated on top of the dj table. It was so janky but awesome and fun. Was a magical experience overall.

WWD: What else do you have coming up the rest of this year and into 2023? What are you most excited about currently?

This year I’ll be finishing up a new album, gonna polish up this new live show, teach more music classes, help artists release a bunch of new music on my labels Fantastic Voyage & BangersOnly and just try to have as much fun with it as possible.

WWD: Thanks for talking with us Justin Jay.

Thanks guys!

Justin Jay: Facebook // SoundCloud