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Her's an article on Jelo in View Magazine
here's the link
http://www.viewmag.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4778
O Lounge is gearing up for the swankiest season year round as
Toronto–based DJ and international production fiend Jelo rolls
into town Friday night for some martinis and “massive chaos.”
Despite Jelo’s holiday season being more about “life stuff
than business stuff,” that tone is not set to last long as the new
year hides just around the corner. Having just finished work on
Nelly Furtado’s new album, Loose, Jelo is still revelling in the
massive success of his remixes of “Promiscuous” and “Maneater,”
both wildly successful around the globe. “Maneater did extremely
well overseas in the UK market,” says Jelo. “It charted for weeks,
including hitting #1 on the dance charts. It was also one of the
top selling ring tones for weeks on end.”
Taking his foray into remixing commercial artists is
welcomed wholeheartedly by Jelo who, from personal experience,
has never seen him do anything half–heartedly. This dedicated DJ
with endless strings of talent both in the studio and behind the
decks says that the Furtado experience with Geffen Records
opened up many new avenues for him, some that were
unexpected just a year ago. “I’ve got other projects lined up,
including work remixing Broken Social Scene which is kinda cool.
It’s going to be such an incredible influence on my regular work.”
When it comes to taking a commercial record by the horns,
gearing up to remix and remaster, Jelo’s plan of action is organic
and delectably narcissistic. “With anything I do, I always start off
thinking about what I would want to dance to. The North
American and UK markets are very different when it comes to
remixing and producing. In the UK, you can get away with looping
a snippet of vocals and filling the rest with beats and it passes
their test. But in North America, there is a band of studio heads
here that just want to hear the song, but put to a faster, dance
beat.
“Either way, I always try to keep the sensibility of the track.
When you remix a song, you’re automatically going to
compromise the integrity a bit. When I’m producing a song from
scratch, I can really just be as simple or as weird as I want. With
remixing, I always try to pay attention and stay true to myself, the
song and the original artist.”
Jelo got his start by hosting and spinning at underground
rave events during a time when club culture was everywhere but
inside the clubs. When he did bring his unique brand of funky
charged beats back inside, he was the type to get raised eyebrows
either way. With clubbers either loving or leaving his sound, it
didn’t take long for assimilation of the audiences, and soon
nobody was going anywhere. Jelo’s career has stayed on course
ever since, with regional and international fans following him
from gig to gig, waiting to see what happens next.
In this light, Jelo operates on an annual basis, in the sense
that he notes each year as a defined self–trend. “I’m forever trying
to avoid doing this year what I did the year before. In terms of
what my sound will be like in 2007 vs 2006, I’m going back to
basics. That could raise some eyebrows, but when they hear it, it
will be in a good way.
“I’m going to go back to where I was when I started, as a
rave DJ who could adapt well in the clubs. Because my audience
became wider, I was able to play loads of different venues, but the
start was in rented warehouses and at field raves.
“What I really need to do is bring back that energy. It used to
be that people went to clubs to hear new music. Now, I hate to
say it but all clubs are rocking the same vibe and it’s like clubs
have become the radio. I can go into a club and recognize, along
with everyone else, every song. It should be that you only
recognize a few songs and leave wanting to find the new songs.
Many DJs today are doing this, just sounding like they’re playing a
play list. We’ve got to get that discovery energy back.”
If trends run in circles, Jelo is quick to suggest that now is
his time to go back to basics. “Maybe my time to return is now. I
wish people would take more chances, and that’s what I’m all
about. I know that DJs have a responsibility to themselves, the
audience and the club owner, but still they could be playing more
diverse sounds and more undiscovered tracks.”
As for the martini merriment that awaits Jelo and club goers
at O Lounge this weekend, Jelo says he couldn’t be more excited
to take to the decks.
“The Nightdreamer guys, Mark and Owen, who put on the
Friday night events are great guys. They’re the first ones on the
dance floor and really give support to the sound. O Lounge is a
nice looking club in Hamilton, but we’re going to bring some
chaos with some heavy duty sound on Friday night. Think of it as
being all mathematics and climaxes. It’s going to be great.” V
[ TAMARA HOLMES]
JELO
Friday, December 22
O LOUNGE
612 Upper James St
905.383.1494
jelomusic.com
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