There are few artists who have worked harder and made significant strides in progress quite like Jauz, who has evolved his sound over his career into a signature Jauz beat that fans celebrate. No stranger to success, his debut album, The Wise & The Wicked, skyrocketed to the top of the charts within 90 minutes of its release.
Now, Rise Of The Wise, is Jauz’ proof that he is by no means a one hit wonder. In fact, he has 8 more songs that just get better and better as you listen. You can listen to the album here:
Jauz sat down with Popdust to talk Rise Of The Wise and so much more!
PD: Congratulations on your new album, Rise Of The Wise! Can you tell us about the inspiration behind it and your creation process?
If you’ve followed my career for any length of time now, it’s no secret that I’ve been delving into the more techy, melodic, house-y side of the Jauz project. When I sat down to write an album centered around “The Wise”, it seemed like a no-brainer for me to make Rise Of The Wise the outlet for all the music I’ve been writing in that style for the last few years. It all kind of fell together without me having to try. I just don’t know why it took me this long to figure it out!
PD: What were your favorite tracks to create on the album and why?
That’s a tough one. I really love all 8 records on the album – there were probably over 2-3x that many songs I had to pick through to make the album just right. But if I had to pick one, it might be U Feel. I’ve been trying to figure out how to channel that exact kind of “sound” or “vibe” for such a long time while also making it really feel like a Jauz record, and I think that song really nails it on the head.
PD: Do you have a certain production process or any instruments that you like to use?
This is another hard question for me to answer. To me, the process of writing songs regardless of genre just feels like I throw a bunch of random shit at the wall and hope that the end result is pretty cool. When I’ve had people watch me work over my shoulder, apparently my process is a bit more refined and intentional than I see it. The one thing I can say though is that I’ve always been a big believer in staying “In the Box” – not relying on anything that I can’t have on my laptop to create my songs. That way I can be as productive when I’m on the road as I am when I’m home. That changed a bit on this album, as I experimented with a few hardware synths like my Moog Sub 37 and the Arturia Microfreak, but I think I could’ve put the album together the way I did without them. That said, it’s always good to get out of your usual routine and do something new, even if I make nothing that’s usable, it generally leads to coming up with ideas I probably wouldn’t have if I stayed in my “routine”.
PD: Your debut album, The Wise and The Wicked, went top of the charts 90 minutes after its release. How did creating this album feel differently from the first? Did you feel any sort of pressure to create the same sound?
I knew there was zero chance that we were ever going to recreate the impact that first album did, so it was actually a lot less stressful than I thought it would be! Haha. To be honest, I think the pressure I put on myself to create a certain sound was in the first album, where the “Wise” section of TWATW was very pop-centric, melodic bass music that I thought would fit better in the “Jauz” sound. This time around, I let all of those pressures go and did exactly what I knew I wanted to – give the music I’ve been writing for years, that’s been sitting on my hard drives collecting dust, the proper home they deserved.
PD: You’ve performed at the biggest festivals in the world like Ultra and Tomorrowland. What’s your favorite part about performing live and are there any festivals you’d like to go to in the future?
There’s nothing like connecting with a crowd, whether it’s a tiny club or a massive festival. Sometimes you just hit that sweet spot where you as the performer and the crowd are perfectly in sync with one another, and it’s truly something you can’t experience any other way. One of my main goals when I started writing the kind of records that ended up on Rise of the Wise, and especially with the launch of the album and the creation of this kind of new “World”, is to take the “Wise” show to festivals and stages I would never be able to play as Jauz. Resistance stage at Ultra, CRSSD festival, Yuma Tent at Coachella, Ibiza, etc. We’ll see what happens!
PD: Are there any artists that inspired your career? Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
There are too many artists from too many genres to list. I listen to everything from the heaviest of heavy metal to artists like Ben Bohmer, and they all play a massive role in shaping my sound. That said, one artist I would kill to work with is Rufus Du Sol. I would just love to see what their process in the studio is like, and what would happen if I tried to put my spin on something they were working on.
PD: What can we expect from you for the rest of 2023?
If you take a look at the original TWATW and do the math, it’s pretty easy to figure out what I have in store for everyone for the next foreseeable future. Either way, you’ll all find out sooner than later!