Justin Jay is a man who is driven by the creative process and tends to let it guide not only his musical career but also his life. His progression throughout music has been a very organic series of events that all seemed to work together to where he is today. Justin Jay at his core is a musician, usually stretching his reach from producing to playing guitar to playing the piano to singing and back around again. He started his passion for music in middle school and carried it with him no matter what. In high school, Justin Jay was a fan of the underground house scene and started producing at an early age. Justin Jay looked up to people like Claude VonStroke when he began his career, but little did he know that he would end up on Dirtybird Records with his idol. “I used to watch video interviews of Claude VonStroke in high school and now to be able to work with him and all the homies it’s the craziest dream come true.”
For Justin Jay, it all started with DJ Mag’s Top 100 Release Party many years ago when his parents had doubt that music would be a viable option. “So, DJ Mag was having their Top 100 Release Party and I won the opportunity to go play because I won the section where you send in a mix. I couldn’t play because I was too young but in the end, it worked out as I had never really done a live set before.”
When Justin Jay arrived at college his parents told him he wasn’t allowed to have any instruments or music-making devices in his room. “I think they were worried I would never go out and socialize and meet new people which were partially right.” It was the very next day though that he received a call about a demo that he had sent out, and his parents came to realize the amount of potential he had and still does.
In his last semester of college, Justin Jay started collaborating with Josh Taylor and the Cozy Boys who had a bubbly ukulele and guitar sound, something vastly different to his own. Out of their work together came the Fantastic Voyage album. “The whole concept behind the album and the band was to facilitate collaboration despite the differences. I wanted a place where I could have all the homies come together and be free to create whatever music they want.”
Justin Jay went on to do some pretty amazing work and go on a tour but had to put the brakes on everything and reset. At the time, Justin Jay had a lot going on and wanted to get back in touch with his music and creativity. “I started writing songs and making music and it felt organic. First, it came from a piano just playing and singing to my iPhone then showing friends and letting them make music over it.” The collaboration between him and the Fantastic Voyage Band was their second album titled, “Home”.
For Justin Jay, this was exactly what he was supposed to be doing and from there it all came so organically. They all started working together and combining their talents to make creative and powerful music. “Josh actually really turned me onto the idea of singing and I wanted to try it myself so I got vocal inspiration from classic people like the Beetles but also vocal manipulation like Daft Punk does. My musical was a lot of live stuff: Pink Floyd, The Strokes and more psychedelic, indie showgaze music you can find in underground LA. Time and Flowers were two songs that homies came on and did the instruments and it worked, I like mixing it up.”
The biggest take away he's had was right after he graduated college he was able to do something he wanted to do, DJing. Yet at the same time, he wanted to try new things like play in a band, sing, and more. “ Doing something different and on your own makes you vulnerable and it can be intimidating, but I learned I had to stop judging myself and just get a little bit better over time. It's easy to be too critical of yourself. Keep going. If you really enjoy something nothing else matters People told him to keep DJing don't make something new it's a mistake but he didn't care and just did it on an artistic level. Go with the instinct and do what feels good. Nothing is worth breaking”
For now, Justin Jay is just hanging out and making music as he goes along while still expanding his horizons. When I asked him about his experience at Goldrush he said, “I had so much fun, I actually went a day early so I went to the Dirtybird stage and danced a lot. The whole festival had a cool lineup and theme with the western setting.”
