A Dirty Dozen with JHNN – January 2020

According to his bio: “I am a musician from Calgary, Alberta with some form of electronic music made by things you hate because its not analog.”  We get JHNN to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Actually, when I think about it I was really inspired by Trance music because I remember listening to trance back in 1998 around the time when ATB was popular. You may catch that I completely forgot about that.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I had 3 brothers and 2 Sisters. One was into New Wave, one briefly got into House music and one was heavily into hip hop. It was around me at all times and it protected me from a lot of childhood anxiety but the moment I wanted to be a musician was actually around 11 years ago after discovering that I wanted to DJ while I failed to pay attention in Physics Class. I was going to school and my heart was beating the moment I discovered how much I wanted to DJ. It was a feeling that I have only felt a couple times in my life and so far it has been rocky right.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Yes there is several but I will name a few. The most important album to date to ever influence my musical taste has to be “Much Music Dance Mix 95”. I was way too young but the feeling when I first heard it was like love at first sight. It’s cheesy but when you are a kid and don’t have access to clubs that’s literally the best you get.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

This really changes so it won’t be the same. Kanye West was the first to kind of get me to think about becoming an artist with his album College Dropout. Lifelike’s almost whole DJ discography is something that I felt represents the way I would like my music to sound like. I haven’t gotten tired of all the Lifelike songs I have had. MSTRKRFT was a big one cause I have had this name for about 12 years at a time when MSTRKRFT was really big. They inspired me because they were the first I saw combine house music with punk energy back in 2006 in Canada. K-os was a rapper that kept my weird exclusion in this world safe being an Afro-Canadian. I felt like I couldn’t relate to rappers nor rock stars. K-os somehow bridge that gap and made me feel whole in situations where I liked some rock song I wasn’t “supposed” to like. Cut Copy. When I first heard In Ghost Colours I wanted to make something that reminded me of Dance Mix 95 with New wave so badly and this album is pretty much it. It’s so perfect in every single way and I looked at their catalogue. I knew I wanted to be a musician, not just a DJ, after this album.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Right Now, Daniel Avery would be awesome. I heard his album Drone Logic back in 2013 and was mind blown. Still to this day I haven’t really been able to find an album like it. I just think we would make an amazing Industrial Act.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

If the band “SUUNS” decided to make house music is one way to describe it.

7. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

Performing. The only time in my adult life where I get to play with toys.

8. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

ME because I am a loner and do not have money to pay for a backing band.

9. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

MSTRKRFT. I got to open for them. Like the people who I got my name from. They were so nice and they treated the night like it was a punk show not like a DJ show. It felt like I was talking to a rock band about technical stuff and favourite artists and music scene and stuff like that. I just think that was unreal and to this day I can’t believe “My Strange Addiction” was even mastered by one half of MSTRKRFT.

10. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

Probably run a night club. I would love to watch Comedy, Theatre, Music, DJs and such in my night club. Also I got Kitchen background so I would love to experiment with food.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I think everything I’m doing is a misstep. I feel like whether I did it sooner or later I would’ve learned it eventually.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

This ones going to be a little bizarre but since I have been listening to them a lot lately but I would love to know how The Smiths recorded their debut album. The way Morrisey speaks from an introverted perspective means the world to me. The way Johnny Marr constructed the perfect band, almost like a producer, is just something I’m dying to know how it all came about. This album got me through a lot as a person in my 30’s.

JHNN LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Category: Interviews