Dubstep artist and DJ, Jakwob will visit Lincoln on Monday, November 12th with a launch party to celebrate the release of his newest single.
Jakwob, real name James Edward Jacob, will play a set at The Engine Shed, as part of a new UK tour. He spoke to The Linc ahead of the show, about life as both an artist and DJ, and growing up in Lincoln.
This year has already been a busy one for Jakwob. Following a string of festivals and a spot on Wretch 32’s tour, Jacob now has his own string of UK dates to think about.
Although predominantly a dance DJ and artist, Jacob started playing instruments at an early age, before experimenting with electronic sounds: “I started drumming in year seven, and then I was messing around rewiring keyboards and taking electronic things apart. I played piano and was doing classical stuff, and then got into hip-hop. I started young quite unintentionally.”
Brought up in Lincoln by Scottish-Indian parents, Jacob spent most nights out at punk rock gigs at The Bivouac, something he remembers fondly: “I was there every Friday and Saturday pretty much!”
While Jacob spent most of his university years putting together music and sending mixtapes to labels, it was his remixes that started to get him noticed. A remix of Ellie Goulding’s “Starry Eyed” catapulted him into the industry, and he was snapped up by champions of new music, Zane Lowe and Annie Mac.
While Jacob often is placed in the ‘dub’ music scene, his music crosses boundaries and genres, something which he says is intentional: “I feel like if you’re going to make music you have to appeal to as many people as possible. I don’t like the idea that only a certain group of people in the world are going to enjoy the music, so I feel like it’s got to have all sorts of elements in it!”
Jacob agrees that dubstep music has seen a huge surge in popularity: “I don’t think it’s neither here nor there. It’s not a good thing or a bad thing. It’s what happens really. People enjoy certain types of music at different times. I think it can be bad when people get led astray with slightly less refined dub records being released, but it’s wicked.”
While bass-heavy dub sounds are moving more into the mainstream music scene, some artists have received backlash from fans as they become well-known. Dubstep artist, Flux Pavilion previously spoke to The Linc over backlash from a select few fans – something Jacob says he hasn’t experienced: “I started out making quite pop sounding things anyway. Even if they had no vocals in, they were quite riffy and melodic. I’ve never made aggressive music I don’t think.”
He continued: “I’ve not really had an opportunity to make something really contrasting, so I’ve not given any of my followers the opportunity to say ‘you’ve sold out’ or ‘you’ve made a ridiculously popular record,’ because I think a lot of it is anyway.”
Jacob laughs when asked about when his forthcoming album can be expected: “Definitely next year, but things take a lot longer than you expect. We’ll go in the studio and end up remaking something, making better things or going onto a new path.”
He continued: “I don’t want to force anything out. I’m not with the label anymore so I haven’t got restrictions with deadlines and trying to please a certain amount of ‘business heads.’ When it’s ready, it’s ready.”
His Lincoln date is also quite unique, as it’s the single release party for “Blinding.” Jacob says he enjoyed making the single, which is released this Sunday, November 18th: “It was a really nice record to make. Me and Rocky got in the studio, we just wrote that song and turned it into what it is today. It was about a year ago we made it, and we found a good formula and been making tunes like that since really.”
Jacob explained what the audience can expect from his Lincoln set: “Hopefully a good night! We’ve got a DJ on before and after. It should be a nice, ‘vibey’ thing. A lot of people come to expect a rave because a lot of live DJ things consist of them standing there with lots of lights and screens. This is actually a band thing, song by song. It will be a bit more reflective than a DJ set.”
Although Jacob says he sometimes prefers performing live, compared to DJ sets: “I get fed up with that now and again. It’s nice to perform the instruments and the tracks in a different way, rather than hiding behind the decks!”
Jacob says he know he can expect a lot from the Lincoln audience, from previous experience: “From the last time I DJ’d, it’s been really good, perhaps better than anywhere else in the country. It’s petty educated because of Moda, and everyone’s up for coming to a club night!”
Tickets for Jakwob’s single release party on Monday November 12th are priced at £8 each plus booking fees and are available from the Engine Shed box office.