Emerging a few years back with a run of acclaimed releases on local labels like Zero Tolerance and EQ, of late Melbourne based producer Jono Fernandez has been solidifying his reputation as one of Australia’s most exciting electronic music identities. His music has been picked up by a diverse range of DJs around the globe, including John Digweed, Dave Seaman, Plump DJs, Hernan Cattaneo and Phil K, and he’s seen his profile rise in a number of different scenes, including progressive and breaks circles. His recent collaborations with Meat Katie and Dylan Rhymes are causing a stir internationally, and having just returned from a tour of the UK, ITM thought it was high time we caught up for a chat.
Breaks seems to have somewhat died off as one of the leading sounds in Australia at the moment, with electro stealing that mantle amongst the more mainstream clubbers. Did you find this to be the case on your travels in Europe?
I think electro seems to be pretty big everywhere at the moment. Although I don’t see myself as a breaks DJ or an electro DJ, I do borrow elements from both these genres and incorporate them into what I do. The breakbeat scene is still pretty massive in the UK, and after attending Breakspoll at Fabric you can really get a feel for how much support the genre really has. Electro does seem to be being played by a wide variety of DJs, but like every style there is good and bad.
Speaking of popular sounds, how widespread is the minimal genre overseas? Given just about everyone in the scene has given it a bash, have you had any thoughts of making a minimal track yourself?
To be honest I didn’t see much minimal while I was abroad. I’m sure it was going on, I was just busy doing my thing. As I mentioned, I think there is good and bad in every genre and I think this goes for minimal too. I love some of the music but some of it I find quite boring.
The obvious question we always want to know, are UK crowds keener than out here? Bigger? What were some of your highlights of the tour?
No I don’t think the UK crowds are keener than out here, I think there are just more of them. If you think how many people there are in Greater London in comparison to the whole of Australia, it’s no wonder there are more parties, more people going out and a bigger scene as there are just more people to support it. There are probably too many highlights to mention from my tour. Every show was awesome but if I had to pick one it would be the Lot49 party at DuskTillDawn in Bournemouth. Mark [Meat Katie] offered to play my warm up and leave me with the peak set, which was so good of him. Mark played a stormer and left me exactly where I needed to be to tear the roof off the place. Incredible night.
Which up and coming producers and DJs are making a splash over in the UK at the moment? Who should we be keeping an eye out for?
One person who really blew me away while I was there was a young producer called Blende. He is making some incredible music, which could only be described as industrial, distorted, tech-funk. His music is going to appeal to people across the board both commercial and underground, as it really sits on the line. He has just been signed to Lot49, which is great news so watch out for his records! Another guy who is doing some great things is 30Hz. He is writing some awesome music at the moment and he will be out in Australia touring this year so make sure you check him out.
Who are your influences and who would you like to work with or play alongside that you haven’t yet?
I draw my influences from such a variety of places it’s hard to pinpoint specifics. I am happy being apart of the Lot49 stable, writing and DJing alongside these guys. It’s a group that really seem to push each other in good directions and it’s great when you have that sort of working environment.
Has the exponential growth of online forums and sites like MySpace made it easier for DJs and producers in distant places like Australia to get heard overseas?
I’m not sure it has necessarily helped everyone. MySpace is great for established artists to be able to reach out and get in touch with their fans. It Is also good for upcoming artists to build awareness about themselves, but I think it has also made it harder for these people to stand out amongst the crowd. I think it’s definitely a good avenue but I think for up and coming producers and DJs it’s going to be what you do above and beyond that really makes the difference. Mix demos, radio show guest spots, interviews and reviews, gigs and production signings… I think these sorts of avenues are really going to make an impact.
Do you find it intimidating coming together to collaborate with legends of the scene like Meat Katie?
I think the first time I worked with Mark I found it a little intimidating, but I have worked with him a few times now and I know we both have a respect for each other’s strong points in the studio. We work well together in the studio and the process also seems to flow really well.
How do you approach the co-producing process? Does one of you begin and the other make suggestions to the track and back and forth, or do you literally sit down together and play with the controls in the same room?
It’s usually a different process every time. Depending on who you are working with and how they like to work. Usually we take turns on the controls while the other will make suggestions or look for sounds to use in the track.
How important is it to be picked up by a quality record label in advancing your sound? For example, Lot 49 seem to be very proactive in promoting their stable of producers. How did you come to be involved with them?
It makes a big difference having a solid label behind you and Lot49 is exactly that. Yes they are very active in pushing their artists in more ways than one, and not all labels are like this. I got involved with them after hooking up with Meat Katie a few years ago and him picking up one of my tunes ‘Rising Up’. Since then I have released ‘Pace’, a collaboration I did with Meat Katie, and coming out now is ‘Breathe’, a collaboration I did with Dylan Rhymes featuring Seany B on vocals. ‘Breathe’ has been doing some massive things overseas and is already starting to do the same here. Also in the pipeline, I have a collaboration with Nick Thayer called ‘Stay On The Line’ that is featured on the new Lot49 comp ‘Lot49 Presents: Meat Katie’. The track is going to be one of the 12” samplers from the compilation and will be out over the next few months.
Like many DJs, you’ve been embracing Ableton and working it into your sets of late. How do you find this has affected the type of sets you play now, as opposed to a few years ago?
I have been pushing Ableton for some time now. It was frowned upon when I first started using it and it was an uphill battle to convince punters it was ‘cool’ to use a laptop in the clubs. I’m a firm believer in the fact that it’s what comes out of the speakers that’s important, not what platform you use to make the sound. My sets are fifty times as creative and unique now that I am using Ableton Live. At any given time I may 8 tracks running on the computer, with a combination of drum loops, accapellas, basslines, samples and bits of other tracks. This would be almost impossible to do on CD players or turntables. I still use both CDJs and turntables when I DJ, and incorporate them with what I have happening on the computer.
Jono Fernandez’s new single ‘Breathe’, co-produced with Dylan Rhymes and featuring Seany B, is out now through Lot49.
