With the good word having been put in by his Subliminal labelmates Richard F, Erick Morillo and Harry ‘Choo Choo’ Romero, New Jersey based Jose Nunez is busy readying himself for his debut Australia tour. Fast building a reputation across the States and Europe for his top-notch production work and DJ skills, Nunez is the consummate musician, having grown up in a family surrounded by them. ITM’s i_have_ADD tracked the man down in between gigs in Europe and time in the studio to discover what he has in store for Australian audiences.
What initially drew you to house music? What keeps you interested?
I was attracted to house music when it was really developing. I was into the whole disco thing, then house came along and I was like ‘whoah!’, I knew straight away that I wanted to do this. I was studying and DJing and then I came out of it and just locked myself up and taught myself. Teaching yourself is definitely the best way once you have a foundation down. You have to believe in yourself completely though – it is very easy to lose confidence when you don’t have someone pushing you.
Who do you cite as musical influences?
I grew up with Latin and Jazz sounds you know – my upbringing was very musical. There’s a long list, but ultimately I put it down to people like Tito Puente. There just aren’t musicians like him today. I was very fortunate to always have a record playing in my house – it conditioned me for what I do now. I eat, sleep and breath music. It’s my life.
Do you consider yourself a DJ or a producer first and foremost?
I think the two are very separate entities. It is important that you can see the two as separate things. DJing definitely has that instant fix, working the crowd, an awesome vibe. Producing is more a labour of love – it often takes a longer process to get the same satisfaction. That said though, I have a lot of fun in the studio with Erick and Harry. Good times.
The Subliminal label has a very strong reputation, how do you find being a part it?
I love it to be honest. It’s like a family – a great bunch of people. We all hang together when we’re not in the studio. Even when we’re not at home we all see each other across the world and doing shows together in the UK and in Europe is always fun. Sometimes we just like bump into each other on the street and you’re like ‘yo! I didn’t know you were here!’
You’ve had quite a few production projects and collaborations (such as Dronez and Pianoheadz). Do you prefer working solo or collaboratively?
I like both. There’s a different satisfaction in cutting your own record and working with others on the same project. It’s really rewarding to see your own tune out in a store with one of your names on it. But its also cool in a different way to tweak something all the way with guys like Harry and Erick and then one of will play it out and it rocks the house.
With so much dance music coming out of Europe how do you think your American background has affected your approach? And more specifically, do you think your Latin American background has also shaped your music?
I think I meet somewhere in the middle between the States and the UK. My sound is not distinctly a US house thing. Once again I think it is wrong to think a specific sound comes out one country. The US is so big as it is – there are variations on the Chicago, San Fran, New York sounds. My sounds is just like one melting pot of all these sounds, as well as the UK cause I play there frequently and like you say, my background has been very important to my sound, there’s a Latino swing to it.
This is your first tour of Australia, what have you heard about us down here?
This will be my first time. I’ve heard great things though. Richard got back recently and Harry played last year. Erick can’t wait to come back later in the year hopefully.
Jose Nunez plays the Subliminal Sessions Tour in Sydney on Thursday April 24 at Yu. ITM-VIP’s are able to purchase 2 tickets for the price of 1, so if you’re not a VIP yet click HERE to join today!
Subliminal Sessions 4 is out now through Subliminal/Stomp
