JFB Interview

Winning two UK DMC titles is no mean feat, but to do so and still be able to rock the dancefloor takes real talent. Brighton’s leading turntabalist JFB manages to appease both the DJ trainspotter/hip-hop-geeks crew and us knowledge-lacking mere mortals with a succession of incredible live performances.

Add this to his bass-heavy record releases, and helping out more established with some nifty remixes, and suddenly you’ve got a superstar DJ in the making.

He took time out, from an ever-growing mountain of commitments, to tell us what it’s is like for a “Party Starter Extraordinaire”.

How did you get into mixing?

I saw some turntables and mixer and got drawn towards the light.

Is it important for a DJ to produce his own music to be truly successful?

Yeah I suppose so, some Dj’s have made it from being pioneers in a scene/genre others have from turntabalist skill, but pretty much most successful DJ’s are known from the tunes they made.

Is the time of the superstar DJ over?

Never!

How important is entertaining, rather than flashing your skills, during a set?

It’s all about doing both, but only in an entertaining way.

Tell us about Battlejam.

'Battlejam Presents' is a local club night that I organise in Brighton every so often at Audio. Residents are Jessi G and Ed Solo, with random international guests.

Battlejam TV is this thing I’m doing with Beardyman, where we have a ridiculous amount of equipment setup. We improvise loads of crazy music/comedy/stuff on the spot, using advanced looping setups and audio/visual sampling of people either in the audience or from the other side of the world, through Skype or Facebook Chat, then turn them into a track.

Both came from Battlejam which used to be an improvised club night which I used to do and run with Beardyman.

Who are you turntable heroes?

Qbert, Vajira, Unkut, Rafik, DJ Trouble, Netik, DJ Switch, Manipulate, DJ Chile, Tigerstyle, Muzzel, Kentaro, Dj Craze, DJ Fly, and lots more…

What else do you obsess about, other than music?

Computer games, trying to do fun things, eating...

What’s the best advice anyone’s offered you?

'Think for yourself'.

What did your family do to encourage you?

Fed and looked after me well, till I moved out.

Do you play any physical instruments?

Just turntables.

What do you think about when you’re performing?

What to do next, how to make the crowd go mental and sometimes what was the origin of the universe.

JFB’s Dubstep homage to Jimmy Bond - “Licence To Wobble” is out now on the very fine Hot Cakes label, or you can catch him and his skills on Battlejam's channel on YouTube.