Perth’s Just A Thought has come out guns blazing with his latest track Follow Me. While his hometown may not be the foremost Aussie city when it comes to dance music, this producer shows a delicacy to his tunes that we can’t wait to hear more of.
We reached out to the artist to dig a little deeper into his production style, and where he would be heading from here.
Collaboration, control, and keeping it experimental: we take five with rising Perth producer Just A Thought.
HAPPY: Hey, how’re you going? How’ve you been keeping busy lately?
JUST A THOUGHT: Really well! Actually since my last single, I’ve already finished a remix of a track called No Such Thing by Antonia Fish a very talented underground artist in Wollongong, which has just been posted.
HAPPY: We’ve really been loving your recent tracks… are there any particular artists you’d cite as influences?
JUST A THOUGHT: My biggest influence is Flume if anyone can’t tell, not to mention What So Not, I think that’s quite explicit in my sound! I actually have quite a narrow range of musical idols though. Being such an avid producer, Skrillex pretty much goes without saying, also I’m from Perth so I can’t help being a raging Slumberjack fan. Another name that deserves a mention is John Frusciante, I wouldn’t even be an experimental artist if not for him.
HAPPY: On your most recent single you collaborated with Jasmine Gannaway… how do you find collaborative work compares to working on your own?
JUST A THOUGHT: While I couldn’t say I prefer one over the other, if I was only allowed to choose one of those options, it would easily be collaborating. I love working with a variety of styles because I get bored really easily! I like diversity in music so much that I’m at the point where sometimes I’m using different timbres for each individual note in a melody or each individual chord in a progression. So collaborating is like doing the same thing but at the song/album level. Plus I really enjoy the challenge of being presented with a song which has a particular vibe, then trying to figure out how I’m going to make it work, how do I effectively go with the grain of the tune. I have less control over the fundamental elements in a collaboration, so it keeps me on my toes.
HAPPY: What’s the relationship between you two in terms of writing? How do you divvy it up?
JUST A THOUGHT: Follow Me was written using a very generic method, Jasmine wrote the chords and lyrics as an acoustic song, I recorded it and produced the rest of the music. We plan on making an EP and most of the songs will be created in the same fashion, but I’m hoping we can make at least one track that is written in a different way. Maybe we both write it, or I write the chords, she writes the lyrics, possibly vice versa and she is more involved in the production process.
HAPPY: Personally, I find your music very evocative… how important is the audiences emotional reaction to you? If at all?
JUST A THOUGHT: Super dooper important! The motivating force that compels me to create music in the first place is the hope that my songs will deeply effect the listener. I don’t want my songs to just make people bob there head and say “cool, this is catchy”. I try to construct music that will go beyond that, the ultimate goal is to trip people out. I want the audience to feel like they are looking up at the stars when they are listening to my music.
HAPPY: Could you walk us through your process of recording a track? How long do you generally spend on each song?
JUST A THOUGHT: Wow, this question is definitely the most difficult to answer! I’m not sure if there is an answer, it’s all very arbitrary. I’ve spent two days on some tracks and I’ve spent probably up to a month on others.
As for the creative process, a varied scope applies also, because I make everything from two track acoustics to experimental EDM. Heck, I have files that are nothing but random noises. BUT, in saying that, across my life there has been a general shift from chaos towards order in the way I do things. Key word general!
I hope I’m not disappointingly vague, but these days typically, I open a new file, I lay down a kick and snare, I throw a chord progression over that, then a melody of some description on top. I repeat that process maybe twice more and amongst that happening, so does a whole bunch of spontaneity and then I have a song! Oh and the lyrics could be recorded at any given moment. After that I will spend hours fussing over levels that the listener probably won’t even be able to tell I’ve changed. Then I give up on that, realising I will never be satisfied and it’s finished!
HAPPY: Do you have any other music recorded that you’re waiting to release?
JUST A THOUGHT: Why yes! The second Jasmine Gannaway track is underway and we will probably record more before it’s even finished.
HAPPY: What else does the future hold for Just A Thought?
JUST A THOUGHT: I think its safe to say there will be a Gannaway EP, when that’s finished is anyone’s guess, but hopefully sooner than later. I’d also like to have an album completed by early next year at the latest, but knowing life, I will probably have half an album by then instead.
