Behind The Scenes of Jonnie King’s ‘Analogic’

Jonnie King has been making huge waves since exploding onto the Dance music scene, establishing himself as one of the industry’s fastest rising stars, thanks to his passionate DJ performances, perfectly executed productions and his hugely successful monthly radio show.

As well as having toured extensively throughout Europe and North America, performing at legendary festivals and clubs such as: BPM, Burning Man, Beyond Wonderland and WMC, Jonnie has been busy in the studio and is the figure behind underground hits such as ‘Let It Rain’, ‘A Star Is Born’ and ’72 Hours’ – placing him alongside the scene’s heavyweight artists.  Continuing a partnership with Matt Caldwell P.R., his team sat down with Jonnie to chat about his latest studio masterpiece ‘Analogic’.

Hi Jonnie, thanks for taking time to answer these few questions for us. For those who don’t know, can you tell us a bit about yourself and where you are based?

Johnnie King: Born in Boston. Made in Los Angeles. I’m a bit complicated, but the simplicities in life are what keep me grounded.

Can you tell us a bit about your musical background? How you got involved in the industry?

Jonnie King: I was heavily influenced by classic rock and jam bands growing up and Soulful music always stuck a chord with me too. I played guitar for a little while when growing up but I was too scatterbrain in high school to stay with it. I then found electronic dance music when I first moved to LA about 8 years ago and it completely transformed my life.

Was there one stand out moment when you thought to yourself, ‘I want to be a DJ and producer’?

Jonnie King: I was always the guy making playlists and organizing music for parties. People would always suggest I turn this passion for creating stories through music into DJing, but I never took it seriously. Then one day a friend in the industry told me he was selling a pair of decks and the lightbulb came on. The rest is history. Producing naturally followed, as I feel that to get ahead in the industry today you have to release relevant music.

How would you describe your sound?

Jonnie King: That’s the million-dollar question. I can honestly say my sound is as versatile as anyone else’s out there and can play for any room outside of commercial EDM and Top 100 stuff. Everything I do has to have soul behind it; no matter what genre I’m working through. I can’t do the super-minimal monotone stuff though as I find it’s too boring for me.

Your next release ‘Analogic’ is on Haustronaut Recordings; with label boss MotoeHaus remixing the track. Why did you decide to sign the record to Haustronaut?

Jonnie King: I was touring through Europe last summer and made a stop in Ibiza, which was my first visit to the island. Motoe and I had some mutual friends who suggested we meet while I was out there. We spent a night at Cocoon together and spoke about doing a release together. When I got back to LA I started on ‘Analogic’, which seemed to be a really good fit for the label.

How did you get the track signed to the label?

Jonnie King: I sent it to Motoe because I thought it was a great fit for the Ibiza sound. The bass line hit more frequently in the original, but Motoe suggested we stretch it more for the release. I think it turned out really nice.

Where did you get your inspiration from when producing the track?

Jonnie King: Cocoon and the whole Ibiza vibe really inspired me. I had the 2am dance-floor vibe in mind when arranging the track; something big and dirty that would really move a crowd.

Let’s talk about the technical aspect of the release. What equipment did you use during the production process?

Jonnie King: My studio setup is really basic and not at all fancy. I use Ableton and a lot of plug-ins as well as my MPK49. Eventually I am going to build my home studio out to make it really hands-on and a lot more fun.

How long did it take to produce the record? Do you engineer and master your own tracks?

Jonnie King: It probably took a few weeks to produce. I don’t work on music every day as I have other companies to run and I am extremely particular in finding the right sounds before finishing a track. I use Alex Psaroudakis for mastering, as I don’t have the right space to do it. I’ve been using him for a while and he’s really amazing at what he does.

Who would you most like to collaborate with?

Jonnie King: That’s a tough one. I’d say #1 would be Rampue. The guy is a genius, and I think one of the most underrated producers/DJs in the industry.

What’s been your favorite gig so far?

Jonnie King: Ah there’s been so many. Some of the best one’s are the epic house parties thrown in LA, sometimes in my own home! I’ve played in so many different countries, venues, parties so I don’t know if I could say just one. But if I had to pick, Robot Heart at Burning Man this year, which was a surreal experience.

What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

Jonnie King: Asking all the heavy-hitters! I’ve toured a lot around the world, so that’s definitely up there. I’ve met all my favourite artists and have built friendships with them over the years which has really put things in a whole new perspective.

Lastly, can you give us any exclusive news about upcoming Jonnie King music and what does 2016 hold for Jonnie King?

Jonnie King: I have some big releases coming out on Kallias soon, a German based label with my AEONIX imprint. ‘Chloe’  exclusively premiered with Faze Magazine on March 17, with the track dropping the next day. ‘Dancing on Mars’ will also be released via Kallias on June 1st, with a remix shortly following. Later on in the year remixes of ‘A Star Was Born’ by Clint Stewart and Charles Webster will be released on Subtract Music. I’ll also be doing another European tour this summer as well as performing at Escape from Wonderland in San Bernardino around Halloween.

Take a listen below and get it at Beatport.

 

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