.png)
Subtle Radio resident J-Man makes his debut on Fortune Signal with the ‘Cut 2 Size’ EP this June, following music on labels like Taipan Trax and 2-DeltaDelta. The title track, 'Cut 2 Size,' is a bright cut with old-school vocals and a filtered dark-edge bassline, while bubbly synths add color and soul. It's followed by 'Sequence', which brings plenty of groove via its lively, high-speed rhythms shot through with flashy neon arps.
We have had the pleasure of interviewing J-Man and Quantreau and this has been the result.
CC: Hi J-Man and Quantreau. Welcome to Chromatic Club. How are things?
J-Man: Great thanks! You must be sick of hearing about it by now, but my post-Glasto blues are clearing at the time of writing this and I’m settling back into just how boring reality really is!
Quantreau: Thanks for having us. Things are good here in Brooklyn as long as you can get out of the heat!
CC: J-Man, you just dropped ‘Cut 2 Size’ EP on Fortune Signal. What can you tell us about the EP?
J-Man: I did! And thanks again for having me. So “Cut 2 Size” is a funny one for me. It's a tune I've been sitting on for a while and I initially thought it wasn’t something people would like or would work well on the dancefloor. I seem to have been proven wrong on both accounts there! Over time though it has grown on me, and I am always thankful for the support I receive as I’ve not been in this music production game long at all. As for the B-side, “Sequence,” this one came together super fast. I had fallen victim in the past to putting too much into my tracks, so this was my attempt at seeing just how far I could get with one MIDI sequence and one plugin. This is still an area I’m working on, but recently I am starting to feel I’m finding the right balance - I’ll chat a bit more about that later. Super happy with both remixes as well! Danvers smashed it as per, and I loved Quantreau’s breaky electro touch to the B-side.
CC: There seems to be a clear blend of UKG and House throughout the EP. Where did you draw inspiration for it?
J-Man: I’ve always loved house music, which is what got me into all the electronic stuff way back during the 2010s - the deep house golden era of Maceo Plex, Jamie Jones’ early stuff, NTFO and Karmon with the early releases on Diynamic. I owe my longtime pal Tom Neish for introducing me to all that really. Then later on as my tastes evolved, I fell in love with garage, breaks, and back in love with DnB and later jungle, which is where my head is at now despite still producing a fair bit of housey stuff. So I guess you could say both tracks represent the bits of each genre I love, the Reece and wobs of garage but the groove of house that keeps you locked on the dancefloor.
CC: Quantreau, it’s known that you’re passionate about sharing the spotlight with other up-and-coming artists. How did this collaboration come about, and what ultimately made you bring J-Man onto the label?
Quantreau: DJ Fang, one of the three other Fortune Signal label partners, met J-Man on a trip to London and brought some of his demos to us. The music really spoke for itself, and it was
honestly one of the easiest signing decisions we’ve ever made. The first time I got to see a dancefloor go crazy for “Cut 2 Size” at one of our parties, I knew we picked a winner.
CC: Tell us a bit about your production process. What are your favourite instruments and plugins?
J-Man: From memory, “Cut 2 Size” uses Serum for the bass and Diva for some of the chords and Serum again for the Organ. “Sequence,” as I mentioned earlier, was all done using Blue3 starting off with one MIDI sequence I wrote for the bassline and using that to feed various arps, sequenced synths, etc. I’ve always found this to be a good way of working and helps to keep things cohesive and in key without having to try too hard. Favorite plugins are Serum, Diva, Blue3, Predator, Sylenth, Soundtoys, all the D16 and Arturia stuff - nothing too weird or out there I don’t think!
Quantreau: I’ve been mostly in Ableton without much external gear for a while, but I started putting together a little modular rig lately and I’ve been loving it. I used Bastl Instrument’s Pizza module for some of the FM synths that I added to my remix for “Sequence”—I could get lost in that thing for hours. Plugin-wise, I’m a huge fan of Shaperbox 3 from Cableguys. It’s super versatile and really fun to play with.
CC: Quantreau, your approach to DJing seamlessly blends between deep, soulful house to more bassy-heavy sonics. Do you carry a similar approach to producing as you do mixing? Or are you trying to create a different narrative whilst in the studio?
Quantreau: I definitely like to mix and match sounds. I might sit down and think, “OK, I’m making a straightforward house track.” And I’ll probably only get a few bars in before I try something weird and end up going in a totally different direction.
CC: How do you like to unwind when you’re both not in the studio or playing out?
J-Man: I live in lower Clapton (London) so unfortunately I would be lying if I didn’t say it was small plates restaurants and natural wine, also my favorite local Chesham Arms. Maybe I should try and find a wholesome hobby that doesn’t involve food or booze, any ideas?
Quantreau: I’m probably not the one to help with that, sorry! Put me on a patio (or my roof) with a rum cocktail in hand, and I’ll be happy.
CC: J-Man, what advice would you give to any up-and-coming artists attempting to get their productions recognised by imprints?
J-Man: I don’t even consider myself up-and-coming yet, I’ve met some lovely people in this space since I started producing, shoutouts to Papa Nugs, Jay Carder, Dusty Dan, OS:MAN, Arkyn, Insectcrusha, Joycey, Sweet Cheeks, Rex, Akira & Buntai crew, Local Citizen, Neffa-T, DJ ADHD, Aloka - the list could go on and they are all leagues ahead of me in the game. But if I was to give advice, it would be to just start making tunes and putting yourself out there. I wish I started earlier myself and believe any time you spend thinking you want to start is just time wasted not learning. I come from a design and VFX background which I’ve been doing for 10 years now (with one VES award and and so very nearly an Emmy), so I can safely say if you don’t put the hours in, don’t expect to get anything back out.
CC: Looking ahead, J-Man, what can we expect for the rest of 2024? Any exciting projects or collaborations in the works?
J-Man: Working on some bits of course, I don’t get as much time as I like to pursue music so a goal is to try and carve out some more time in my life to do that - but to be honest I never expected half of what's come my way so far, so who really knows what 2024 is saying!
J-Man: Instagram - Soundcloud
Fortune Signal: Instagram - Soundcloud - Bandcamp
Comentarios