Interview With Aaron Jackson

24 Feb Interview With Aaron Jackson

Posted at 19:55h in Interviews by Nightenjin

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The young Oregon native has moved from strength to strength over the past year with his unique style and quality production. Aaron Jackson started out his career in the world of vinyl soon after going to his first underground rave and being mentored by one of the DJs he met at the event. Aaron started producing his own tracks and creating his own path in the world of dance music with his mixed style of UK house, deep house, garage and bass house.

His past singles like Golden Skies, Rotate and upcoming releases demonstrate Aaron’s passion and determination for the music. Aaron Jackson’s latest release “Right Here ” with Billy Kenny on Heldeep Records is already making waves in the clubs and being support by various DJs. Aaron Jackson is a name you need to pay attention to this year!

Bassdrop: What’s the story behind Aaron Jackson the DJ/producer?

Aaron Jackson:
Well like everyone else I was into music at a young age and went through too many phases where I explored several genres of music into my late teens. Then when I was 17 my friend invited me to my first ever rave, and this was one of those ones out in the backwoods with no permits, just an info line with directions on the voice mail. Once we got there I was blown away, I had more fun in that one night than I had in the past few years. Then I was very into this one DJ that threw down the most wicked set that I danced to for over 2 hours. Later on down the road, I tracked him down again and he became not only my DJ mentor but my best friend. He was the first person to help teach me how to produce music.

BD: For those out there who aren’t familiar with your music, please describe your style.

AJ:
I have a mixed style of UK house, deep house, garage and sometimes a little bit of bass house flavour.

BD: Who or what are your biggest sources of inspiration for your music?

AJ:
My biggest inspirations actually come from the chill-out and ambient world, one of my favorite musical artists is a guy named Neo Geo, he makes beautiful down tempo and sometimes even experiments in the house world. I just like the refreshing sound designs that I hear from different styles of music like this as there isn’t always a structure that chill-out has to follow.

BD: If you could work with any artist, who would it be and why?

AJ:
I would work with Virtual Riot because I view him in the top-tier of producers and musicians in the scene. I feel like one day in the studio with him would be years of experience to take in. His studio videos have always blown me away, you see him jam out on two keyboards at once and then he just has this amazing track going in no time!

BD: What tools and software do you use to create your music?

AJ:
I use Ableton, Massive, CamelPhat and Waves.

BD: What are your thoughts on the current state of dance music?

AJ:
I think the current state of dance music is at a good point, there has been tons of drama and hate that’s fueled by a lot of EDM blogs, but for the music itself, I think it’s at one of the best points it has in a long time. There are so many producers in just about every genre of music coming out with fresh and new ideas. I use to feel like the music got stale during the big room era but over the last 2 years, I have seen a lot of very talented and inventive producers come out and change the game and help push for progress in all genres.

Photo Credit Gilbert Sanchez

BD: If you weren’t a DJ, what would you be doing instead?

AJ:
If I weren’t a DJ, I would be pursuing a career as a homicide detective because I had always wanted to make a difference but being a regular police officer wouldn’t be my cup of tea. I’d want to solve crimes where the person needs to be locked away, to give families justice and closure that they deserve.

BD: What has been your most memorable moment to date?

AJ:
My most memorable moment to date was receiving the email with the offer to play a set at EDC Las Vegas last summer. I had been dreaming of playing at EDC since I had seen the first movie when it came out on the last event they had in Los Angeles. After watching that I told myself I would play there one day, and years down the road it happened. It was very surreal at first after dreaming about doing it for so long, but it was the most incredible and life-changing experience after going out there and having fun as well as throwing my two sets down.

BD: Are there any new projects that we can know about?

AJ:
Yeah, I actually have two bigger collabs coming up with Cazztek and then one with Jameston Thieves, they are both on the heavier end but I think people will enjoy them a lot!

BD: Anything else not mentioned here that you’d like to tell the fans?

AJ:
Never give up on your dreams, even when life gets really hard that is the time you have to work your hardest, because it’s the trying times that makes us strong enough to achieve our dreams.