Jay Cass
Photo provided by, Jay Cass
Meet Jay Cass
Powerful beatmaker and NYC musician Jay Cass is exploding my mind with some delicious tunes today. Their latest release JUNGLE is the fuel of Friday good times. Heck, it can be any day the swooping synths and hard-hitting kick drum will turn any day into a party. In our latest interview, we chat with Jay Cass about their process, the new album, and some other fun things.
“NAPOLEON“A fill in the blank with Jay Cass
Although he was Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte was actually a Corsican, born with a small BOOTY (AS IN TREASURE) in the Mediterranean Sea. When he was just ten years old, Napoleon was sent to a military OVERWHELMING JOY.in France, where his FRUITY stature earned him the nickname of "The FRAGRANT Corporal." At 24, he was made a CORNY General and married Josephine, the daughter of a well-known Parisian AN UNWELCOME OPINION. Soon after that, he defeated the Italians at PROSCIUTTO and in 1804 was proclaimed Emperor of all the GEESE. But he made an UPTIGHT mistake and attacked Russia. He reached Moscow, but the SOAP OPERAS had burned all their SOCKS.and his men got frozen SHOES. In 1914, he was MASTICATED and sent to Elba. But a year later, he came back to France and for 100 days was again the SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIOR. However, he was defeated at Waterloo and imprisoned on the island of St. Helena, a HEALTHY place that resembled FUCKING AUSTRIA (IT'S A REAL PLACE, LOOK IT UP).
Would you rather
perform a cover of the cha-cha slide, the macarena, or cotton eye joe? How would you do it?
The cha-cha slide layered with the main chords from the song "Gypsy Women" over a Jersey club beat.
Some questions with Jay Cass
What are your top five favorite animals?
Dogs
Llamas
Monkeys
Birds. Especially, penguins.
Skunks because they make great pets.
Do you feel there is a lot to live up to with your last name being Casanova?
So, Casanova is best known as one of the most famous lovers in history. But he was more than a womanizer. He was a scam artist, an alchemist, spy, and church cleric. He wrote satires, fought duels, and escaped from prison more than once. So, yes. Perhaps, a lot to live up to.
What was the creative drive behind your 2020 release ‘Jungle’?
Jungle is an ode to all things that I love. Primarily, nature. Hiking, being close to earth, and exploring, have been some of the few things that have kept me sane this past year. Ever since focusing on production and stepping away from rapping for a bit, I found a real love for producing and sound design. In finding my love for producing, I became infatuated with house music. I felt as though the genre allowed me to be as unyielding and expressive as I truly wanted to be. In addition to that, most of my friends are DJs and producers and I truly enjoy making music for my friends. A 'Jungle' is a place found in nature where living things can run wild, be free, and exist without rules, which is how I felt creating this thing.
In a 2018 interview you mentioned that you produce and write everything you make. Is this still the case with your creative process?
I use many tools. Many of which help the creative process. Plug-ins like Arcade by Output, Splice, and Scaler (a midi chord generator), are pretty integral in the creative process for me. I believe that in order to maintain high output and productivity in music, it's okay to use helper tools. For the music that I make and the experience I intend to foster, I do a fair amount of exploring and experimenting before I lay anything down. With that being said, I produce everything I make with the help of certain programs to cultivate what I want to hear.
As a solo musician how important is collaboration to you?
It's important to define the word "collaboration". Collaborating is sharing, a form of synergy, and peaceful compromise. It's cool when it works, but that isn't always the case. Finding people that mesh well with your sound and sense of character isn't all too easy. I've worked with a ton of artists in the past and hits have been made while other attempts fell flat. Handling relationships in music isn't easy, especially considering how contractual those relationships can be and how fragile they can be at the same time. One would hope collaborating would insinuate symbiosis but the energies can easily tip the scale one way or another. I dream about making good music with good artists but it isn't that simple. Often times, I would feel robbed and my moral code would be tested. Other times, I feel full, excited, and gracious for the opportunity to share talents and cultivate real friendships with good people. Collaborating is important because it's more than music, it's humanity.
How do you feel about the role social media plays in a modern artists career?
I'm the type of person that enjoys the social aspect of the music industry but also realizes its place in molding one's career. I think Soundcloud, Instagram, Spotify, Tik Tok, Twitter, Twitch, Discord, and others, have done a good job in providing the tools necessary to foster a community around one's music. Furthermore, it establishes a deeper connection with an artist and their fans. It's a cool concept, and some would call it necessary but it isn't free. To stand out, you need to look bigger, richer, cooler, flashier, and better. Social media has made the music industry more of a popularity contest and while that is a good thing, it blurs the lines between who should and shouldn't be recognized. I say it's a good thing because there are people out there that respect good music and follow folks for the right reasons. However, like buying a Porsche, you're buying into a brand and some know how to brand themselves better than others, regardless of how good their music is. That's where my heart cries a little because it's easy to buy followers and plays. In 2020, numbers certainly can lie.
If you could rename New York City what would you call it?
"Too many people live here"
Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)
I have a podcast called “The Quarter Note”. It’s an album review podcast. This is my passion project. A safe space where me and my friends can nerd out and chat about music. We’re anywhere you can find podcasts.