Jewel Kid has shown no signs of a sluggish start after five years away from making house music. On the contrary, his first two singles for us, “Sensitive Shit” and “Release Inside”, hit the tech and house charts, respectively and had a wide range of DJs from Mau P to Sam Divine supporting. Since then, he has notched up releases on Abode and signed music with Guz’s Sink or Swim. The Maltese producer is right back in the game.
Up next for him on GU is arguably his strongest release to date. “Clap Back Gangster” delivers Kenny Dope-style (think The Untouchables – IYKYK!), 90s basement, NYC moods but with a tough 2023 groove. What a killer.
Hi, thank you for taking the time to chat with us today! How has the year been treating you so far?
First 5 months of this year have been wicked! Will tracks being released on stellar labels, amazing shows every week and overwhelming feedback on my return. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds.
Where do you think the impulse to create music comes from for you?
Well, the thought of creating music is in my head probably 95% of the time. I get inspired by everything and all is then diverted toward the studio. Making music for me is something that I need to do constantly as it’s the main force behind my existence.
Tell us about your current studio set up – any particular bits of go-to kit you find yourself returning to?
I’m quite of a gear junkie and always in search of new and old gear which might open a new door to my production. Currently I’m running the full Moog Sound System with Octatrack and Analog4 from Elektron. Then I have a small modular skiff with a few pedals for external effects.
Why did you feel like you needed to take a break from music recently? Have you found getting back to it easy or challenging?
Actually, I never took a break from music. The past 5 years I was still putting out different styles of music under different aliases. I just took a break from my Jewel Kid project because I didn’t like where I was heading back then and needed a hard reset. I think this is one of the best decisions I ever took as all the knowledge I gathered from my other projects can now be all focused towards the new and improved Jewel Kid!
You’ve develop a strong relationship with Glasgow Underground who have put out your last two releases – what is it about their setup that you like?
To start with, the GU team is amazing and very professional at what they do. It’s not just another record label, but a brand that interacts with their artist very personally. I’ve been a fan of the label for a very long time and appreciate how open-minded they are when it comes to releasing music. Glasgow Underground should be a benchmark to anyone that wants to be serious about running a record label professionally.
Your next track Clap Back Gangster lands this week – what can you tell us about this one?
This was one of the very first tracks that I did when I returned to making House and Tech-house music. You see during my Jewel Kid hiatus I was also producing HipHop and Trap for some artists, so it was very natural for me to infuse those vibes with House and Tech-House when I got to the drawing board. Clap Back Gangster is the outcome of that and I’m very happy with the final result.
Do you work well when collaborating with other artists? Or do you prefer to go it alone in the studio?
I can’t work while someone is beside me, it freaks me out. But thanks to technology now it is very easy to collaborate with someone online by sending each other stems and progressing through a track. As you will soon see I have been doing this a lot lately with a number of interesting artists whom which I will be releasing music with in the coming months.
Which artists are currently exciting or inspiring you?
This week I have been listening to a lot of Fred Again. I think he is a brilliant producer with very interesting arrangements that inspire me. He is very versatile and seems to work with no boundaries. This is something that I want to bring forth to my Jewel Kid comeback and hope that the listeners with enjoy.
What should we expect from you for the rest of 2023?
A bunch of bangers 😊
