Jake Simon is the alias of a 17 year old from the sunny state of California. He makes original material, remixes, and DJ's shows.
Today Vakkuum is getting the privilege to interview this upcoming young artist...
V- Jake it's really great to be interviewing you today,
let's get started!
V- Q: What made you decide to start making music?
J- A: I started making music really early on, around age six. I remember my dad asked if I wanted to play guitar and I said yeah so I started off playing classical guitar. A few years after that I started to experiment with other instruments (bass, drums, piano, and trumpet). I got into making the music I make today through a lot of different influences. I remember getting into Soulwax, Mr. Fingers, Boards of Canada, and Daft Punk pretty early on so I always had that curiosity for electronic music. I think when I was 13 I got a bootleg copy of reason, a microkorg, and some shitty speakers and began trying to copy everything I was into. This curiosity led to my music knowledge to widen and my production skill to improve.
V- Q: Do you focus on all areas of dance music in your production and remixes, or are you keen to a specific sub genre?
J- A: So far I've really just been covering one specific area. I use all of my influences in music but the outcome is generally the same. I am working on some other music that isn't too developed yet but will probably see the light of day soon. That stuff is more along the lines of Washed Out, Toro Y Moi, Aeroplane, and even a little Flying Lotus. I'm trying to work with some vocalists too. I like to think I generally make electro, acid, party techno, house stuff, If that doesn't sound too lame. I don't really care what people call it.
V- Q: You're young but you seem a step ahead of the rest as far as music knowledge and production goes, how does that feel?
J- A: I am really grateful for that at this age however being 17 has some barriers. Sometimes if I play a show I can not be taken seriously because of my age but it's really easy to prove people otherwise. I just have to let the music speak for itself sometimes.
V -Q: I couldn't agree more! so what's the future looking like for you?
J - A: Looking pretty good. I have some shows coming up and it seems as though I will be playing in New York over the summer and Japan in the fall, really excited about that stuff.
V- Q: Nice! Would you like to tell everyone a little a bit about the material you're sharing?
J- A: So this remix is a remix I did of High Powered Boys' awesome track "Highway." High Powered Boys is the collaboration between Bobmo and Surkin. I really liked the original song and thought the sample was really good so I decided I would try and create my own bootleg version of it. It's pretty housey I must say. The other track is an original of mine called "Shinji." This is a pretty dirty acid track. It's fun to play out.
V- Q:Thanks for sharing these huge tracks with everyone Jake. Lastly any upcoming remixes or originals to look forward to? I know you're finishing an EP
J- A: I am trying to finish this EP hopefully by the end of May! Working on remixes for Light Year, Hot City, Girl Unit, and Yeasayer!
You can follow Jake Simon on his tumblr as well. - http://jakesimonmusic.tumblr.com
High Powered Boys - Highway (Jake Simon Remix) [320]
Jake Simon - Shinji (Original Mix) [320]
