With the recent release of his debut EP Kindred Spirits and an upcoming tour, Jai Wolf hosted an AMA to answer the many questions from his fans. Here are some of the many things we found out about Jai Wolf in this AMA.
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Who are his biggest musical influences?
“I absolutely love Odesza and Flume. I like the way Kanye approaches his albums – he always has these grand visions and concepts for them and I’m really inspired by his approach. In high school I really liked pop-punk music – my writing is definitely influenced by some of those riffs (might not be super obvious but from a composition perspective its all in the DNA).”
2. How did he bounce back from his childhood, and what advice would he give to those affected by the recent presidential election?
“Music really saved me… I found solace in it. I also eventually moved to a more mixed school that was diverse and felt more in my skin.
My advice is to just be vocal about any injustices you see, point out that these things are happening now more than ever, and surround yourself with like minded people who will have your back. we’ll get through these 4 years together.”
3. How does he feel about rave culture and the drug scene associated with it?
“I like EDM music and I have been to EDM festivals as a fan. I definitely think I prefer mix-ed genre festivals as I’m a fan of music in general beyond EDM.
The drug culture is tricky…there is a lot of problems for sure but at the same time there are also many precautions one can take to safely have a good time. I believe in moderation and I believe that people shouldn’t judge how others enjoy music or festivals.”
4. What are his favorite games?
“Crash Bandicoot & Pokemon Silver.”
5. What does he think are the most important factors for exposure in the music industry, and how did he end up releasing music with Foreign Family Collective?
“It’s hard to say what the most important factor is…from what I’ve learned, its a combination of many things falling into place. Sometimes, it’s out of your control. I think my trajectory was more organic and less orchestrated from all the things that happened behind the scenes…it was a lot of being at the right place at the right time.
I became friends with Odesza in 2014 through email exchanges. In early 2015, I met up with Harrison for drinks in Seattle and he asked me to submit any tunes for a new label they were starting :)”
6. What were some of his favorite festivals to play at?
“Hard to pick a favorite fest, Hard Summer is always an amazing time! Some of my faves this year have been Vertex in Colorado, Panorama in NYC, Firefly in Delaware, and Mad Decent Block Party Berkeley.”
7. What are some of his favorite artists?
“Skrillex, Kanye, Fall Out Boy, Passion Pit, Kid Cudi, Childish Gambino, MGMT, Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club, Blink 182, Foster the People, Halsey.”
8. How did he find his sound and how should beginner producers approach achieving their sound?
“it took 8 years to really find what I wanted to make. it took a lot of reflection of soul-searching for sure. my advice to beginner producers is just know that you might be searching for a long time…don’t get frustrated if you don’t find it immediately. I’ve tried so many styles of music until I found one that I felt was the most ‘me’.”
9. What is his favorite memory from meeting a fan?
“I hear some really incredible stories – it makes me happy when I hear that my music has helped them through tough times. That’s all I ever wanted to do with music.”
10. What was the most difficult track for him to compose?
“Probably a tie between my Feels remix and Gravity off my EP. I started Feels in Aug 2015 and finished it in February. Went through maybe 5 different versions of the drop. Gravity went through a really insane transformation this year – it started off as a really chill ambient instrumental in January and became this 80s sounding big-snare synthpop track around August.”
11. What inspired his stage design?
“I really wanted a unique stage design for the tour and was inspired by the cover art for my EP. I loved the idea of doing a circular stage and sort of being inside of an “orb” like the cover. This production company called Raven down in New Orleans brought it to life and I couldn’t be happier :)”
