Six years after his first album The Drift on Peer Pressure Records, Javano is back with Juncture. This time around, he’s been experimenting with different genres. Don’t expect to hear a complete drum & bass album, because on Juncture you can hear anything ranging from techno to house and, okay, still a little bit of D&B. This album is a capsule of moments Javano has experienced over the years, now he’s glueing them all together into one glorious scrapbook of an album. Now, he’s inviting you to experience this story with him.
The album lands on July 3, and a day later, on July 4, he’s celebrating his release with a party at Planet Wax. Being from South London himself, and with the album coming out on vinyl, the location couldn’t have been a better fit.
We had a chat with Javano and talked about how he’s grown over the years and what has inspired him to make this latest release.
Congratulations on your album!
I’m really excited about it. It’s taken a long time to get here, but nothing’s been forceful at all. I haven’t really shared it with many people, so it’s good that people are starting to hear certain snippets.
You’re saying how it’s taken you a long time to get here. Is that how you always work?
The music on this album is a mix of old and new stuff, it just feels right to put it out now. When things feel like they stick together, they can be released. In terms of making music, I like that process to be speedy. That’s probably why a lot of my music doesn’t sound too finished. I like to work quickly, but in terms of actually releasing the music, I don’t put things out straight away. I DJ a lot as well, so it’s nice to play some music that hasn’t been released. I’m not too precious about it, though, I do like to release as well. Even if my music doesn’t feel fully finished sometimes, it feels right to release in an EP or even an album form.
I think that’s why I’ve been working on longer projects in recent years. Multiple genres like this album, it glues together in an album format rather than say a four track EP that’s got two techno tracks on and two drum & bass tracks, let’s say. For me, it makes a little bit more sense having more time to listen to everything.
There’s a mix of old and new stuff on your album. How did you decide which tracks to put on this album?
I think it’s strange how music ages. A lot of stuff isn’t suitable for release when I first make it, but then over the years, I go back to it and I like it more than back when I first made it. I’m leaning into liking some of my older productions a little bit more as I mature. I could even be the consumer from that point of view, because it’s been such a long time since I first started that project. And sometimes, I hear a few things that people are releasing at the moment, which sound really up my street, and I think, I made something like that a few years ago! It gives me a bit of a buzz around it, and I then feel like it’s suitable to bring out to the world.
And what was it that made you go “It’s time to release this album”?
I released my first album, The Drift, on Peer Pressure Records in 2020. I’ve always wanted to do a follow up with them because the album was really well received in my opinion.
Not necessarily a “The Drift part two”, because this is a completely different project. There’s more genres, not just at 170 consistently. I wanted to take my time with this album, because I don’t solely make music. I’ve got other things going on in life and things take a while. That’s why it’s such a pleasure to work with Alex, Facing Jinx, because there’s no pressure, no timeline. Everything’s fallen together really nicely over the last few years, and when you’re working with multiple genres, there’s a lot of music that I’ve made, which hasn’t made the cut. It can be a bit random, just forcing things together with so many genres, so I’ve had to take my time with it. I’ve basically been making music, not directly for the album, but when things felt like they suited the sound, I put them to one side and eventually they came together. It’s almost like all of these tracks are tangled together. They’ve been spat out individually, but they ended up being interlinked.
All of the tracks are interlinked, so what’s your story behind it?
Since The Drift, a lot has changed in my life. Nothing drastic, but just general stuff. I’ve captured many moments from that over the last few years, and that is what Juncture is, the album. Junctions in the artwork, lots of angles, lots of corners, and they’re not all related to drum & bass. They’re different moments. I listen to a lot of music outside of drum & bass, and my friends listen to music that isn’t drum & bass related as well, so I’ve got a lot of inspirations flowing in, subconsciously. Conceptually, I always thought it was going to be multiple genres, because I’ve started making lots of different types of music in recent years, but I didn’t know it was going to be to this extent.
Why did you start experimenting with other genres?
I’m not sure, but I used to consume a lot of drum & bass when I was younger. I remember a couple of drum & bass artists that would go and explore different genres, and that would sometimes upset me. I guess I followed suit, completely naturally. I don’t listen to drum & bass very much these days, and that might be something that’s rubbing off on me. My influences come from other genres, especially dub reggae. Even though I don’t know huge amounts and never lived through that scene, I’m listening to stuff from the 70s onwards, which is really inspiring to me. It’s like listening to stuff for the first time. I was the same with V Recordings when I first got into drum & bass. All these classic V tracks that were released in the 90s. I didn’t live through that, so listening to that stuff, it was my gateway into drum & bass. I’m having the same experience with much wider genres these days.
I know what to expect with some of the drum & bass I make, whereas working with other tempos, it’s a little bit of a conversation with a computer. It feels different because I’m at a different tempo, there’s different grooves. I’m a drummer as well, so I love my grooves. I think working at different tempos, you can really explore different sounds. At the same time, what I tend to make in drum & bass, it translates well into the other genres that I make. I’ve got the same thing going where I’m really drawn to a lot of ambient sounds, and that glues things together. I like the dark with the light, and I think that’s something that’s stayed in theme with all the genres that I’ve made.
You’ve talked about how you’ve changed as an artist, but how do you feel the scene has changed?
I think the scene is always shifting, as is what I am drawn to within the scene.
That’s because my tastes have changed over time. As much as I’m developing as a producer, I’m also developing as a listener. I’m being exposed to other things that feel fresh to me, so I’m always wandering over to that fresh stuff. For someone who might be into house music, for example, getting into drum & bass might be fresh for them.
One of my friends had this analogy which I’ve always thought makes a lot of sense to me, where he explained the scene as consisting of scientists and doctors. Scientists are the guys that are experimenting, and things might go wrong sometimes, but sometimes things go really well, and they’re pushing the boundaries. Then you’ve got the doctors that come in a little bit later, and they keep that sound alive for a while. I’ve always thought that’s a really cool concept especially for drum & bass. There’s still the same amount of scientists that there were back in the 90s and early 2000s. There’s still these people making this incredible sound. But they’re just less commercial in a sense that it’s not being consumed as much. It’s not because there’s less people making it. I just think you have to dig a little bit deeper to find it. Which is a good thing, because it deepens the underground. But I also feel like there’s people that probably don’t get that recognition as much as maybe earlier years, that’s a shift in the scene. It’s a good thing that it’s moving and adapting, because it would be bad if it was just static. I’m quite positive about where it’s going.
Do you see yourself as a scientist?
Maybe aspiring, someone who likes to explore and experiment for sure.
Your album has got a lot of different genres, which is definitely something a scientist would do. You were talking about taking inspiration from older music, but is there anything else that inspires you?
A lot of my inspiration comes from my friends who aren’t necessarily producers. People who listen to great music, and spend the time trying to find great music. I’m lucky enough to have a good group of friends who show me bits and bobs, and I really enjoy listening to what they find. They’ve really put in the hours to find some of this music, and that’s always been really inspiring. It’s also day-to-day life experiences. There’s a track on the album called ‘Apricity’, and that’s inspired by country walks in the winter. You’ve got the sun coming up, and you can feel a bit of heat from the sun. The leaves are crisp, there’s ice on the roads. That was what inspired that track. It wasn’t something that existed in terms of music. It was more so an experience. Then there’s a track called ‘On Hought ’, which is related to Houghton Festival in Norfolk. The track captures the moment when I was attending with some mates, with lots of drinks, laughter…
So, you take an experience and you try to translate that into sound.
Subconsciously, yes, because you may just be in some type of mood from having that experience, and therefore you’re in the mood to write something that relates to it without forcing it to relate, if that makes sense. It’s probably why there’s a lot of diversity on this album as well, because there’s a lot of experiences over those years that I’ve captured. I guess it being on vinyl as well is nice because you can go back to the experiences and listen to those moments. It must feel fresh to people now listening to the music, but for me, some of those tracks are 10 years old.
Not having to rush an album and taking your time really makes you more aware of what story you want to tell. Having that on vinyl, you can hold the story in your hands.
Yeah, it’s nice. I feel really supported by Alex, Facing Jinx with the vinyl, and he’s had some great ideas. It’s come together really nicely.
You’re celebrating your album release with an event at Planet Wax on July 4. Why did you decide on that location?
Alex decided on that location, but it makes complete sense to me because I was born and bred in South London and Planet Wax is in Newcross. It feels nice to have it localised. The fact that the release is released on vinyl goes hand in hand as well. It will be a very casual event, celebrating with friends and people from the area. I’m really looking forward to that.
They live and breathe vinyl, it’s an amazing venue. Who did you invite over for the event?
Facing Jinx is going to be there, because he’s both the label manager for Peer Pressure Records and he’s got a remix of ‘Let Go’ on the album, which is the track I did with Jay Barrett. It’s the only vocal track on the album, and the way it came about was great. I met somebody in the smoking area of Phonox several years ago, and we got talking about music. Later on, I found out that he was collaborating with Jay on some bits, and I really loved what Jay’s voice sounded like. We worked on this track together and it all went perfectly. The track glues all the other tracks together. It’s a very London sound as well, so it works hand in hand with the launch party at Planet Wax. Facing Jinx did a remix of that, and he’s converted that London-y vibe into drum & bass, which I think he’s done an absolutely amazing job with.
Other people on the lineup are Philth, he’s the other label boss for Peer Pressure, and Sub Basics as well. He’s a good friend of mine and an absolute wizard in the studio. I do a lot of work with him, and I’ve got some forthcoming work with his label, Temple of Sound, so it makes sense for him to be there as well. It’s very much in suit for the sound of the LP to have him there. And we’ve got Sense MC on the mic that night.
That’s a lot to look forward to. Is there anything else that you’re working on at the moment?
I’m working on lots of things at the moment. Everything from drum & bass to ambient, so there’s loads of things forthcoming. Nothing’s solidly set yet. I went on a holiday to Indonesia with my partner recently, and I spent much of my time with my field recorder in hand, so I’ve put together a lot of ambient work lately. There’s definitely something exciting brewing there.
