Bryan Jones Press
Beatportal Interview with Bryan Jones, September 2007, courtesy of Beatportal.com
Bryan Jones is one of Chicago’s busiest and highest selling producers. We wanted to talk with him about digital vs vinyl, new methods of promotion and the future of music.
What kind of music turned you on to help make Control/Ringside come about?
My favorite producers when I started the label were some of the artists on my label now, like The Sound Republic, Joey Youngman and Johnny Fiasco. I also am into Jason Hodges, Inland Knights and many more. However, some of my initial influences that got me into funky house music to begin with were Rhythm Masters, Sebastien Leger, Daft Punk, Buffalo Bunch, Paul Johnson and many French and Chicago producers.
Was there a particular release that really made Control become a household house name?
Definitely the first one — my own release ‘Chicago Jack’ sold two or three times what the rest of the releases have sold, and was also licensed for vinyl pressing on OM Records. It was also on Chuck Love and Colette’s Om CDs. However, a lot of the credit goes to my incredible remix staff on the project which included Joey Youngman, The Sound Republic and Scud Bloom. Later Bobby & Klein, Santiago & Bushido, and Paul Anthony & ZXX all took their shots at it. It was great that we got so much attention on the first release because it really helped us jump right into the game from the beginning instead of slowly building up over five releases or so.
It seems like there’s something for everyone on your Control artist roster. Can you tell me about it?
I would say that’s a fair statement because I try very hard to be as diverse as possible while still keeping a general sound for the label. If I put more of an up-tempo electro-ish track on an EP, I will have more of a deep house remix for it, or a funky dub or something like that. For the techy house fans, there are artists like Audiojack, Johnny Fiasco, Terry Mullan and more. For house fans, there are artists like Joey Youngman, Fabio Bacchini, Gene Farris and The Sound Republic.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned since you started producing?
That it’s not just the music you make, but what you do with it and how well you promote yourself. You can make the best tracks in the world, but if nobody has them, what good is it? I always send my tunes to the big DJs that I think would play them and try to keep people up to date with what I’m doing and releasing as much as possible.
Where does your inspiration come from?
A lot my peers in the house scene. When I hear someone that makes a track that does something very unique that I’ve never done, I want to try it. Whenever I do it, it always ends up sounding completely different than the original anyway, so it works out.
What do you like about shopping at Beatport?
The main thing is that I know they will have the biggest selection of dance music. I use Serato and CDJs nearly exclusively now, so its a great asset to me. I also like referring to their charts as a way to keep tabs on current sounds and what’s doing well in the industry. It’s the best source out there.
Did being in Chicago influence your music?
Yes for sure. I’m not originally from Chicago, but always within a 3 hour drive of Chicago. I’m from Indiana, and when I first started getting into house, Chicago was like Mecca to me. I would go to warehouse parties (raves) and spend $50-100 on house mix tapes everytime so I could have music to listen to for the next few months. It felt so underground there and I think the city itself had a huge influence on my getting into house music. Currently, it still influences me because there are SO many great DJs and producers making great music there that you have to fight to keep up with everyone! It’s not really a competition, because we are all friends, but friendly competition helps us all achieve our best results.
What’s the best gig you’ve played? Why?
Its a tie between: Monkey Tennis, Sydney Australia and Decadance – Ghent Belgium These cities welcomed me very well, the promoters were great and took the time to make sure the shows were great and the vibe was the thickest there — people went all night. I love these cities/countries the most out of the places I’ve been, but these nights in particular.
What do you see for independent labels in the future? Thoughts on digital vs vinyl?
I’m finally making the switch to all digital as of the Johnny Fiasco release on Control and the remixes of my songs on Ringside. Those are the last two records I’m pressing anytime in the near future for my labels, and then I’m going to really focus on digital through my digital distributor, Oseao. We know that vinyl will eventually be phased out — of course some people will always play it, but I’m not sure how much longer labels will be able to sell enough to turn a profit on it. I’m trying to embrace the digital world early and be ready for when it really turns over. I also love the fact that you can put something out much faster now and you never have a song sitting around for over a year with a label waiting to press it on wax.
What do you think are new ways of promoting that are going to change the way we reach out to promote?
I had Busy from Real Time Hand Motion make a video for me to help promote. [See clip here.]I think this and music videos for singles is one way to reach a lot more people; youtube is so popular now, so I think its important to take advantage of it. With an ever-changing sales environment with multiple formats, I am constantly looking for new exciting and effective ways to market.
So what’s new for Control? What’s in the works? Releases? New hotness?
I just dropped arguably the best Johnny Fiasco EP ever on vinyl and available digitally.There are 4 tracks on it and it’s been licensed to Ultra and OM already for CD compilations. I’m also very excited about the remixes for this project, which include a remix from one of my favorite producers out there now, Audiojack. These guys have made quite a name for themselves in a short amount of time and their music is incredible. We also have amazing remixes from TJR, Mike Gillenwater (from High Caliber and The Funk Monkeys) and Paul Anthony & ZXX (Paul is from the Funk Monkeys with Mike). We just started a new label Low End Recordings, which will have its first release in the next month or two, featuring up-tempo releases that don’t quite fit on Control. Look for anything from electro to minimal to big room filter house, will have quite a wide variety on Low End.
Upcoming releases:
Control 006 – Johnny Fiasco – The Remixes
Remixes by: Audiojack, TJR, Mike Gillenwater, Paul Anthony & ZXX
(This will be a Beatport exclusive for at least a month)
September 24th
Control 007 – Nate Laurence & Scrubfish – 94 East To West EP – October 15th
Control 008 – Biboulakis – Neighbors Love Me EP – October 29th
Control 009 – Discouraged Ones – Watch Your Back – November 15th
Low End 001 – Bryan Jones & Paul Anthony – Acceleration EP
Low End 002 – Bryan Jones & Paul Anthony – Long Flight Home EP
What artists or producers would you want to collab with in the future?
There are plenty out there — I just look for anybody that can bring things to the table I can’t when doing collaborations. Sometimes I work with people that I find myself that aren’t in the record industry if they can do something that will help me make a new sound.
Shoutouts?
Bridget, Family, Sarah at Viva Agency, Jon at Oseao, Tom Hoch at Beatport, Joe at i! records, The Sound Republic, Joey Youngman, Johnny Fiasco, Aaron Perez, Paul Anthony, Mike Gillenwater, Terry Mullan, Kaskade, Todd Edwards, Fabio Bacchini, Gene Farris, Audiojack, OM Records, all the labels, artists, and promoters I’ve worked with and MANY MANY more.\