They say slow and steady wins the race, but Jitterbug has applied that maxim without participating in the race at all. The somewhat shadowy UK-based DJ/producer lets his music do all the talking and even then hasn’t said very much. Yet the message that’s come across in his two EPs for London’s Uzuri imprint has been quite moving, presenting a house sound that prizes the gritty, unbound ethos of early Chicago house, the drum patterning of fellow UK producers, and the finesse required to excel beyond pastiche. Even in his brief discography Jitterbug has shown a good deal of development, suggesting that no matter how long it takes between releases his next transmission will exceed the one before it. For this reason we’ve tracked down Jitterbug for an interview about his deliberate pace, the gear facilitating his granular sound, and his relationship with Uzuri. He’s also contributed LWE’s 65th exclusive podcast, a nearly 90 minute long vinyl-only mix that reveals his influences as it touches on everything from psychedelic jazz to acid-house, cosmic disco funk and Detroit techno.

LWE Podcast 65: Jitterbug (86:05)

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Tracklist:

01. Sun Ra, “History Repeats”
02. Barry Morgan & Ray Cooper, “Samba Street” [Themes International Music]
03. Lola, “Wax The Van” (Jon’s Dub) [Jump Street Records]
04. Bill Withers, “You Got the Stuff” (Black Cock Re-Edit) [Black Cock]
05. Rick Wilhite, “Roots of Detroit (Revise)” [Three Chairs]
06. Theo Parrish, “Music” [Sound Signature]
07. Lil’ Louis & The World, “I Called U” (A Cappella) [FFRR]
08. Mr. Fingers, “Mystery of Love” [Jack Trax]
09. MD III, “Set Me Free” [Underground]
10. Ace & The Sandman, “Let Your Body Talk” [Trax Records/Rush Hour]
11. Joe Lewis, “Separate Ways” [Relief Records]
12. DJ Skull, “Don’t Stop the Beat” [Djax-Up-Beats
13. Saul Williams, “Pledge of Resistance” [Ninja Tune]
14. Chez Damier, “Untitled B1” [KMS]
15. Alex O. Smith, “Ultra Fine One” [FXHE Records]
16. Markey, “Bounce” [Cajual Records]
17. John Swing, “Unknown Feeling” [LiveJam Records]
18. Tevo Howard, “Move” (Acid Mix) [Rush Hour Recordings]
19. XDB, “Cagomi” [Metrolux Music]
20. Mach, “(The Original) On And On” [Lost Records]
21. Telex, “Moskow Disko” [JDC Records INC.]
22. Paperclip People, “Paperclip Man” [Retroactive]
23. The Other People Place, “Let Me Be Me” [Warp Records]

Uzuri seems to place faith in both seasoned and talented new producers, how did you first get involved with the label?

Jitterbug: A couple of years back I finally had some tracks I was actually happy with and vaguely looking to get released. I sent a demo to Uzuri as well as another label, all pretty low key. I didn’t really hear back from Uzuri for quite a while. I think I sent on another demo, waited some more and then kinda out of the blue got an email saying they wanted to do an EP.

I really like your laid back approach and the fact you have not been rushed into releasing material for financial purposes. Is this something you actively think about or is it a case of finding time to make the tracks?

It’s just down to wanting to take my time rather than rushing records out for the sake of it. Waiting a good few months after finishing a track before thinking about releasing it gives you time to see it with fresh perspective — sometimes I’ll rework things and come up with something better. Plus, you want to work with people who believe in you: Lerato from Uzuri has become a good friend of mine who I can trust — that’s really important. I should be doing another record for Uzuri in the near future.

With regards to making music how long have you been producing tracks for? Also after hearing both previous Uzuri EPs there’s a definite lo-fi aesthetic to your sound; is that influenced by your musical background?

I’ve been making music for a fair few years now, but I still consider myself a relative beginner. As far as the lo-fi thing goes, I guess that has its roots in my love of old school Chicago/Detroit stuff. So much amazing, soulful music, yet still so rough around the edges. That’s the kind of stuff that moves me. I love the DIY vibe of it, the way people just strung a couple of boxes together and made records that still work 25 years later. In general I often lean towards rough and ready music, whether it’s lowdown acid house or crackly dub reggae — sometimes raw is more.

With the influence of Chicago and Detroit house evident in your productions, do you prefer the analog hardware often associated with the sound or does that matter much to you?

Well put it this way, I started out making music on a computer. But given the kind of vibe I aim for, it’s very difficult to get that sort of sound in the box. So I’ve gradually added bits and pieces of hardware to my setup which has made it much easier to get some grit and colour in there. I’ve kept the computer as well’ it comes in very handy for certain tasks, but it’s no longer the focal point of my setup. The great thing about hardware is sometimes it forces you to be more spontaneous or take a trickier route which can have unexpected but pleasing results. The downside is paying to get shit fixed!

There has been a resurgence of a traditional analog vibe over the past few years, but with that becoming the trend do you feel it’s starting to sound a bit generic and indistinguishable from artist to artist?

You know, I don’t pay that much attention. Everything comes and goes in cycles. It’s not like I’m out there checking the week’s new releases all the time. I buy more old records than new, by a long way. I keep an ear out for interesting new stuff but I know there’s a wealth of music out there from the last 30-40 years I can spend my money on that will inspire me way more than this week’s big thing. I never bought in to this brand new, “cutting edge” bullshit — good music is good music. On any given day I’m playing reggae, disco, soul, and techno. I’m never gonna sit and listen to new house records all day, it would bore the shit out of me. So when I do sit down to make music, my head isn’t full of preconceived ideas about what to do. I’ll grab a sample here and there and just do what feels good that day.

Moving on to the podcast, will you please tell us a little bit about the mix? Ideas behind it? Influences? How it was made?

It was mixed at home on my turntables. I triggered a couple of vocal samples from my MPC, other than that it was all vinyl, same as when I play a party. For me vinyl and turntables are the perfect set-up. I will love vinyl to my dying day. I just wanted to play a set of records I really like, no great concept behind it, just good music spanning a few decades. Hopefully people will dig it.

What producers do you lay claim to having influenced your live performance? Or the producers you particularly admire?

It’s really hard to know where to begin, to be honest. My record collection is large and varied. I’m influenced by disco, dub/reggae, Chicago house, jazz, afrobeat, Detroit techno, etc. With the house stuff, the DIY ethic of the early Chicago stuff is something that resonates with me. Someone like Larry Heard would be an obvious person to mention — I’ve just been listening to Distant Planet again today and marvelling at just how good it is. What a fucking record! With DJing, the Chicago style of DJing — that high-energy layered mixing style [Hotmix style -ed] — has always excited me. Although I’m not so much into his sound these days, Derrick Carter was a huge inspiration on the way I mix records. I’d always rather hear someone take a few risks and fuck up occasionally than do everything by the book.

What lies in store now for Jitterbug?

I have a collaboration project in the pipeline which I’m pretty excited about although I’m not gonna give too much away at the moment. An album is something I’ll do eventually.