www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpEm3twReTU

Jay West was recently interviewed by the excellent Our House Magazine. See what he had to say below…

Jay West’s first EP release appeared at the end of 2004 on the relatively unknown Spanish label Huron Records. That EP made a big impact, however, and Jay soon had labels such as LowDown, Agave, Bambino, Stupendous and Lost My Dog knocking at his door. Fast forward five years and Jay is one of the most well known and prolific creators of deep, funk-infused house music around. Alongside his own labels Flavor and Candy Music he has gone on to appear on Drop, Guesthouse and Conya amongst others. He’s also an extremely busy DJ; a premier name in his native Argentina, playing the biggest parties the nation has to offer, while also touring the world rocking underground clubs. During a short break from his hectic schedule we caught up with Jay for a chat about the past five years, his thoughts on the industry and what the future has in store.

1. Thanks for talking to Our House and happy New Year! Where are you and what are you up to?
Hi and Happy New Year! I’m actually on the beautiful Atlantic coast of Argentina, doing some summer gigs, it’s the best time of the year down here, people go nuts! The weather is too warm to be locked inside the studio but gonna have to drag myself there since I have a lot of unfinished projects before starting touring again.

2. Argentina is famed for having an amazing nightlife and club culture – how was it growing up surrounded by that and how does the scene in your home country differ to the other countries you’ve visited?
Well, back when I started DJing the scene was really underground and we’ve lost a lot of that intimacy nowadays, but club culture is very strong and we probably have some of the best parties in the world around here. The main difference between S outh America’s scene and the US and western Europe is that the dance scene is not divided by genre here, all the clubs hold diverse styles of electronica, and you can find house, minimal, techno, progressive or trance acts playing the same circuit…While up in the US and Europe there’s a small underground house scene and parties are fairly small and more intimate. People are very open here and you can really play whatever you want as long as you make them shake it!

3. Your first records started appearing almost exactly 5 years ago and you’ve become one of the most well known names in the deep, funky underground house scene since then. What have been the highlights of your journey?
Probably getting to travel all over the world through all these years has been the biggest blessing, as well as seeing my name in the cover of records. It’s like living a childhood dream again and again with every release. Also making new friends in every tour, it’s really been an exciting journey for me.

4. The music industry has experienced some major changes over that time, which transitions have had the biggest impact on you?
The arrival of the digital era was a huge impact for everyone; I still think the industry is trying to figure out the steps to handle this. For producers it’s been hard to adapt, music is a lot more ephemeral and it’s hard to face the fact that you spend so much time working on a song and then its only good for a couple of weeks before everyone forgets about it. I deeply miss vinyl, but I have to admit the transition to CDs has made touring a lot less painful for those with tendency to injure their backs!

5. How do you expect the industry to change over the next five years?
As I said, I think the industry needs to figure out how to make the best of the new era. Piracy is the most important issue and I hope they find a way to eradicate it, as hard as that sounds. Its quantity over quality these days so I see a lot of talented producers sticking to formulas to sell more downloads and music losing a bit of originality, but on the bright side its easier now to discover new exciting sounds, especially when you live so far away.

6. As a prolific producer and remixer do you prefer working on your own original tracks or reworking other people, and do you approach these projects differently?
I find it a lot easier to remix other people’s tracks, if the parts are inspiring everything comes naturally and it’s a pretty fast process. When I start my own projects I usually need a source of inspiration and ideas so it’s a bit harder, I always try my best to make every track sound different, I hate sticking to formulas.

7. You’ve collaborated very successfully with fellow Argentinean Christian Malloni as The Candy Dealers. Do you plan to keep that partnership going and do you have any other collaborations that we should look out for?
Christian is an extremely talented producer and a close friend as well so we really enjoy spending time together in the studio. I’ve found myself working more and more with him in the last couple months, he is very open and he successfully produces almost every style, so we learn a lot from each other. We are also working on putting together a live show and lately we’ve been collaborating with a lot of talented singers like Morrisson or Alexander East as well as some musicians.

8. What’s your current DJ set up and does travelling the world have an impact on this?
I usually prefer 3 CD players and that’s it. Travelling with just CDs has been really comfortable and so much easier than carrying cases of vinyl. I like to carry a lot of CDs though, you never know what the party is gonna be like so I like to have all my options right there.

9. What’s in the pipeline for Jay West in 2010?
As far as releases go I have a single coming out any time now on Lost My Dog called ‘Call The Boss’ that’s been getting great reviews, an EP on Adaptation Music (with some fine remixers including Schmoov, Pablo Fierro and Random Soul), some releases on my own label Candy Music, one of them featuring Alexander East, and other singles with Morrisson on Bambino and So Sound. And a lot of remixes! Im really looking forward to this year, I have a lot of music I wanna put out for sure! I will also do some more touring starting in March around the US, Europe and Australia so I hope this year will be as busy as the last one.

10. As we stand at the start of a New Year and new decade which artists and labels do you tip to go on to big things?
Christian Malloni, Manuel Sahagun, Mr Morning, Ronan and Leo Portela, a lot of people are really making awesome beats and I’m lucky to be close to them as well…I certainly wish them the best for this year and I think we are all meant to do big things very soon. I’m working hard on my label as well so hopefully it will be a year full of Candy flavors.

As part of our 5th Anniversay celebrations (more on that to follow) Lost My Dog will be heading out to Miami for our first ever visit to the infamous Winter Music Conference.

On Fri 26th March we will be joining forces with So Sound Recordings and Headtunes to present a party with a DJ line up that should instantly get the mouth of any self-respecting deep house fan watering. ‘The Miami Soundsystem’ takes place at Skyline Lounge in the heart of Miami Beach and see’s the legendary Mark Farina (Om Records, Great Lakes Audio) headlining a bill which also includes Uner (Diynamic), Zoo Brazil, Jazzy Eyewear (So Sound), Jay West (releases on all of the host labels), Pete Dafeet and Najan Ward (Lost My Dog). Najan Ward will be joined by very special guest and brand new Lost My Dog signing Frank H Cater III for a live vocal performance.

Pete Dafeet East Coast Tour

Ahead of our Miami party Pete Dafeet will be embarking on an East Coast tour in the following locations:

Weds 17th March – St. Patrick’s Day @ Porch, New York – 9pm-4am, Free
Details at Resident Advisor

Sat 20th March – Drumsong @ Kungfu Necktie, Philadelphia – 10pm-2am, $5
Details at Resident Advisor

Sun 21st March – Pete Dafeet @ Phoenix Landing, Boston
Full details to follow

Tues 23rd March – Tight Recordings pres Pete Dafeet @ Crooked Bayou, Orlando – 10pm-2am, Free
Details at Resident Advisor

Thu 25th March – Chillin Music & Tight Recordings present Migration at Hotel Shelley, Miami – Noon-10pm, Free
Details at Resident Advisor

Pete Dafeet Mix

Pete has recorded a special mix for Miami and his East Coast tour which you can listen to and download below:

1. Daniel Kyo – Hypnotized (Kelvin K remix) – Lost My Dog
2. Brett Johnson – Missing You – Eight-Tracks
3. Jake Island ft. Alec Sun Drae – Do It Like This (Pete Dafeet remix) – Toolroom
4. Chris Lattner – Sick – Fear of Flying
5. Roland Nights – Phazz (Tonk Project mix) – Lost My Dog
6. Pete Dafeet – Alto (Nacho Marco remix) – Lost My Dog

Pete Dafeet Videos

Pete playing in Latvia:

Pete Dafeet – Alto:

Jay West with a funk-fuelled deep mix. Jay has just released his second project on Lost My Dog entitled ‘Call The Boss and featuring remixes by Roland Nights, Peckos, Neighbour and Junia Ovadose.

Tracklist

01. Rodney Hunter – Faith [HUNTER]
02. Arco – Wonderline (Ross Couch Mix) [CANDY MUSIC]
03. 6th Borough Project – Miss World (Soultourist Mix) [DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR]
04. Tovar – Go Get It
05. Dave Miller – Take What You Want (LCG Mix) [MOTION]
06. Jay West feat Ingrid Hakanson – Funny Things (Ronan Portela Mix) [CANDY MUSIC]
07. Christian Malloni – Smoking Cigarrettes [JUNKIE TOWN]
08. Christian Malloni – Feel The Music
09. Danny Howells – Right Off (Saalim Mix) [DIG DEEPER]
10. Kinky Movement – Deep Jazz
11. Onur Ozman – Decimatus [AMBIOSPHERE]
12. Io – Jeton [DIYNAMIC]
13. Da Sunlounge – Get A Beat [MYNA]
14. The Candy Dealers – Danger Zone
15. Franck Roger – What A Woman Needs [FR PRODUCTIONS]
16. Ajello – Moody Bang (Langenberg’s Disco Mix) [REBIRTH]
17. Rodney Hunter – Move You [HUNTER]

Catalogue Number: LMD028 | Release Date: January 2009

Available to download from:
Lost My Dog webstore
Juno Download
Beatport
Stompy
Traxsource
What People Play
Primal
Damn Noisy
iTunes

The Lowdown

Lost My Dog’s first release of 2010 is all about THE FUNK, and what better man to step up than Jay West, one of the finest purveyors of funk-laden grooves in the underground house arena. Argentinean Jay is a busy guy, with a constant worldwide tour schedule and a prolific release rate for his own labels Candy Music and Flavor, as well as on a string of worldwide imprints. Four more funktastic remixes are provided by Neighbour, Peckos, Junia Ovadose and Roland Nights.

Since bursting onto the scene in 2005 Jay West has gone on to release his trademark and hugely popular sound for leading labels in the deep house genre such as Drop Music, So Sound, Blockhead and Conya. Jay first worked with Lost My Dog back in 2006 and his ‘Carillon Jamz EP’, which also featured a remix from Greenskeepers, is still one of the label’s most sought after 12”’s. He is also involved in a production partnership with Christian Malloni as The Candy Dealers.

The enigmatic Neighbour (aka Canadian Matt Dauncey) is currently one of the most sought after producers around, both for his super-funked house sound and his more eclectic projects. The “Neighbour sound” has become a well used phrase and is testament to his unique approach. Recent successes have appeared on Kolour Recordings, Super HiFi, Alphabet Music and his own Home Breakin. Neighbour is equally well known for his show stealing DJ sets, which feature live synths, electric guitar and Matt’s inimitable stage presence (some people say that dance music isn’t as fun as it used to be; then again, some people haven’t seen a grown man in a unitard shoot lazers out of his guitar far into the night sky). Such flamboyant performances have seen him play at the Shambhala, Soundwave, Bass Coast Project and Astral Harvest festivals.

By now Peckos will be well known to followers of Lost My Dog. The young Belgian producer released two EPs and a remix for the label in 2009, the highlights being a 5/5 ‘Essential Release’ review from DMC Update, charting in German dance mag DeBug and receiving a chart placing from house legend Tony Humphries which led ‘Sensual Strawberry Soda’ to take off on download store Traxsource.

Highlights on Junia Ovadose’s impressive CV include music for Greenskeepers’ Igloo and G-Swing imprints and DJ Pierre’s Strictly Rhythm sub-label DJP. DJ wise he has performed regularly in New York, all over Europe and at some of the UK’s most respected parties such as Back To Basics, Hard Times and Le Bloc. His music has been aired on Radio 1 by Pete Tong and on other leading UK dance stations Kiss FM and Galaxy FM. His ’10-45 EP’ for Lost My Dog in the autumn is still causing damage so we’re delighted to welcome Junia back.

Roland Nights is a new guise for Danny Stott, another producer who worked closely with LMD in 2009. The future is looking very bright for the Burnley-based beat-maker with two outings on Urbantorque scheduled for early 2010, including a remix of Tom Middleton.

Magazine Reviews

DMC Update – 5/5
Throughout 2009, Lost My Dog was the label which has figured most in these columns on a regular basis as it squirted yet another compulsive house turbo-jet over my grateful lamp-post. Never a duff release, never a dull moment, always either another startling new talent or further consolidation of the swelling roster which has made it the UK’s major home for deep house of the original persuasion, albeit spiked, humped and hot-wired onto the contemporary dancefloor. Their last release of the year also happens to be one of its best, bringing back Argentina’s Jay West, who made his label debut in 2006 and has since gone on to make a name on labels including Drop Music, So Sound, Blockhead and Conya. Jay’s original manages to weld old school Chicago vocal stutters [rather like The It's 'Donnie'] and Mr Fingers bassline with DJ Pierre Wild Pitch hypno-repetition and NYC deep house sensibilities – to marvellously grooved-up effect. There’s also four cracking remixes: Canada’s Matt ‘Neighbour’ Dancey takes the boogie route with wild synth action, hen’s antelope scrotum riffage and jazzy flourishes, LMD stalwart Peckos turns in a dreamy slab of classic NY-style deepness, while Junia Overdose takes the skippy house route with farting duck chorale. Finally Danny Stott calls himself Roland Nights to focus on the bassline and build a hypnotic head of steam. With this vibrant creative pool and ever-growing roll-call of ever-stunning originality, Lost My Dog could well loom out of the underground in 2010, voluminous testicles blazing as the UK’s answer to the old Strictly Rhythm.

Philadelphia Weekly
In the past 4 years, Jay West has had an awesome opportunity to have his productions played world wide by internet radio DJs and high ranking, world traveling DJs. He always puts forth a piece of production with solid foundations. He has a familiar feel he expresses in each of his tracks, and you know a Jay West track when you hear it in a DJ set. His latest release through Ian Straker’s Lost My Dog label is another notch in the belt of accomplishments. In the original mix of “Call the Boss’ you’ll enjoy his arpeggiated synths, stabbing over his percussion and booming kicks. “We’ve been playing over the last hour…get sweaty, ya know,’ echoes over his flowing track, adding to the delightful rhythms. Other remixes that delve into the squelch, techy side of things can be found in Julio’s ‘Japanese mix” and the ‘Roland Nights mix’, however, my two favorite are the ‘Peckos Play’ mix, and the ‘Neighbour Remix.’ You get two different sides of the coin with these remixes. Peckos’s mix stays deep, lush, uplifting, and just damn pretty throughout the whole mix, with the use of pads and melodic chords. And heading the other direction, the Neighbour mix has harder and fuller kicks, a wider soundscape, and a pop feel to it, but never gets cheesy; it becomes more complex in the sound and sample drops as you progress through the production. Creative guitar licks, layered under freaked out filters, crossing over with some 80’s sounding synth jabs makes for an awakening bit of tech funk.

DJ Reactions

Andy Riley (Inland Knights / Toka Project): great ep!…all tracks strong but favs would be jays orig mix,the neighbour and junia remixes…wicked!

Mark Farina: Junia Ovadose mix – Feelin’ this!

Greg D (Fish Go Deep): love the original it rocks

Bryan Jones: love the Neighbour mix.

Giom: Neighbour mix rocks, so does the Roland Nights mix. Good stuff guys, will try tonight

Peter Christianson (LawnChair Generals): It’s definitely the Original and Roland nights mixes for me. Another quality release from jay and LMD!

Harold Heath: Peckos mix all the way for me, another great release

Manuel Sahagun: I’ve been playing this track for a long time. I feel happy to see it out with so many good remixes!

Scope: The Pekos mix is real nice!

Atnarko: OG and Roland mixes for me .. Neighbor too… good package!

Nick Holder: Feeling Neighbour’s ultraboogie remix! Thanks!

Raoul Belmans: Junia Ovadose’s remix caught my attention. Nice raw beats, that’s the one I’ll be playing.

The Littlemen: jays mix my fav, kinda acid house, will give a play tonight for sure

Da Sunlounge: solid stuff here, I really like the direction Jay has gone with this one. Neighbour ‘Ultraboogie’ Remix is solid too.

Joshua Heath: original kind of has an old inland knights thang goin on to it, i dig it. Neighbours mix is dope as well, a little 80′s on those beats, nice harmonic changes throughout.

Tommy Largo: cool stuff. liking the original and peckos mix the most. will play

Jay West is our guest for the first Dogcast of 2010. As one of the most prolific and popular producers in the deep and funky house genre, Jay West can be found on labels including Drop Music, So Sound and Conya, as well as running his of Candy Music. His ‘Call The Boss’ release in January 2010 is his second outing on Lost My Dog.

Tracklist

01. Daniel Cummins – Lee Deep [Nordic Trax]
02. Tom Lown – Love Potion [Lost My Dog]
03. Soul Minority – When The Summers Gone [Kolour]
04. Bang Bang – Broken (Giom Remix) [Lost My Dog]
05. Dominic Martin – Mistreated [Tronicsole]
06. Ivan Enot – Storming Sky [Pin Up]

Jay West Mix

07. Jaffa Surfa – Soulbeat [Devoted]
08. Jay West – Call The Boss (Peckos Mix) [Lost My Dog]
09. Andre Crom & Luca Doobie – Broadway [Off]
10. Lawnchair Generals – I Want (DPC Mix) [LCG Music]
11. Edu Imbernon – Trilopenco (Uner & Coyu Mix) [Trapez]
12. Tourist – Nymil [Candy Music]
13. Stretch Silvester – Faith (Faze Action Mix) [Rebirth]

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Catalogue Number: LMD008
Release Date: May 2006

A1: Bumpty Jam
A2: Music Drives Her Wild
B1: Turnin’ Round (Greenskeepers Mothers Day Remix)
B2: Turnin’ Round (Original Mix)

The Lowdown

Jay West is one of the hottest young producers to emerge from South America in recent years. The talented Argentinean has been involved in making music since he was 12; as a songwriter, guitar and keyboard player and even as a singer. Now, at 25, Jay is an integral part of South America’s house scene, gigging (under his DJ alias Paul Velvet) at some of the continent’s most significant venues and festivals alongside some of the biggest names in the industry; Massive Attack, Primal Scream, Eddie Richards, the list goes on and on.

Surrounded by the mainly progressive Argentinean house scene, Jay has developed a unique sound heavily influenced by the West Coast of the US , characterized by buckets of funk and chunky, bumping beats. Always original and filled with groove, Jay’s music is perfect for busy dancefloors the world over, as his releases on Lowdown, Blockhead, Cove, Sensei and Tango hold testament to. His music receives constant support from the some of the most hard hitting DJ’s from around the globe including Hernan Cattaneo, Jason Hodges, Grant Dell and Jay Tripwire.

The ‘Carillon Jamz’ EP is Jay’s first UK release and is a four tracker that Lost My Dog are extremely proud of. Things start on the right foot with Bumpty Jam; a smooth and somewhat epic glide through deep house music. Elements of west coast laziness fuse with a soft rolling bassline, velvety pads and intelligent stabs in an upbeat, summery record at home both on the dancefloor at 3am or in the kitchen at 3pm – this track makes hips shake wherever its played. Onto A2 where ‘Music Drives Her Wild’ focuses on equally tight and bouncing beats (a focal point of all Jay’s music), deep growling bass and jerky stabs creating a big fat west coast bumpfest.

If that’s not enough, the B-side is a mouth watering tag team from Jay and Chicago legend’s (and Lost My Dog faves) Greenskeepers on ‘Turnin Round’. While Jay’s original version pushes the funk with a wicked guitar loop and stompy beats, Greenskeepers strip things back in their imitable style, adding a quirky, wonky edge with fresh keys and some insane vocals courtesy of Ziggy Franklin. Do not play this to your mother.

Magazine Reviews

iDJ Mag – June 2006 4/5
Certainly worth spending a few Saturday afternoons tracking down if only for the demonstration of house at its simplest and most effective. The track in question is ‘Turnin Round’ where funk guitars, bumpin butt-shaking beats and the most disturbing mother’s day speech add up to something pretty special. The other three tracks chunk and funk it up a treat too. 4/5 (JT)

DJ Mag – May 2006 4.5/5
Another Argentinean to make an appearance on our side of the world, the skippy beats of the man also known as Paul Velvet sound like he’s been living in Chicago for most of his life. There’s a nice West Coast warmness here too, and a comfortableness to let the groove just run. But the main reason to pick this up is the Greenskeepers’ ‘Mother’s Day Mix’ of ‘Turnin Round’. “Just thinkin’ bout fuckin’ and suckin,” sings the Ziggy Franklin character from their first album, as a swing groove twists away. You’ll be having as much fun as they did in the studio, judging by the laughter recorded in the off-kilter breakdowns. 4.5/5 (JK)

Night Magazine – May 2006 3/4
Some more tasty grooves from the LMD team. ‘Bumpty Jam’ does just that – the beats are tight & the groove bumps; Derrick Carter fans will love this. ‘Turnin Round’ follows a similar path, albeit with a jazzier groove & this definitely works better for me, the key stabs & vox samples working a treat. Greenskeepers add their typically offbeat take on things with their remix of ‘Turnin Round’, the vocal drop maybe a little quirky for some though. Finally ‘Music Drives Her Wild’ rides along on a crisp key stab & tough drums, rounding off another solid release. 3/4

DJ Reactions

Inland Knights (Drop)
Diggin the 4th track (Turnin’ Round), will be playing out

James Talk
Loving Bumpty Jam and Turnin’ Round.

Raoul (Swirl People)
Great release! I love the Greenskeepers mix best and also Music Drive Her Wild is really great! Serious action at WMC!

Murray Richardson (Nordic Trax / 2020 Vision)
Wicked EP, Jay West with another great release with a tasty Greenskeepers remix to boot!!!

Jimpster (Freerange)
Supa funky stuff as ever mate. The Greenskeepers thing is way out there but I like it! Raw as f**k jacking house which you guys are becoming known for.

Tyler Stadius
Cool tracks again. My fave is Jay’s Turnin Round.

Tom Golden (Homegrown, Stylus)
Love all the tracks, especially “Turnin Round” and the Greenskeepers remix, top stuff as always!

Sound Navigators (Guesthouse, 3am)
It’s Craaaa Z, will be getting some serious play!

Harold Heath (Urban Torque, Sensei)
I’m really into the “Turnin Round” – it’s crisp and bouncy and superfunky – nice! Your label is clearly going from strength to strength.

Sonny Wharton (Trashed)
This is hot stuff man – tunes get better n better!!! Lovin the Greenskeepers Mothers Day Mix – badass! Will hammer!

Now, at 25, Paul Velvet (his DJ alias) is an important part of South America’s house scene, gigging at some of the most important venues and festivals alongside some of the biggest names in the industry (Massive Attack, Primal Scream, Eddie Richards, Stefano Greppi, Eddie Richards, Slacker, Ashley Casselle, Rinocerose, FC Kahuna, the list goes on). He was invited to perform and give a seminar about production at the South American Music Conference held in Buenes Airies in 2004 with some of the biggest DJs in the world (DJ Dan, Pete Tong, Derrick May, Eddie Richards, Bad Boy Bill, Danny Howells and Nick Warren).

Surrounded by a mainly progressive scene, Jay followed the funk in his heart and the sound coming from the West Coast. Always original and filled with groove, Jay’s music is perfect for greedy dancefloors. As a producer he has already achieved great success considering his age. His productions receive support from the some of the most important DJ’s around the world including Hernan Cattaneo, Jason Hodges, Grant Dell, Greg Vickers, Jay Tripwire and Shawn Ward. They have also been picked up by labels including Doubledown, Blockhead, Cove, Random House, Pancake, Stupendous, Sensei, Music Is Freedom, Tango and So Sound. He has been remixed by great artists like Patrick Turner, Morgan Page, Grant Dell, Army Of One and more!

Jay has recently started a collaboration project with top Canadian producer Shawn Ward (of DIY, Siesta, Tonite, Flat & Round and Sensei fame) as WARD & WEST. Their music will be soon heard throughout 2005 and 2006. Jay has also started a project joining Argentinian legend Diego Cid (D+D, Luxury Grooves, Hurón Recs). The first Jay West & Diego Cid EPs will be released in 2005 by Stupendous Records from New York and Pancake from London.