On Cue: Jon1st

Jon is a consummate turntable-and- technology-inspired artist for the modern age. Armed with his Pioneer DJM-S11, Serato and the needle-free Phase devices, his head is in the science, but his heart is in the performance. In his solo sets, and collaborative ones with fellow 20/20 alumni Shield, he’s constantly looking for the sweet-spot between cutting-edge and accessible.

“I often use metal as an example,” he says. “Bands can have amazing virtuoso soloists, but that kind of playing shines best when there’s balance and dynamics in the performance. It was the same with the performances with Shield. They’re something we wanted people to get into on the dancefloor, but also have moments where you could look up and enjoy the set as a performance, too.”

With Shield’s musicianship and Jon’s dexterity, their shows were a feat to behold pre-lockdown. A fluid motion blur of hands, machines and well-maintained facial hair, the pair break down their tracks to their core elements and use each instrument to perform and mutate the phrases live. To the dancers, it’s seamless. To the chin strokers, it’s matchless.

Not even Covid-19 could quash their collaborative spirit. Jon explored how to create a similar experience online using post-production editing, while the pair were over 1,000 miles apart, between Leicester and Copenhagen.

“The move to streaming and doing things remotely has been a nice creative challenge,” says Jon. He’s always had a strong presence in the digital realm as a DJ — having won his DMC crown in 2013, as the third ever Online World Champion — but made a concerted effort to boost his online game this year, with a successful application to the Arts Council England for creative development to learn how to produce A/V material with After Effects.

“It’s a grant intended for development outside of your existing skill set, to expand your creative horizons. The grant was an incredible opportunity to practice and learn through taking online courses and weeks of personal development time.”

The fruits of Jon’s new A/V chapter are already ripe for the picking. He’s launched a weekly series, ‘AV Minimix’, where he unleashes a brand-new routine all wrapped up in a fittingly busy visual style. “I’m just a beginner at it, really — I feel like I’m in the first year of uni with it all,” laughs Jon. He’s currently flexing the Adobe Suite for most of his video productions, but isn’t averse to treating himself to the impressive 3D particle animator Trapcode every now and then, when he’s feeling flush. “I’m having a lot of fun in the process.”

While plans for any large scale, live A/V spectacular are still a long way off, Jon can already see how visuals could be incorporated into his work as a producer. A more recent addition to his musical vocabulary, Jon1st studio releases can be spotted on Leipzig experimental bass label Defrostatica, Anna Morgan and Bell Curve’s Worst Behavior Records and Craze’s Slowroast Records. Mirroring his performances and routines, his tracks smack of turntablist energy: not just in aesthetic and energetic, blink-and-miss fizz, but in how he’s knuckling down his production chops in the same disciplined way he practised his DJ skills.

“I’m putting the hours in not only because I want to push myself to improve, but also because I respect the quality of the work of my peers, whose music I play,” he says. “I want to be able to engage in conversations in the scene on a similar level.”

Even just a quick whiff of his Noisia- endorsed ‘Pantone Suplex’ on Defrostatica’s ‘Hybrid Hooks’ collection earlier this year suggests he’s on, or very close to, that level already. More level-ups are expected, too. A self-released two- tracker – ‘Seems Like/Cinnamon’ – lands on Bandcamp imminently, and another EP with brother-in-tone-arms Shield will come in early 2022. Following 2019’s wide-armed collaborative assault, Jon promises more of the same kinetic energy that he and Shield share on stage, and an anticipated feature with Manchester MC Strategy. “It’s representative of what we were striving for with the live show,” he explains. “Multi tempo, big drums, tasty subs, lots of live modulation.”

Plenty more modulations, both sonically and visually, will land later next year, too. Just like his mixes, his roots and the melting mindset he’s always had, we should expect the unexpected. “I’ve always been most inspired by conversations between disparate styles and drawing influences from different genres,” Jon smiles. “That’s where the most interesting things happen for me.”

Listen to Jon1'st end of year megamix for 2021 below.