Jody Barr is an auspicious producer, label owner and DJ who since enjoying a breakout year in 2015 has continued firmly on his ascent. He has swiftly garnered widespread support through his standout releases on Krankbrother and a series of shows including Fabric’s infamous Room 1, Space Ibiza, Studio 338 and Ministry of Sound.
Jody specializes in his own strain of ‘Technofied House Music’, and recently he was named by DJ Sasha as a ‘New Name’ to follow. We had the chance to speak with him aligned to the release of his latest EP ‘Erotic Sally’.
Electronic Groove: Hi Jody, thanks for the time to chat with us. How did you get involved with electronic music?
Jody Barr: Hi guys, thanks. Rolling back the years with this question. I grew up around all electronic music, my dad and brother would have Pete Tong on every Friday night through the 90’s… It was decent thinking about it! Then started raiding my brothers Fila trainer box packed with TDK’s, I guess the electronic music bug caught hold from a very early age.
EG: Can you name some of your music influences?
Jody Barr: There are so many influences, maybe I was an odd child musically growing up and accepted all electronic music from Yazoo, Sasha, Plastikman, Paul Oakenfold, The Prodigy, just to name but a few… Not just one specific style, pretty diverse. At the moment, there’s are so many great artists around doing their own unique thing and influencing me.
EG: How would you define your music style?
Jody Barr: Always a tough one to answer when I get asked, my music sits on the fence somewhere between house and techno, with some added weirdness. Heavy focus on percussion, organic and analog warmth with dirt and grit.
EG: After three years since your first release British icon DJ Sasha mentioned you as a ‘New Name’ to follow on Pete Tong’s program. How do you feel about this?
Jody Barr: Where does time go… I’m humbled, it’s quite some accolade which still hasn’t sunk in. As a hero of mine and soundtracking pretty much my whole youth… It’s definitely something to be proud of no matter what stage you are at in your career. Had my dad ringing me on that midnight shouting “Turn radio 1 on, Sasha is talking about you!” Came totally unexpected and will definitely be a career highlight for many years.
“I grew up around all electronic music”
EG: You just released ‘Erotic Sally’. What was the inspiration behind your latest EP?
Jody Barr: I wanted to make something sinister (Epic breakdown sounds a bit cheesy and EDM), but wanted something with a breakdown that pulls you in. I spontaneously reenacted a ‘Braveheart’ scene while pressing a few keys on a synth, and that ended up being the breakdown. You can just picture Mel Gibson going for gold.
EG: What’s the regular setup you use to produce?
Jody Barr: Ableton as DAW, and various vintage outboard gear, there’s a few mainstay synths across my music as I’ve turned into an analog boy, although I have been dabbling recently with software and forgot how good some plugins are.
EG: Your tracks have ‘Technofield House Music’ as genre. What does this mean?
Jody Barr: I guess there’s no specific style hence the description, but it all comes back to being club and dance floor focused. A lot of people find it hard to pigeonhole my music into a style… ‘Is it Techno, is it Tech house’ etc. If you have your own identity and sound, roll with it because it’s a good quality to have one as an artist.
EG: You also run ‘Portable Minds’. What’s the concept behind the label?
Jody Barr: Creating a diverse outfit for other creative producers I like, and that’s not necessarily just leathering 4×4 club techno. Maybe some electro, deep house, and anything that falls left of center. The whole ethos is important to me from the music to the visual artwork, so each release has its own identity.
“At the moment, there’s are so many great artists around doing their own unique thing and influencing me”
EG: Can we know what’s planned this year for the label?
Jody Barr: Will be getting other artists involved for some single EP’s, can’t shed too much light, but of course there will be some music from myself along with remixers.
EG: What’s in the pipeline for Jody Barr?
Jody Barr: More studio time. Already have a few releases planned which I’m keeping tight lipped about, will reveal info in the coming weeks. 2017 has been good to me so far, I’m excited to see where this year takes me.
‘Erotic Sally’ EP is already available on Portable Minds.
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