INTERVIEW: JENNIFER LOVELESS

"I think about the ocean a lot and as of late that has affected my sound in at least a few productions to come"

Jennifer Loveless has become one of the most prominent in her country and an undisputed name in the new wave of artists and DJs who experiment outside of dance music. A tireless excavator, she conjures up hazy images and clear emotions through a colorful and powerful selection. Without leaving behind the sound fusion that constitutes her cultural heritage, she reveals herself as a sorceress rather than a DJ.

We had a chance to talk to her, so enjoy your reading and check out her latest projects. Read our interview below to learn more about Jennifer Loveless wide influences, creative environment, and study methods.

Hey Jennifer, where can we find you right now? How did you start off your day?

Hey, I’m currently out west on Whadjuk Noongar country (Perth) for the start of summer, but usually reside in Naarm (Melbourne). I started off with a nice beach visit this morning : )

Can you tell us a little bit about your background? Where are you from / how did you get into music? Was it all internet based?

I was born in Toronto, Canada. I moved to Naarm (Melbourne) in 2012. The internet definitely helped. I was bedroom djing and putting up these little mini mixes when I lived in Toronto. They got a cute amount of online traction, I didn’t know Lou Karsh then, but he actually used to listen to them then. When I moved here, I got my first gig by passing my soundcloud to a Promoter/DJ here and it went from there.

Who have been your main inspirations (Both musical and in ‘life’)? And how have they affected your sound?

I was influenced a lot by music that happened around me growing up. And music was also just so woven into the family and the broader culture I grew up in. In my immediate circle, we grew up dancing and throwing parties pretty young, I was making playlists for the year 7 and 8 dances, and I think the first party I threw with a friend was when I was about 15/16.

R&B and Soca were really big in our circles, as was Rap, Hip Hop, Dancehall, and a bit of Bollywood. Then of course there was ‘Asian Clubbing’ which was Hard Dance and Trance to the fullest. A bit later when I first started uni, there was an interesting phase where I enjoyed semi-embarrassing Rock EDM mashups…

I think everything informs everything, something I read can then get captured in something I make, something I experience on a dancefloor can then go and affect my next day and brainspace.

I think about the ocean a lot and as of late that has affected my sound in at least a few productions to come.

How would you define your sound?

I get really stuck on this, so I go with a safe and basic answer of techno and house.

How would you describe the Australian electronic music community?

Vibrant and exciting. Obviously it’s a little paired back now (due to Covid-19), but wow we have so many people doing and making great things, keeping the scene alive and the energy there. It is young and thriving even at the worst of times. The community is full of makers, whether that’s design, music production, events like Cool Room, community radio like Skylab Radio, natural wines, you name the realm and someone is doing something interesting in it. There’s a reason why I haven’t left after all these years, and this community is definitely at the top of the list.

I’ve listened to a lot of your mixes the last year and it feels like you’ve got a very selective and perfectionist approach to what you include so was wondering where you think that you might have stemmed from? Are there any past mixes or DJs that you feel influenced that approach?

Thank you! And I’m glad that comes across. I think about my mixes a lot before starting them, and then afterwards, a lot of listening back. I’ve always been like this, I think it probably comes from being a Virgo, but also probably because I think, if I’m going to take up an hour of someone’s time, I better make it worthwhile, at least in my own eyes. I always try to weave in a few movement to my mixes, and always an emotional element, whether that’s trying to reach a joy or something pensieve and reflective. It’s never about flexing unreleased tracks or just banging it out.

Lauren Garnier’s excess luggage mix

Moodymann dj kicks mix

Dj Sprinkles

Would you like to share a set? And if so, what did that set inspire you? What was your selection criteria?

I love those mixes I mentioned because it combines so much all together, and triggers a feeling of nostalgia in me, and I love any mix that can take me to a million places and back in a cohesive way. That was the basis for my radio show Weatherall, which I have taken a break from now, but it was about music being able to weather us from all things, and I’m really proud of the whole 4 years of it.

Having said that, I guess I’d like to share one of my more recent mixes on Groove Podcast. It has a bit less nostalgia than my usual online mixes, but I made it during peak lockdown to help with the lack of everything.

Could you tell us about your work on the Driva compilation? And your Hard / Soft release? What is your musical concept in production?

Hard/Soft’s meaning is a lot its name. I wanted to contrast nights out with days in. I wanted to talk about the space between the club life and everything else. I remember I was having difficulty negotiating my DJ life with my inner music life and I wanted to say something about that. To check in with people and see if they were also having that negotiation.

On my track for Driva, ‘System Overhaul’ - again, I guess there might be some similarities between that and Hard/Soft. I was also contrasting there. I wanted something that drove really hard but released into this soft place.

How have you had to adapt as a result of recent circumstances?

Yes, but on the whole I’ve been OK. It’s given me a great opportunity to focus on productions and where to go from here. I didn’t realise how tired I was until I stopped and I also didn’t realise how much I needed a break.

I’ve been able to regroup, I’ve developed some weird anxieties since, which isn’t the greatest

What projects are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on a few soundscapes for a friend’s project. There will be my second EP to come in early 2021 and I just finished up a track for a compilation and gearing up to play some shows starting in December! We just came out of an 8 month hard lock down and things are starting to look good again.

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