INTERVIEW: Juheun

Hailing from the stark and unyielding deserts of the southwestern United States, Arizona-based techno artist, Juheun, has emerged from the dust as one of the most exciting talents to break onto the American techno circuit over the past few years. Following slew of impressive career releases on Octopus and Set About over the past few years, the iconic American-Korean techno producer's latest release saw him make his long awaited debut on Simina Grigoriu’s Kuukou Records, with the remarkable Instant Communication EP. Landing on the esteemed German imprint for his first full-length EP of 2022, the exquisite three-part package represents an incredible showcase in dark, driving techno from the in-form producer and comes complete with two diverse remixes from I AM BAM and Melody’s Enemy. We caught up with him to find out more!

Hey Steven! What was the first thing that attracted you to the world of electronic music?

Hello! Besides the music itself, I would have to say the culture and the vibes that come with it. My favorite thing about Techno is that its a very destination genre and once you get used to the schedule of festivals and events through out the year, you start to notice its very global. If you get the chance to attend some of the bigger festivals from year to year, you start noticing that the same people travel and turn up from party to party. It’s a very big but small community of loyal listeners. Coming from a country where Techno may not be the biggest and most popular genre, you find yourself searching for it and traveling to other parts of the world to catch your favorite DJs. So you’re experiencing the same vibes and running into familiar faces from city to city. Everyone is there for one thing and that’s the music.

Do you remember any album or concert that has changed everything for you?

Oh man, that’s a tough question for me. I’m a very passionate person when it comes to music and I’ve had so many of those moments because I feel every moment involving a concert or album is special. I guess the biggest one that sticks out for me is when my father took me to my very first concert. He got tickets to the Janet Jackson Velvet rope tour. I was already kinda in shock that this was gonna be my first concert as I was already a big fan of Michael Jackson. To see so many people in one place all vibing, signing along and dancing with incredible production and sound was a whole new experience for me at that age. I was hooked.

How is the music scene living in your city with this murky post-pandemic situation?

When it comes to dance music, even though it’s been pretty strong out here for many many years, I feel its kinda on its 3 or 4th wave now. Just like the rest of the country, EDM, Bass House, and the more crossover styles of dance are very popular among the newer and younger audiences. So most of the club and festival stuff is in that realm. When it comes to more of the deeper and more underground vibes like Techno, you gotta look for it or know the right circles. Fellow Octopus artist Michelle Sparks and myself have been cultivating things on the Techno side for almost 10 years now with our brand ‘Circuit’ and organizing events catered to more of a discerning and seasoned listener looking for more substance. The past few years have definitely been a challenge for us, but with being so close to home with lockdowns and gigs slowing down, it gave us a chance to focus more on the local scene and almost do a reset, as things were starting to get really watered down out here right before the pandemic hit. So most recently we’ve been taking things back into the warehouses and less club events. Focusing on the music and vibes with big sound systems and minimal production. We’ve been getting great response from the community and were looking to continue to deliver more of these experiences for Phoenix.

During Covid, did you have much more time to focus on making music and planning future projects?

Back when the pandemic hit in 2020, I had just finished 3 weeks in the studio working on a bunch of ideas and unfinished projects. It was really productive as I had plans to push heavy with my releases that year so I wanted to come out of it with a bunch of fresh new music. I had just come off tour and did another release on Octopus and was super motivated to hit 2020 strong. Then bam, the Pandemic hit and we go into lockdown. Looking back now, having all that music to work with helped me stay focused during the lockdown period as there was no gigs. It was the perfect time cause everyone was at home, so it made it easier to reach out to labels and artists and share music with them. We also shifted gears and jumped all over the live streaming stuff on Twitch. That helped us stay relevant but also help cultivate a bunch of new listeners and followers through that platform which kept us busy as well. It was a great outlet during that time ‘cause it allowed me to test out new tracks and keep my DJ skills sharp.

What are your favorite places to hang out in the city of Phoenix?

During the weekday I’m in the comfort of my studio blasting the AC and keeping cool during the hot summer days working on music. When it comes to nightlife, if I’m in town and we aren’t throwing our own warehouse parties or hosting an event at a venue or club, you can find me hanging out in downtown Phoenix. Im usually popping into Scarlet Room on Friday nights or Saturdays on the rooftop at Bar Smith. Depending on who’s playing, you can also periodically find me hanging out on Mill ave in Tempe at Sunbar and places like Darkstar when the music is right.

How was your last project Instant Communication born?

I’ve been on this huge cosmic techno tip lately and most of my latest releases have all been going down this path while keeping that driving and peak time vibe. Instant Communication is no exception, and you can hear this same theme carry over to this EP. The vocal sample in the record “Push a few buttons and Instant Communication” is something that was completely unexpected but ended up being perfect for the song. Upon finishing the original instrumental version, I was sitting on my couch lounging while roasting a joint and suddenly I hear those words come from the TV. I jumped up and ran to my phone and had to double back on the commercial to record that bit of gold. I knew instantly that it was the cherry on the top and exactly what the track needed to take it to the next level. The next day I hit the studio and as soon as I placed the sample into the drop, I knew it was perfect, even before I heard the play back.

My guys Melody’s Enemy and I AM BAM came through with two solid remixes to round out the EP. Melody came in with a sick acid rendition of the track with his usual driving rhythms and perfectly arranged production. I AM BAM comes correct with another one of his heavy and raw warehouse bangers that instantly slaps you across the face from the first beat. His drums are driving and the way he works the vocal sample is *chefs kiss*!

What was the concept behind this release?

Originally the concept was to just keep the cosmic techno vibes from previous releases continue over to this EP. I’m not a huge fan of vocals, but the accidental discovery of it just really helped solidify that cosmic vibe even further and fit so perfectly with the rest of the elects of the record. Even tho the original vocal sample was from an old 70’s sitcom about two police detectives talking about walkie talkies or some sort of radio communication, to the listener, all the elements work together to really take the listener out of this world and create that cosmic vibe I mentioned earlier.

As for your studio, what is your setup currently made of?

I’m a massive gear head and love all things both digital and analog when it comes to my studio. Currently I’m working on putting together an analog summing setup so that I can run my individual channels of audio out of Ableton and combine them outside of the computer in the real world using analog gear rather than digital plugins using the built in master channel in Ableton. This will allow me to then send a single audio file back into the computer and Ableton to record. This setup is actually two fold, as I’m not the biggest fan of having to unplug and plug in gear every time I want to use something, so the interface setup I have for the summing allows me to have all my analog gear, drum machines, synths etc all plugged in and ready to rock when the creative juices hit me.

What's the one piece of kit you'll never get rid of, no matter what?

Oh that’s a tough one.. but I think I would have to say The Native Instruments Maschine, I can’t live without it! I’m a big fan of drums and percussion and this thing lets you do that and so much more! Once you get the hang of the work flow on it, it’s hard not to use it on every track.

What would you say is the definition of your sound?

A mix between driving melodic and hypnotic cosmic techno.

What was the last record store you visited and what did you get out there?

The last spot I hit was right before the pandemic when I was out in Chicago for a gig. You can’t visit the windy city and not make a stop at the world famous Gramophone records! I used to frequent this place almost every day when I lived out there for a brief moment, so it was nice to stop in and say hi to the family. I can’t remember exactly what I snagged.. but I do remember it was pulled out specifically from the back room for me. Those guys always take such good care of me, its hard not to walk home with empty hands.