Jaytech talks opening vs headlining, upcoming productions & more in an exclusive interview with FNT

Posted by Middy on March 14, 2013

Anjunadeep man turned Anjunabeats Dj and producer James Cayzer better known as Jaytech is coming off of a year that saw him release his sophomore album “Multiverse” and cement his position as one of the better members of the Anjunabeats family. 2012 saw him grace the stages like EDC Las Vegas, Electric Zoo and Tomorrowland, while touring the world in destinations like North America, Japan, Europe and his native Australia. He most recently released his track “Inception” on Anjunabeats Volume 10, one of the darker tracks on the compilation. After moving to Berlin 3 years ago, a move that has been “really great”, from his 2 year stint in London to be closer to the Anjunabeats family, he feels right at home making music that feels right.

We got him on the phone at his place in Berlin in between shows last weekend in New York and Slovakia and then back to the US this week for the all important WMC. You can find info on his gigs down in Miami and beyond here. We had the chance to chat about the mistakes openers make and how to stand out as an opener, upcoming material, how business is changing dance music and much more.

FNT: How has the move to Berlin been and has it affected what you are doing?

Jaytech: Berlin has not really influenced me musically because I am not really influenced by the scene here. I am not really losing myself in the techno scene here because because I am on the road a lot playing trance shows. It is a great to be able to come home and hang with my friends, which is really nice.

FNT: As someone who has been an opener and a headliner, what would be your advice to someone trying to move from that opener spot to the headliner without stepping on toes.

Jaytech: Being an opener and making a name for yourself is possible, you just have to create a set with big points of energy. You have to do it without playing a headline slot in the warmup slot when they are not ready. Controlled energy is one of the hardest thing for new DJs to come to grips with. A lot of the collections these new guys have is very explosive and especially with funk and house you can inject points of energy into a warn up set that does not overwhelm. I do that with some of my own tracks. You don’t have to play the most explosive set to leave a good impression on people.

FNT: As an Ableton user, what is your verdict on Ableton 9?

Jaytech: I have not even touched it yet, I am too scared to touch it now. There were so many new innovations in Ableton 8, which took a while to fully implement and get used to, so I am not rushing into 9. It does look really impressive and innovative, though a lot of the new stuff is geared towards like live technology.

FNT: Of the remixes so far for Multiverse, what has been your favorite?

Jaytech: Kyau & Albert of “Stranger” stranger completed the step of it being a trance record. It is one of the faster tracks on the album and the treatment they gave it took it into full blown trance record. It went off in New York and is really great everywhere I go.

FNT: How are you moving forward from the album? Vocal track?

Jaytech: I just did 2 new vocal tracks with Serenade in Melbourne, for which I was skpyed in via video chat. I just completed a new club single. I have a stack of new stuff for Miami and I tested new stuff for my show in New York this past Saturday.

FNT: Djs travel the world, but never get to stay in one place for long, if there was one place you could stay for a week as a tourist where would it be?

Jaytech: New York, I have only been there for 24 hours or a few days, of all of the places in the world, New York and Tokyo are probably the most appealing for a tourist. For my show on Saturday, I got in the afternoon and slept in my hotel until my show and then flew out the next morning. Next time I will definitely be spending more time in New York. It was incredible going around Japan in between gigs I had their last year traveling with a buddy of mine.

FNT: You have talked about people blowing up in a flukey way due to Facebook fans and youtube views, how much of it do you attribute to now dance music becoming part of the greater business of music?

Jaytech: The change of the way in the way music is distributed is important with social media and internet. People are writing more music that is more viral. People are writing music and videos like gangnam style because of the way the internet works and it is spread much more easily that way. Is it a good thing for the future of music, I am not sure and something we will see, but that is definitely a trend I am seeing.

FNT: One thing people would not expect about Jaytech?

Jaytech: I can speak German, one of the reasons I live here, which surprises people. The promoter in Slovakia on Saturday actually thought I was German when I did my show there and was surprised when he found out I was Australian.

FNT: Did you know German when you moved to Berlin or did you learn it there?

Jaytech: I did it all through school and did an exchange in Bonn when I was 16 and that was the deciding factor for me moving.

Tags: album, Berlin, favorite, fnt, headliner, music, remixes, Vocal