Interview: Get to know Doctor Jeep

Doctor Jeep has been a name I’d seen in incredible DJ sets and remixes over the years, and while all of his music has been amazing, his latest EP might be the best yet. We recently chatted with the NYC based artist about his latest EP, titled Dissociate, and about his musical influences.

Hi there, thank you for taking the time to talk to us! You’ve recently released your Dissociate EP, and you’ve mentioned that you’ve taken a new direction with your latest release. It’s a slower BPM than normal, but with your dark, eclectic touch. What were your main goals with the release, and were you happy with the final direction?

Thanks for reaching out to me! In the past year or so I’ve been really getting into the halftime 160-170bpm vibes from the UK and the west coast of North America, and these were actually two of the first original tracks I made on that tip. Prior to this EP, I was more well known for my ~130bpm uk funky referencing material, and while I still really like that, I didn’t want to be a ‘one-trick-pony producer’ so doing something different was really important for my artistic development. Of course, there are many elements in these tracks that are classic Jeep (the wobbly basses etc), but it’s a clear move towards another style that I’m curious to continue exploring.

As for how I feel about the release: I’m super stoked on how it turned out! I made an effort to play both tracks in clubs a lot more than I usually do in order to constantly tweak the mixdowns. Both tracks get a great reaction every time which has been a nice surprise. I recently went back to Bass Coast Festival, where I first was exposed to that halftime vibe last year, and I must have heard the lead tune Dissociate at least 6 times which was pretty mental. I actually had a few friends come up to me saying they had the tracks stuck in their head the rest of the day, which is interesting because I don’t consider these ones especially catchy. That being said, attempting to make tracks that have “the earworm factor” is really important to me. When I’m making music it’s definitely a goal to have something memorable enough that someone can hear it later and be like “oh snap, THAT was that track I really liked at XYZ Festival” or on someone’s radio show or mix.

You’ve also gotten remixes of ‘Dissociate’ and ‘TX’ on the release. What prompted you to pick the artists you did for the remix?

Aufect chose the remixers as they’re all key members of the label family and friends of ours. Each group brought very unique vibes to their mixes – I like how there’s a more traditional halftime version from Greazus, sorta hybrid jungle-y vibes from Levrige, and a 120bpm slow burner by Subcorr that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Livity Sound set. I feel like it’s a very well balanced package; I couldn’t have asked for a better set of remixes.

Similarly, you’ve gone with Aufect Recordings for this release (with some remixers being from the label). What drew you to them for this EP release?

The Greazus dudes (who run Aufect) are homies of mine from a few years back, When they were making music individually as Hxdb & DJ Cure, they booked me for my first international show: Vancouver in 2013. This year they booked me to return to Van and we thought it’d be great to have a release on their label to coincide with the party. Sonically the EP fits very well with what Greazus is playing these days, plus they’re hometown heroes in BC and the crowds out there really identify with my sound, so it was totally fitting that the EP came out on Aufect.

You’ve been in the production game for a solid minute now, what would you say has been the most rewarding part of this career? What advice would you give those that are starting out and considering a career in music?

Easy – the most rewarding part of my career has been the traveling. It’s taken me to a lot of cities I don’t think I would have ever gone to otherwise, and I’m so grateful to have been blessed with that opportunity. It’s been really fantastic to meet a lot of my artist buddies IRL, and super interesting to see how scenes develop in certain regions.

My honest advice for people thinking about getting into it is to be prepared to be rejected…a lot. Okay, maybe rejection seems a bit harsh, but be ready to have things not go the way you planned. I remember one specific moment from early on: I had sent a few of my tracks to a pretty well known UK radio DJ who happened to be doing A&R for a popular english label, and the DJ replied saying the label was interested in doing a release with me. I was over the moon and couldn’t believe my luck, doing an EP for my dream label at the time, and emailed back and forth with the DJ for months trying to sort out details for the project. At some point they totally ghosted me, and I wasn’t able to reach them at all after that, so that was pretty crushing. Ultimately those tracks found a different home and it all worked out for the best, but that situation taught me that sometimes you don’t get exactly what you want, by no fault of your own.

Additionally, I think it’s important to keep in mind that for an exceedingly large majority of artists, success doesn’t happen overnight. Doing music really is a long-game, and unless you’re out-of-this-world amazing, you probably aren’t going to rack up 10,000 Soundcloud followers off of one or two tracks. A lot of my favorite artists nowadays are well into their mid-30s, and have been producing music for 15+ years, and the common thread I’ve noticed in all of them is that they were never afraid to let their styles evolve over time. They’re constantly trying to improve and make something the world hasn’t heard before, and that’s a quality I really admire. People that get into it for the instant-fame by making and playing the flavor of the month tend to fade into obscurity once that trend is over.

Lastly, just have fun with it! Experiment, teach yourself as much as possible about production, and try to take influence from many different sources to create something uniquely *you*. Be proud of your art – it’s okay to think that it’s not as well produced / catchy / heavy as (some other producer’s tracks), but if you can listen back to your own files and think “damn, this is pretty cool, this music that I created makes me happy”, then what else can you ask for?

I love finding out what artists themselves are listening to at the moment. Who are some of your favorite artists/what are your favorite songs at the moment?

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been listening to the halftime stuff almost exclusively as of late. So, although I typically play all kinds of different music in my sets, this list is going to be more focused on one specific style.

Artists!

Absolutely LOVE Ivy Lab who are smashing the game right now, I must have heard this track at Bass Coast Festival like 10+ times. IMO one of the biggest acts in the scene right now.

Gotta give a shoutout to Greazus one last time – my fave IRL homie producers, they’ve just done a remix for Redders & DRS that’s sick and out now on Critical.

Clarity is someone that always amazes me with how his tracks evolve and use atmospherics. So minimal, but soooo heavy. He’s been in my top 5 for a while now.

Trax!

This edit by Surly has been in my top 5 for a few weeks, such a crazy beat, the triplets always throw me off.

Just copped these two from Lurka and can’t stop listening, the combo of those modern basslines and halftime/dembow(?) beats is so hot.

This one’s by an up and comer named Cimm I just found out about. Really feeling his tracks.

These two EPs (by Fixate and TMSV) have been my favorites of the year. Every tune on both of them is fuegoooooo.

Lastly, this album has been my go-to chillout music for a bit. It’s still dark, but not super dancey and it’s what I throw on when I’m tired and just chilling. Super psychedelic stuff from Ancestral Voices aka Indigo (1/3rd of Akkord).

Finally, do you have any information regarding upcoming releases, projects or gigs in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?

My Dissociate EP is out on Aufect on July 28th – after that is a 12″ for TUBA coming out at the end of the year – it’s a collaborative split with this UK MC named Magugu. I’m especially hyped for this record since they’re my first tunes with a vocalist and both tracks have done serious damage when I’ve played them out. Watch out for this guy, he’s going to be a very in-demand name next year! I made a ton of tracks from January to June while I was between jobs (quit my last one to focus on music), but I’ve just accepted a position at Red Bull Music Academy so the production might slow down a little until I get the hang of things there. That being said, I have a lot of unsigned material from that time period that I can shop around, so I’m excited for those to see the light of day whenever I find homes for them.

Gig-wise, in August I’ll be playing in Montreal on the 19th and Boston on the 20th (supporting Shades aka Alix Perez and Eprom, two of my favorite producers). Should be a fun weekend with very different sets; more in the house/techno/130 realm in Montreal and doing all my halftime stuff in Boston. Shifting in this new direction has attracted the attention of promoters in new markets so I’m really stoked to keep exploring different cities in North America and hopefully getting back out to Europe sooner rather than later!