| Release Date: | 2004-08-26 |
By Clare Dickins
Used with permission from DJTracker
Paul Fernandez aka Jumping Jack was fed up with hardstyle. The solution? Finding salvation in crafting-up a fine little mix CD titled The Art of Trance. This latest CD release further consolidates what has already been an impressive career for Fernandez. The Sydney-based DJ played his first professional gig way back in 1991 and since then has been whipping dancefloors into a tailspin with his own delectable brand of trance, techno and progressive. Clare Dickins catches up with him.
First up, nice work on your new compilation release The Art of Trance. The Dutch tech trance sound is obviously doing it for you at lot at the moment. Can you tell us a bit about your approach to the CD?
I just love the Dutch sound at the moment. This CD was to showcase a completely different sound to what was going on in the clubs at the time. The style of this CD is basically what was happening overseas. I wanted people to experience a little bit of what was big in the clubs in Europe and everywhere else. Most Australian Dj's are either playing house or hardstyle. Not many trance Dj's in Oz. My mission is to push the trance sound here and hopefully the popularity of the sound will take off.
A lot of Sydney's big DJs have been jumping on the hardstyle bandwagon of late. Many people would he relieved that you're not one of them. Was The Art of Trance a subtle form of rebellion against the hardstyle craze at all?
Absolutely, hardstyle for me was getting a little stagnant and I really wasn't enjoying playing it anymore. At the time I was collecting a lot of the Dutch sound and loved it but wasn't really able to play it at peak times. I got so frustrated and one night I just said Fuck it, I'm going to play what I really want and I played a trance set and they loved it. Since then, I've never played a hardstyle record again. This CD is showcasing my style of trance and letting people know that there is more than just hardstyle.
How does trance weigh up against hardstyle in popularity in Sydney at the moment?
There seems to be a big push towards trance in Sydney. A lot of Dj's are now starting to play a lot more trance. Hardstyle is still popular but trance is definitely on the popularity rise. A lot of the ‘hardstyle Dj's' tell me that they are over the hardstyle sound. There are new nights dedicated solely to trance. Big events tend to now have a trance area and club nights like Sublime have become more popular lately because it's now a bit more diverse I believe.
It's been said that Sydney and Melbourne have two very different mentalities when it comes to music. Would you agree? How have your experiences differed playing gigs in both cities?
I have found in the past that Melbourne tends to lean more towards the hardstyle sound but I hear about some trance events of late. I caught up with Gareth Emery (GTR) who played an event in Melbourne and said that it was an excellent gig and said they loved trance. Sydney clubbers do love their hardstyle but there is a big trance following too.
Sydney folk aren't renowned for being great lovers of techno. How does your techier material go down there?
You can't get away with a whole set of just techno but I love mixing it up and I tend to play a lot of the techy side of trance in my sets. They love the tougher sound in Sydney and I guess a lot of it comes from hardstyle. My techy side of tramce is quite tough and it seems to go down a treat when played at the right times.
You're known to dabble in a bit of production here and there. What's been occupying you of late? Is the rumour of a collaboration with Bexta true?
Yes we are going to soon start production on a new tune together. It's something I wanted to do for a while now. Bexta is an excellent producer/writer and I'm looking forward to writing with her.
What production equipment do you use?
It's all mainly software based now. I mainly use Cubase with loads of soft synths and also use Reason, Pro Tools, Recycle and have a few outboard effects. I've also hooked up with a couple of brilliant musicians who have a lot of live instruments and we'll be working together in the near future.
Any labels you'd kill to get signed to?
I like labels like Spinnin, ID&T, Tsunami.
You did brilliantly to score yourself the runner up spot in the worldwide UKTR competition to win a residency on their radio station. Can you tell us about the competition and what it was like for you?
I got the runner up position beaten by a Dutch producer named Meno De Jong. It was a worldwide DJ comp held by UK DJ agency DJ Connections. It was a 4 month competition open to all DJ's . Each DJ sent in a 1 hour mix of any form of trance. The winner one a residency on the popular radio show UK Trance on DI.FM which is the biggest internet based trance radio station in the world. I won a spot on the show which aired in July. The response was amazing.
Any exciting plans for the rest of the year?
I'll be releasing another CD by the end of the year. I'll have a lot of new material for that one. I'm receiving a lot of promos these days from both artists and labels. I'm also concentrating a lot on the production side of things. I also want to start a club night dedicated to trance. I'm also wanting to start my own weekly radio show.