Glaswegian raving and misbehaving with Jasper James

There's an Essential Mix and a Rinse FM slot already secured under his belt, but things are just hotting up for Jasper James. He was brought up in the midst of the Glasgow club scene with his Dad Harri playing a crucial role in the development of Sub Club, but Jasper has paved the way for his own success with a fresh and unprecedented approach to playing and producing music. 

Era traversing and genre bending, Jasper James' sets are injecting even more life into the UK's club circuit and he joins the likes of Hudson Mohawke, Rustie and his good friend Jackmaster in flying the flag for Glasgow, as it continues to rival some of the biggest cities in the UK for dance music.

Hi Jasper, cheers for taking the time to speak to us. For anyone who hasn't seen you live before, what can they expect from your sets?

Hopefully something that will get them in the mood for a party. 

Your Dad has been a resident at Sub Club for over 20 years. What are your first memories of the Glaswegian club scene? Did he introduce you to it all?

My first memories are being dragged around every single record shop as a little boy, whilst my Dad socialised and found new music, and I sat in the car on the look out for traffic wardens, so he didn't get a ticket. 

Since you've had your career in music, what has been the most important thing he's taught you?

Believe in what you are doing, stay humble and work hard.

You're played in the same room as him at XOYO as part of Skream's residency series. As Skream has described it, it's 'a family affair'. What are you two like when you DJ together?

We have been playing together for years, when I used to live with my Dad we would quite often go to the pub and come back to the flat and play B2B until the early hours of the morning. Nowadays I don't get to play with him very often, but when we do it's great, I keep him on his toes.

Jackmaster presented three upcoming artists from Glasgow to do a 40 minute Essential Mix last year (listen above), yourself being one of them. It's a pretty mega achievement to have already compiled something for probably the most prestigious mix series in the world, how did it feel to be representing the city's talent like that?

I mean I still pinch myself sometimes because I still can't quite believe it's true. It's an amazing privilege and honour, I just hope I did an okay job representing my city as there are so many talented people from Glasgow. 

Jack has spoken out about how proud he is of Glasgow's music scene in the past, what is it that you love about it?

Glasgow is an amazing place for electronic music. For such a small city we are spoiled for choice because every weekend there is a big name playing, with some of the best residents in the world and one of the best venues in the world, Sub Club (not being biased).

People from Glasgow are generally up for a good time and a party and its a pretty special crowd to DJ in front of.   

You and Jack had an apartment in Ibiza together last year along with Skream, I'm sure you've got a story or two to tell us about that...

Sorry, I might get arrested...

What does summer 2015 look like for you?

Moving back over to Ibiza with the lads in May for a nice quiet summer and carry on doing gigs at the weekend around Europe and the UK, with a bit of studio time in between.  

Your Sneaky EP on Optimo Trax (listen above) went down a treat last year, can we expect to hear any new material soon?

Yes I have a forthcoming release with Leftrooom Records with a remix from JD Twitch from Optimo and a remix from Skream which is all very exciting. That should be out around April/May time. 

Finally, a hypothetical question. You have the power to throw the ultimate Glaswegian rave, you can have any artists on the line up from past or present. Who would you pick and where would the rave take place?

It would take place in the Sub Club with some fellow Scots, Optimo, Jackmaster, My Dad and Domenic. 

For more on Jasper James including his upcoming gigs, head here.