PRESS CLIPPINGS
Apr 07, 2016
P R E S S C L I P P I N G S
060N o t i o n
Rewind to 2003: Madonna and Britney have just
made it to first base at the VMAs, Paris Hilton
has flaunted her, umm, talents in home movies
and Dannii Minogue is topping the UK singles
chart with ‘I Begin To Wonder’. The latter of
these momentous (or scandalous) occasions was
down to Jean Claude Ades, a producer on the cusp
of millennial pop courtship.
Following the production and writing credits with
Minogue, the then known JCA collaborated with
the likes of The Pussycat Dolls, Deadmau5 and
The Nightcrawlers, leading into a snowballing
escapade in the world of DJing, and flanked by
the temptations of a nocturnal career. “I never
wanted to be a DJ, I wanted to be a producer
and be in the background. Everything changes and
clubs were calling me out to come and play. Once
you are in there, you get so addicted and it
is hard to leave,” insists Ades, who now spends
cyclical summers fronting some of the biggest
parties in Ibiza.
While the major labels were desperate to
transform Ades into the next DJ parody - à
la Avacci, David Guetta or any glorified iPod
shuffler - JCA wanted to head in a different
direction. “They wanted to market me like a
pop star, which I didn’t want to be. It was
too ridiculous to be on MTV and faking playing
records in front of a camera.” A profession, if
you will, that may supply a hefty bank balance,
but all the while tests an artist’s musical
integrity. “It’s ridiculous that DJs can get
paid so much money and only play from their
USB stick. I would feel ashamed for doing it.
If you really love music, a real artist would
never go so far. You have to stop your art and
stop loving it, just doing it for the money,”
explains the griped French-German producer.
In an attempt to pursue a more legitimate and
house-orientated path, JCA delved into his
obsession underground sounds via his own label,
Be Crazy Records. Waiting for our first round
of mezze, he tells me, “That’s why I created
my label. It gave me the musical freedom to
release whatever I want. If I believe in it
and know it’s going to be a strong record, I
release it. I didn’t want to be depending on
any major label.”
Asserting a proud confidence in his musical
sidestep, Ades attests how the artistic freedom
is shifting back to the artists themselves; a
21st Century privilege that means more creative
freedom, and ultimately, being self-sufficient
in the music you produce. “Before it was
essential to be signed with a major label or
have a video on MTV to have success. Today you
can do your own budget video, be on YouTube and
have your record label. If you make great music,
people will find out,” he says, midway through a
lamb shawarma. It’s no breakthrough notion that
the rise of such multimedia platforms have aided
an artists ability to become self-sufficient,
but that doesn’t denote re-branding (or down-
branding, as the case may be) to be as simple
as uploading a few tracks to Beatport under a
new name. “It was like coming from a number one
record and booked out all over the place to
a new name. It took such a long time, it was
probably not a smart move, from a financial area
it was like starting from zero.”
So where does that leave the Be Crazy label
founder at now? Well, reborn as Jean Claude
Ades, his first release, ‘Some Day’, was the
earliest of three number one hits on the top 100
all-genre Beatport charts. The aforementioned
label has now become synonymous with releasing
Jean Claude Ades’ brand of house music and,
ultimately, he is producing the kind of music
that he wants to create. “I am always searching
for new ways, trying to not copy myself and stay
original. I get bored very quickly with music
styles; I don’t like to step on the same thing
all over again.” A style that, in his own words,
can be described as ‘Deep Tech’ combined with a
love of working with vocals.
In a last snippet of manoeuvre satisfaction before
the bill lands on our table, Ades summarises,
“at the end of the day, the biggest luxury about
this business for me is you can be creative and
be free in whatever you want to be.” Whether
it’s under his own label, integrating himself
into Ibiza’s musical culture, or preparing for
the release of his 5-track EP, Jean Claude Ades
has certainly navigated the business and landed
in a place he feels proud to represent.
b/e interview
Jean Claude Ades | An Underground Transformation
Meeting over an impromptu Lebanese in West London, James Embiricos sat down with producer-DJ globetrotter, Jean Claude Ades, to find out how he made the transition from major label producer to underground maestro.WORDS / James Embiricos
060N o t i o n
Rewind to 2003: Madonna and Britney have just
made it to first base at the VMAs, Paris Hilton
has flaunted her, umm, talents in home movies
and Dannii Minogue is topping the UK singles
chart with ‘I Begin To Wonder’. The latter of
these momentous (or scandalous) occasions was
down to Jean Claude Ades, a producer on the cusp
of millennial pop courtship.
Following the production and writing credits with
Minogue, the then known JCA collaborated with
the likes of The Pussycat Dolls, Deadmau5 and
The Nightcrawlers, leading into a snowballing
escapade in the world of DJing, and flanked by
the temptations of a nocturnal career. “I never
wanted to be a DJ, I wanted to be a producer
and be in the background. Everything changes and
clubs were calling me out to come and play. Once
you are in there, you get so addicted and it
is hard to leave,” insists Ades, who now spends
cyclical summers fronting some of the biggest
parties in Ibiza.
While the major labels were desperate to
transform Ades into the next DJ parody - à
la Avacci, David Guetta or any glorified iPod
shuffler - JCA wanted to head in a different
direction. “They wanted to market me like a
pop star, which I didn’t want to be. It was
too ridiculous to be on MTV and faking playing
records in front of a camera.” A profession, if
you will, that may supply a hefty bank balance,
but all the while tests an artist’s musical
integrity. “It’s ridiculous that DJs can get
paid so much money and only play from their
USB stick. I would feel ashamed for doing it.
If you really love music, a real artist would
never go so far. You have to stop your art and
stop loving it, just doing it for the money,”
explains the griped French-German producer.
In an attempt to pursue a more legitimate and
house-orientated path, JCA delved into his
obsession underground sounds via his own label,
Be Crazy Records. Waiting for our first round
of mezze, he tells me, “That’s why I created
my label. It gave me the musical freedom to
release whatever I want. If I believe in it
and know it’s going to be a strong record, I
release it. I didn’t want to be depending on
any major label.”
Asserting a proud confidence in his musical
sidestep, Ades attests how the artistic freedom
is shifting back to the artists themselves; a
21st Century privilege that means more creative
freedom, and ultimately, being self-sufficient
in the music you produce. “Before it was
essential to be signed with a major label or
have a video on MTV to have success. Today you
can do your own budget video, be on YouTube and
have your record label. If you make great music,
people will find out,” he says, midway through a
lamb shawarma. It’s no breakthrough notion that
the rise of such multimedia platforms have aided
an artists ability to become self-sufficient,
but that doesn’t denote re-branding (or down-
branding, as the case may be) to be as simple
as uploading a few tracks to Beatport under a
new name. “It was like coming from a number one
record and booked out all over the place to
a new name. It took such a long time, it was
probably not a smart move, from a financial area
it was like starting from zero.”
So where does that leave the Be Crazy label
founder at now? Well, reborn as Jean Claude
Ades, his first release, ‘Some Day’, was the
earliest of three number one hits on the top 100
all-genre Beatport charts. The aforementioned
label has now become synonymous with releasing
Jean Claude Ades’ brand of house music and,
ultimately, he is producing the kind of music
that he wants to create. “I am always searching
for new ways, trying to not copy myself and stay
original. I get bored very quickly with music
styles; I don’t like to step on the same thing
all over again.” A style that, in his own words,
can be described as ‘Deep Tech’ combined with a
love of working with vocals.
In a last snippet of manoeuvre satisfaction before
the bill lands on our table, Ades summarises,
“at the end of the day, the biggest luxury about
this business for me is you can be creative and
be free in whatever you want to be.” Whether
it’s under his own label, integrating himself
into Ibiza’s musical culture, or preparing for
the release of his 5-track EP, Jean Claude Ades
has certainly navigated the business and landed
in a place he feels proud to represent.
b/e interview
Jean Claude Ades | An Underground Transformation
Meeting over an impromptu Lebanese in West London, James Embiricos sat down with producer-DJ globetrotter, Jean Claude Ades, to find out how he made the transition from major label producer to underground maestro.WORDS / James Embiricos