Jarius Miller’s debut album, Dynamic Interlude, is set to be released on Source of Gravity Aug 10th, 2009. This masterpiece comprised of 10 orignial tracks showcases every bit of Jairus’s musical brilliance with pounding rhythms, melodic and acidic touches, and emotional soundscapes. To accompany this album is his 60 minute mix of all the tracks so beautifully crafted together that should not to be missed!
Progressivehouse.com reviewer Chris Sterio recently caught up with Jarius Miller for an intereview to get some insight from the man himself.
How did you get into house music?
I was first really exposed to real house music back in the late 90’s by way of the tracker “mod” scene. This was before music filesharing had really taken off, and I was limited to a slow dial-up modem connection anyway, so I was blown away to discover these small files that could be played back on any computer with a decent sound card and actually sound (almost) like a professional quality song. At that time I was mostly into trance music (especially goa and psytrance, believe it or not) as well as more commercial stuff like the Crystal Method and Prodigy.
Like many other people though, after awhile I started to listen to stuff more in the 120 to 135 BPM range, with deeper sounds and more subtle arrangements. One name that I kept reading about at the time, in magazines like XLR8R, was this guy named Sasha, so at some point I somewhat randomly decided to purchase his Global Underground: Ibiza mix CD. Talk about hitting the jackpot! As it turned out, that mix (in particular disc one) still stands as a high-water mark for progressive house (IMHO), though I certainly didn’t know that at the time. Guys like Sander Kleinenberg, Breeder, Medway, BT, all completely defined the progressive house scene for that time period, so I was really given an immensely favorable first impression of what progressive house was all about. All I wanted to do was emulate some of those tracks – I felt that if I could reach that level of production, I’d have fulfilled my dreams of being an EDM artist.
Truthfully, that’s probably still what I’m after to this day, just to make something as cool as “The Bassline Track”, lol.
The other event that really focused me on house music production was the need to get a track, any track, signed to a label. I realized that if I was going to have any chance of a label releasing something, it would be necessary to really buckle down and figure out
how these guys were getting the sounds you’d hear, and what types of arrangements they were using. Up until then I had been making all kinds of different stuff: trance, goa, breakbeat, drum and bass, etc. But all in my own way, without really trying very hard to make it sound polished or DJ-friendly. Then I saw a few postings from some labels looking for house and techno demos and I figured that I had better get serious about those genres, so I stared buying alot more “pure” house mixes, and really delved into the milieu. Of course, it’s still a learning process, I feel like I only know a fraction of everything there is to know about house. So in a way, I’m still “getting into” it!
Who have been the biggest influences on you musically?
As far as house music goes, I’ve been most influenced by all the artists that have been played by such “big-name” DJ’s as: Digweed, Sasha, DJ Hardware, Nick Warren, Chris Fortier, D:Fuse, and James Holden. More recently I’m been heavily influenced by all the DJ’s with shows on internet radio channels, plus free mixes and podcasts from places like progressivehouse.com and from the DJs themselves. Obviously that represents a huge spectrum of people, I realize! As far as individual EDM artists go, the names that I keep coming back to are guys like Oliver Leib, Steve Porter, BT, Quivver, Swayzak, Daft Punk, Satoshie Tomiie, Richie Hawtin, Max Graham and Hybrid. Expanding outward to include other electronic music genres, I’ve also been enormously influenced by artists such as: Juno Reactor, Astral Projection, Psygone, Infected Mushroom, Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation, Roni Size, LTJ Bukem, Orbital, DJ Hyper, Ministry, KMFDM, DJ Spooky, Paul Van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, NIN, and DJ Shadow.
As you might imagine, I’ve got plenty of influences that fall outside the realm of electronic music, but I’d probably run out of room listing them all! Basically, anything that has strong rhythms, interesting melodies, and musical intensity.
Do you have any other interests outside of music?
In no particular order: writing, sailing, biking, golf, tennis, reading, movies, computers, photography, gaming, dreaming, cooking,
neuro-linguistic programming, cars, nonlinear dynamics, martial arts, poker, philosophy, and waiting for the other shoe to drop.
You live on Isleboro, a remote island off the Maine coast in the northeast US, does that location inspire your music?
Living in a remote rural location can definitely be inspiring, as many artists over the years have learned. On the other hand, it can also be stifling and draining, if the isolation starts to become overwhelming. For instance, I almost never have the chance to hear tracks played in a club, so I tend to bring a different mentality to producing tracks than would someone who goes out every week and is more deeply involved with DJ culture. This can be kind of a “hit-or-miss” affair – sometimes it works, sometimes it just annoys people 
I’m probably less influenced by trends and the need to be “cutting edge” than I would be living elsewhere, but conversely the input streams regarding the EDM scene that I do have access to (i.e. the internet) are ones that I maybe analyze more closely as a result. There’s a degree of abstraction associated with living here – you try to find the essence of something, find a connection with it, without necessarily understanding it fully, experiencing it in a visceral way, or having the same sense of emotional attachment as
a “direct participant” might.
I’ve read that people who grow up in noisy urban environments actually perceive sound in a different way than those of us who live in quieter, more dynamic settings, since the brain filters and processes various background noises in different ways. This would be hard to quantify in terms of the effect it has had on my musical output, but I suspect that I hear things in a different way than someone living in London or New York. As I said, this has positive and negative aspects. I must say though, that there is something about expansive vistas, the ocean, and other grand natural features and phenomena that do really inspire a sense of wistfulness and melancholy, which leads me to using the minor modes (Aeolian, Phrygian, Dorian) more than the major ones. That sense of something larger than oneself, something that puts humanity into perspective I find very interesting, with the inhuman, sequenced and synthetic sounds of the
music acting as a kind of counterpoint, anchoring out identity somewhere just beyond the visible world. The urgency comes from within the mind; the music keeps pace and helps to maintain sanity in the face of ever-evolving uncertainty.
What advice would you give to up and coming progressive artists?
Don’t listen to anything I say! Just kidding. The best advice I have for anybody is to simply listen and learn as much as they can about music: production, mixing, business, music theory, etc. Talk to DJs, look up FAQs, read forums, download tutorials, go to clubs, read books, and listen to as much music as you can. Then, you’ll be equipped to decide what choices you want to make about your future. There’s definitely no “right way” or “wrong way” of doing things (generally speaking), and there are usually a number of different ways in which goals can be accomplished. What works for one person might not work for another, so be flexible, and don’t get discouraged. In particular, it can take a while for things to come together – musically, financially, and personally. Don’t feel pressure to conform to any sort of “timetable”, because there isn’t one – just whatever works best for you. Sometimes it helps to take a break from music altogether in order to recharge, and find new sources of inspiration. Networking is important, which just means you should make some friends with other artists, DJs, and small labels, and try to help each other out as much as possible. It’s the Golden Rule, and you’ll probably get most of your opportunities from people that you’ve established a good relationship with over time.
As far as the “career” side of things goes, the only real advice I have is to find work as a live performer (e.g. DJ. live band with some samples, etc.) if you want to make money. Playing out is basically the only way to get paid on a “professional” level these days – don’t expect to make much money from a digital release. There are of course exceptions, as high-profile remixes of pop artists, or getting 10,000 song downloads if you’re Eric Prydz, or selling a hip-hop beat for 50 Cent to rap over, but for the majority of us, the music will be done for the love of the process, with no financial reward. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t dream big, just don’t worry too much about that dream becoming reality – if it does, great, if not, then at least you’re doing something that you love.
As far as artistic development goes, I’d say: just do what you want. There are so many people doing the same things that anyone who goes off the beaten path is often the one who stands out, even if some of the “scene police” disagree with your musical choices. Get yourself a decent computer, some solid monitor speakers, a good DAW, load up on free plug-ins, and go to work! Don’t be afraid to do sometime stupid – just don’t ruin your speakers.
What equipment and software do you use of your productions?
Right now I’m running a Windows XP box system some sort of Athlon processor (can’t remember which off the top of my head), and 4 GB of RAM. I’ve got a few large hard drives for music files, and basically everything is done “in the box”. I’m using an EMU 1820 interface hooked up to some Behringer Truth monitors with 8-inch woofers, and I’ve got an M-Audio Oxygen 8 keyboard controller for those rare instances when I feel like getting a little funky with the bassline. I sometimes record guitars as well, for which I’ve got the typical Shure SM-57 mic.
As far as software goes, I’m pretty obviously a big fan of Reason, which I sometimes Re-Wire into Cakewalk Sonar or Cubase. I’ll also do entire tracks in Cubase, and I’ve been wanting to try Tracktion at some point. In the past I also used programs like Modplug Tracker and Fruityloops, but I don’t use those as much anymore. I’ve also got the usual assortment of Direct-X and VST plug-ins, and a few little utilities like Soundforge for offline sound editing. I have a whole (terribly organized, btw) sample library of sounds that I’ve collected over the years as well. I’d love to go hog wild with some better synths, but I don’t really have the budget right now. Some day I might get a Mac so I can run Logic, but once again money is a limiting factor.
Favourite 3 productions of your own?
To be totally honest, I tend to become dissatisfied with all of my tracks about a week after I finish them, lol. I always hear things that I would have done differently,
rather than being able to just sit back and enjoy the end result. Nevertheless, if you held a gun to my head, I suppose that these three tracks are ones that I feel have
held up pretty well:
a) “Botnet” (Redflux Cinnabar Recordings)
b) “The Seventh Gate” (Source of Gravity Digital)
c) “Modus Operandi” (Underbelly Recordings)
Some runners-up might be “Startide” (Hunya Munya), “Restless Soul” (Red Circle Recordings), and “Sunshower” (Helvetica Recordingz)
Favourite 3 productions all artists?
This always changes depending on my mood and what stuff I’ve been listening to lately (and what I can remember), but….
a) “Sunrise” – Goldenscan (Tiesto Remix): epic and grungy trance that has unbelievable energy, I love the intensity.
b) “Mahadeva” – Astral Projection: this was just amazing music when I first heard it, hard beats and incredible melodies with that exotic flair.
c) “Around the World” – Daft Punk: something about the “Homework” album just seemed absolutely perfect for that time – minimal, funky, cool, a little rock’n'roll.
d) “Netherworld” – LSG: man, that track got licensed by everyone. Still sounds good in a mix.
e) “Xpander” – Sasha: no explanation needed.
f) “Angel” – Massive Attack: actually, I’m pretty sick of it by now, but definetly one of best trip-hop tracks ever.
g) “Finished Symphony” – Hybrid: that fusion of strings and tough electro beats is now kind of passé, but at the time this was cool and sophisticated.
h) “Trip Like I Do” – Crystal Method: hearing this on the radio was one of the biggest reasons I started liking electronic music originally.
Hmm, there seems to be eight there. Sorry about that!
Name 3 things that make you laugh
a) Cops with mustaches
b) Will Ferrell acting ridiculous
c) My bank account balance
Some people say that the world is supposed to end in 2012, do you believe in that, and what would have liked to have achieved by 2012?
Well, there seems to be significant debate about the whole Mayan calendar thing, where it’s possible that we’re just interpreting the archaeological discoveries incorrectly. It any case, it is an interesting coincidence that by the year 2012 the world will be experiencing a whole “perfect storm” of problems (disasters, really) simultaneously: peak oil, global warming, disease pandemics, pollution, population overshoot, de-speciation, ozone depletion, political instability, economic recession, and so on. So in a way, the world as we knew it is coming to an end, not in some fiery apocalypse, but slowly and irrevocably nevertheless. Modern technological society is just a tiny blip on the timeline of human existence, and human existence is an even smaller blip on the timeline of the planet’s existence. In a few generations it seems entirely likely that our descendants will be limited to the use of stone tools and anything they can scavenge from the remains of our dead cities.”
“With this massive ramping-down of lifestyle and energy usage, the things that I would like to do before it is all over are the same as anyone: eat, drink, and be merry. Hopefully travel the world a bit, see the sights and meet some interesting people. Life is too short to just sit around and worry. For music, by 2012 I’d like to have made a track that is the “must-have” track of the year – absolutely killer floor filler. I’ve got a long way to go, so I’d better get to work!
Thanks to Jairus for answering our questions!
For more on Jarius Miller:
http://www.jariusmiller.com
www.myspace.com/jairusmiller
www.sourceofgravity.com
Tracklisting for Dynamic Interlude:
01. Flatland
02. Danny Is A Quasar
03. Poundcake
04. Lurker
05. Touch The Device
06. Man Eats Computer
07. Glass Jaw
08. Sugarland
09. Todash
10. Coming Home
Being that this release is so monumental, was there anything unique about your plans for the overall feel of the compilation and its track selection?
How did the event in Bogota go?
As the youngest member inducted into the once infamous Balance Record Pool (at age 24), Darin Epsilon is one of the names who immediately come to mind when discussing the next generation ofsuperstars in the industry. His work has received support from key players such as Hernan Cattaneo, Jody Wisternoff, D:Fuse, Noel Sanger, and a host of others. I recently had a chat with Darin, to discuss his successes, and touch on issues such as piracy, the digital age, and his studio set up.
Given the opportunity, who would you most like to work with?