Interview: Jacob Todd

On the occasion of the release of his debut artist album, Passage, Filter27 contributor Florian Wizorek caught up with one of the most profilic progressive house/breaks scene newcomers, Jacob Todd.

Todd first got involved with music at the age of 13, playing bass in hardcore punk bands. Following college, he moved to Boulder, Colorado for graduate school in late 1999. It was in Boulder where he was first exposed to progressive trance and house music through frequent visits to the now defunct club Soma.

His first record, entitled Nothing Is Real, was released in 2004 by Jonathan Lisle's M-Theory Records. Dubbed "the Photek of progressive breaks" by Meat Katie for its "solid rhythm, clever programming, and rocking beats," 'Nothing is Real' was featured on both Anthony Pappa's Balance CD and John Digweed's Kiss 100 FM radio show. Jacob has completed remix projects for artists such as Relisys, Andrew K and Simuck, Brahma, Native, and Jase From Outta Space.

If you were asked to define your position in the music business, how would you describe yourself (producer, DJ, live act, A&R, etc.)?

That is a tough question! I think of myself first and foremost as a producer. Producing gives me insight into DJing (though I rarely DJ anymore) and I am getting a better sense of A&R. The better you are at any one of these things, the better you become at the others. Being creative is as much about perspective as it is about inspiration and craft. DJing and A&R are great ways of getting perspective on producing and vice versa. I focus on producing Progressive House, but I try to think of Progressive as more of a tone than a genre. I think that Progressive has more of a focus on song writing than other styles of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) and it tends to repackage elements of other styles and act as the mainstream style of underground dance music.

Why do you rarely DJ anymore?

It is mostly an issue of priorities. I enjoy DJing but I only have a small amount of free time and I enjoy producing much more. DJing really took a back seat while I was writing my album Passage but I have been getting back into it lately.

The trend seems to be shifting in EDM from progressive house and trance to techno throughout Europe and the US. How do you feel about this change and its implications? Where do you see yourself fitting into the picture? Do you think that the music will tread further into new territory, turning into something completely different than what it started as, or will it regress back to its origins?

For me one of the great things about EDM is that it changes so quickly. I think it is true to say that techno is the main focus right now but a lot of the artists that are responsible for this music weren’t nearly as big a few years ago. These are people who stuck by the music they loved and eventually that paid off. That is the take home message, write the music you feel and it will pay off. With that said, it is also very important to evolve with broader musical trends and with your own changing vision. One thing I really like about the dominance of Techno is that most of it is very dark. I few years ago it was dark tribal progressive and now it is dark techno. Any time people are listening to scary music that gives me reassurance because they are challenging themselves. I have always liked elements of techno. I might not make techno my musical priority, but I am more than happy to find inspiration in it and offer my own interpretation. Anytime one style of EDM dominates the global scene it leaves an imprint on the music to come. I think the brief popularity of Progressive Breaks lead to a loosening of beats and you hear a lot of music now that isn’t quite breaks and isn’t quite straight four to the floor.

As far as progressive being more popular in South America and Eastern Europe, I think that is a reflection of what EDM fans in those areas want to hear. The lines between the people who make EDM and the fans are blurred. I live in the States but I also live in my own little world and so it is hard for me to identify myself as part of a sound coming out of any given geographical area. I think a lot of American producers would say a similar thing, as we are generally very spread out and EDM is still very much underground here. It would be great if I had other producers in my area to work and share ideas with but that is not the case. I tend to look in as many places as possible to find inspiration out of necessity.

Kristian Beyer, part of German production duo Ame, recently said that the US has no prospering club scene. Do you agree, disagree or are there some points which have to be seen differentiated?

Well I am no expert, as I rarely go out anymore, but I would have to agree. Of course any generalization has exceptions and I think there are many places in the USA with thriving local scenes. Overall though, EDM is just not as big here as it is in Europe.

What is your favorite club?

There is a club in Denver (which is a half-hour drive from Boulder where I live) called Vinyl that is pretty good. There was a club in Boulder called Soma which is where I was introduced to EDM but it shut down years ago. Soma was a small dingy basement that drew in huge international talent and a crowd of extremely intoxicated and enthusiastic fans - it was great. That is the type of place that we need more of in the States.

Who is your dance music hero and why? Who would you credit as being one of the hottest talents you know?

I’d have to say John Digweed. Besides having an amazing ear for music and being a very talented DJ / producer, he has built a very solid brand for himself. He releases compilations with tracks from his label, some of which he has written or remixed, then promotes it all with a club night and a radio show – most of this under the Bedrock name. Nobody else in dance music even comes close to this of level organization and influence.

As far as new production talent there are a few people that come immediately to mind. The first is Patrik Bjorkman. Partik has a great sound that is dark, dirty, and funky. I’d call it progressive electro techno, if that makes any sense. The other two are Daniel Lineberg (Dumb Dan) and Rikard Fredriksson (Probspot / Zinfandel). These guys are not quite as new to the scene but I just love their music. All three of these guys are from Sweden and it is amazing to me the amount of quality original music that is coming out of that area of the world right now.

You run your own label Emote Music. Nowadays many artists run their own label and there are even kind of start-up programs such as the 3Beat label roster. How did you get your label started and was it difficult?

I started Emote Music in an effort to gain more control over my music. I quickly realized that I could also help other artists and thus put out even more music that I feel needs to be heard. I started the label as part of the Sentient Audio Alliance but that fell apart soon after, so I have been running the whole thing myself since the second release. It is a lot of work but it is worth it. The thing that amazes me the most is the willingness of other artists to be involved. That just goes to show how much the people who make this music love to do what they do. Accordingly, I try to give the vast majority of the money I get back to these artists and I try to treat them all with the respect that they deserve.

Within a short time the name Jacob Todd became an inherent part of progressive house. You’ve been a producer for a comparatively short time, while others, despite their talent and persistence, never make a name for themselves. What is your recipe for success?

Well I don’t necessarily see myself as a success yet and that is probably why I keep working as hard as I do. I think that the small achievements I have made are due first and foremost to hard work. I could probably fill around eight CDs with all of the music I have written and, while few people have heard the majority of this music, I think the key is to keep writing. I try to have my music evolve and I try to write a variety of music. I think that the people who enjoy my music understand that I’m trying to do something bigger than just writing club tracks. I’d like to think that my music has a broader purpose than to just make people dance. Ultimately, I think that music should speak for itself. While who you know and what compilations / labels you are on is important in publicizing your music, in the end it comes down to how an individual listener perceives what you are trying to do. I think this is especially true with underground music. This sort of thinking was my main motivation for writing my album Passage. I’ve always felt that I could present my sound better through a longer musical progression than by churning out singles. With that said, it is a lot easier to churn out singles!

Many newcomers complain about antiquated structures in the music business being the reason why their careers don’t pan out. Can you confirm that?

I think that ultimately it is up to the artist to make sure his career goes the way he wants it to go. I have been in situations that didn’t end up going the way I wanted them to go, but the key is to move on and learn from the experience. The more you put into developing your career the more you will get out of it.

I agree, but often there are uncontrollable external influences such as a non-sympathetic label boss, envious competition, etc. Would you say there is competition in electronic dance music?

There are always things you can’t control, for better or worse, but if you keep your head up, continue writing music, and pushing yourself you will have some sort of success. I’m sure there is competition in dance music but I haven’t experienced it. I try to associate myself with people who are in dance music for the fun of it so maybe that is why I don’t feel competitive. I compete with myself to write better and better music and compare myself with others just to get an idea of how I’m doing.

You already mentioned your album Passage. Why did you release your album on CP and not on your own label? Why did you choose to let the album tracks flow into each other? Will all tracks be additionally released in a DJ friendly non-mixed format?

It was David Oldfield’s idea to do the album and I started it before I founded Emote. It was still a joint release between CPR and Emote. The original concept was to write a DJ mix so all of the songs on the album were written to flow together. I kept a rough mix of all the songs going as I wrote so I could make sure everything was moving in the right direction. The whole process was much more difficult than just writing the songs one by one. I was continually skipping between projects and trying to keep my sound consistent but not so consistent that it all sounded the same. I learned a lot during the whole process and my sound has change a lot since I finished the album. It was a great experience but I’m very glad to be back doing remixes and writing singles. All of the tracks have been released as singles for DJ use with some great remixes by some very talented people.

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"Passage" is out now on CP Recordings. The album is available via CD Baby and selected digital download stores.

(c) Filter27, 2007