Over the few short years that Jack aka EMBRZ, has notched up an impressive tally of achievements. He’s had several number 1s on HYPEM, he’s played Ireland’s biggest festivals including Longitude, BodynSoul and Electric Picnic as well as live shows in Berlin, Brussels and Malta. Not only that, but he’s managed to clock close to 10 million streams on Spotify, and has had plays on BBC Radio 1.
His productions combine high energy house and techno with subtle nuances, and always have a focus on melody. EMBRZ’s own productions sit at the more melodic end of the dance music spectrum.
“I always try to keep an emotion in my sound,” he says. “But I want to display it in different ways. Be that in something soft and slow paced or something with high energy.”
EMBRZ's uncanny ability to use a vocal line or sample to its fullest is beginning to become his signature. “Silent”, one of his very first original productions to see the light of day, was also the first record featuring vocals that he wrote. Since then, Jack has been honing his songwriting craft with plans to release more vocal tracks. He also plans to vocal some tracks of his own in the near future.
We got the chance to chat with EMBRZ & also got an amazing guest mix from him that you can listen to below, as well as watch a beautiful live visual version of the mix on EMBRZ's facebook page.
Mix
Interview
What got you into making music, specifically Electronic Dance Music?
I used to listen to bands like The Arctic Monkeys and Stone Roses, and then I overheard a Deadmau5 track, I think it was ‘I Remember’ and I just fell in love with the sound. I immediately downloaded a crack version of Reason and used to make crappy beats just for fun.
When/What was it that finally made you decide to produce EDM for a living?
Making music was all just a bit of fun at the start. I think it was after the Ellie Goulding remix was released that I started to take things a little more serious. It got such enormous attention, that I thought why not have a go at this?
Who are some of your biggest musical inspirations?
There are so many….in the early days I think the biggest ones were, Ludovico Einaudi, Deadmau5, MMOTHS and Tourist.
Who are some artists you are listening to now?
Mura Masa. I’ve also been hooked on both Lane 8’s summer mixtapes.
Thanks for the mix! What goes into making a mix like this, and what are some songs in this mix that stand out to you?
You’re welcome! When I put together mixes, I love the moment two songs play seamlessly together, usually when one is about to end and the other begins, but it can be at any time. There is this lovely mashup combination where it almost sounds like a new song. It takes a lot of experimenting with different tracks to find these ‘moments'. I think my favourite in this mix is when I combined my track ‘Kidó' with ‘Slow Down' and Louis the Childs – ‘Love is Alive'.
What does the rest of the summer have in store for you?
I’ve been doing a lot of writing this summer. I’m very close to having a second EP finished.
What are some things you like to do in your spare time when not making music?
It's definetly good to get away from the music completely sometimes, so things like the gym or just hanging out with friends are nice breaks. Other than I’m either eating, sleeping or stressing about not writing music lol.
Favorite home-cooked meal?
Chicken Curry.
Favorite Junk Food?
Difficult question…The new Dairy Milk Oreo chocolate bars are dangerously good.
