Aaron Jerome

Commercial success and recognition has been a long time coming for Aaron Jerome, a modest young man from South London. However, with the release of Time To Rearrange, it looks like 2008 might be his year. Jerome has been cutting his teeth on DJ work and remixes for established artists such as Roy Ayers, Bugz, Zap Mama and his friend, Nitin Sawhney.

Time to Rearrange is a stunning collection of songs covering a variety of styles from jazz to hip hop, from downtempo to broken beat. It also features an impressive roster of vocalists, a veritable who’s who of the European beats scene. Jerome’s productions skills and creative talents are clearly evident on this debut release, and are a sure indication that a successful career awaits.

Stereo Subversion’s Greg Rode recently had a chance to ask Jerome a few questions about his career, songwriting, production methods, and his plans for 2008.

SSv: You’ve assembled an all-star cast of vocalists on Time To Rearrange. How did you get all those folks to participate on your album?

Aaron Jerome: I’ve gotten a bit tired of just writing track after track on my own. And wanted to find new vocalists to work with. so I just got on the net and went through lots of new records looking for singers I wanted to work with. Because I like to write very diverse styles of music I approached quite a wide spectrum of vocalists and kind of targeted them with specific tracks I had in mind. Generally this approach worked out, and I ended up with some great collaborations.

Simphiwe Dana was a vocalist I heard on a trip to South Africa. Her first album blew me away and I tried to get my friend in Johannesburg to get in contact with her. Two years later I managed to make it happen. And we recorded it in the backroom behind her house where she records her vocals.

Voice is an MC from New Orleans who I had heard on the Visioneers album (BBE). I always wanted to work with a female MC and she was feeling the track I sent. I had originally titled it “Reel Time.” And Voice sent back a rap based around that!

The cover version of Terry Callier’s “Dancing Girl” came about from playing the track down at a club in London called Plastic People. I decided I would challenge myself to cover it. And try and do it justice. My first vocalist choice was Mozez. I was a big fan of that whole Zero 7 sound. And he had a similar register to Terry Callier but also could give it his own sound.

So most of the vocalists have come thru contacting them on Myspace or through email. And generally all were up for working on the project. Funnily enough most of the knockbacks I had were from vocalists based in London who were just too busy to try something.

SSv: I’m particularly impressed with the rhythm tracks on the CD. Are you a drum programmer or do you use live drummers? Or perhaps it’s a combination of the two?

AJ: I have played the drums since about age 11. I was given a cheap drum kit for Christmas and taught myself to play. On the record there is definitely a combination of the two: some recorded parts, some sequenced up. Ive been so used to keeping songs in a very linear bpm, so programming all the extra crashes and hits in keeps it all in time. I guess I always have a rhythm in mind when I’m writing a track, but generally always put that down after I programmed the melodies in, as I tend to forget melodies as soon as my hand touches the keyboard.

SSv: Tell me a little bit about your songwriting process. Do you always begin with rhythm tracks, as you’ve suggested, and build from there? Or do you conceptualize the songs in advance?

AJ: Most of the time I just sit at my computer and mess about playing a Rhodes sound or some string sounds, then try and find something that works. Other times I’ve got a specific genre track I want to create so I tackle the beats first. Then add a few channels of the instruments I think work in the context of that song I wanted to create, then play something into those. I’m quite methodical in my production, which I guess makes me produce a particular sound. I sometimes have an idea when I’m sitting on the tube [subway] or going to sleep of a whole song, which I wish I could recreate that minute! Most musicians have that dream of wishing they had sound output straight from their bodies so that you could just download those ideas for later. Most of the time they get lost before I get to work on them.

SSv: Can you briefly describe your production methods?

AJ: I mostly work on a Mac running Cubase, with a small external mixer for mics for vocals/drums/instruments. Most of the sounds I use come from virtual instruments. Including a lot of the strings/ basses, etc. I tend to sequence up small passages of music, the part in the track where there is most going on. Then I strip it back down for the verse/ choruses.

SSv: Who wrote the lyrics on Time To Rearrange?

AJ: Most of the lyrics on the album were written by the vocalists who sang them. I gave them instrumentals of the tracks and they took a cue from that to where I wanted the feel of it to go. I was quite keen to bring out another side of my music by letting someone else put their vision of it across. I think the songs fit together quite well in the end, even though they were written by different people.

SSv: I’ve read that you did a lot of DJ work prior to releasing your debut. How does your DJ work intersect with your recording career?

AJ: I’ve been buying records since I was 13. I started playing house music (Masters At Work style) at that time then more RnB/soul, then into 2 step/garage, into broken beat, into pretty much everything these days! So its been a big influence on helping me find a sound I want to produce, and knowing what music works for people on and off the dancefloor. I also work part time in a record store in London called If Music, so I have been surrounded by vinyl most of the last 4 years. DJing also helps me get to play a whole side of music that I don’t produce myself but just music I love.

SSv: Will you be doing any live shows in support of the album?

AJ: Yes. I’ve put a live band together. We had our first gig in london in early February. I have a great band of players, and am hoping to use 2 vocalists from the album per gig. Also if I get to do bigger gigs or festivals I would like to involve a string section and a harp player! The band includes Richie spaven on drums (who plays with TY, PPP, Guru) and an acoustic bass player, Neville Malcolm (plays with Jose James amongst others), plus a great keys player, Jay Enticknap. Vocalists who sang at the last gig included Andreya Triana, Kathryn DeBoer, Mozez and Mike Orwell.

SSv: What are the chances that you’ll bring the show to the U.S.?

AJ: I’m hoping I’ll get the chance to do that. I’m not sure how it would work. Whether I could bring the whole band over or get some other players when I’m there. BBE seems to have some good representation in the US, from the label side to artists like Jazzy Jeff, J-Live, J Dilla etc. I guess it depends on whether promoters believe enough in it! And I get some good play on stations in the US.

SSv: What else can we look forward to from Aaron Jerome in 2008?

AJ: More music I hope! I’v been working on few side projects. One is a set of African edits. Mixing up some highlife and afrobeat sounds for dance floors! And also an instrumental hip hop project, which I’ve been working on on and off for the last year under the name Ajs Dilemma. Plus more remixes, which I’m always working on. Ones to be released soon are Scrimshire’s “Warm Sound” (Aaron Jerome remix) on Wah Wah45s, and Randolph’s “Golden Day” (Aaron Jerome Remix) on Still Music.