Jay Haze--Freestyle Mix, 2008-03

Jay Haze is the name behind a number of aliases and projects – Bearback, the Architect, Fuckpony, Dub Surgeon – these are just some of the guises he uses when fighting his guerilla war against mediocrity on a daily basis. Born in Pennsylvania, Haze has been living in Berlin since the early 00s, in which time he has released records and remixes on most of the hottest dance music labels of the decade: Playhouse, Kitty-Yo, Cocoon, Get Physical, Soma, Crack and Speed, Karloff, Musik Krause, and Underline. But of course as well as doing tracks for others, Haze is responsible for running several labels himself: Tuning Spork, Contexterrior, Junion, Futuredub, and Textone, sometimes with an iron fist, other times with a white diamond studded glove and a cane. But in either instance Haze is used to finding and producing dance jams that stretch the genre beyond the limits of the beat and into the territory of lurid nightclub art. Haze's production career began in the year 1999 on the house-oriented Tuning Spork, which had just been born and left on earth to fend for itself, like Superman. Haze watched over Tuning Spork from the sky while earthlings began to pay attention. In the following year he launched Futuredub as a home for downtempo electronic dub, and in 2002 he started the techno-oriented Contexterrior, with a full-length mix CD of unreleased material in a crazy banana sheaf package. In 2003, more Contexterrior twelve-inches dropped. At this time Haze also had the novel idea of founding Textone, an online electronic music magazine and internet label project. This enterprise yielded thousands of downloads, long before any other labels considered giving away music for free and before digital distribution was commonplace in the DJ community.

By 2004 Haze recorded a collaborative EP with his buddy Ricardo Villalobos on Contexterrior, and also did a remix for his hit "Easy Lee"" on Frankfurt's Playhouse, all while Tuning Spork was becoming one of the major league labels. As the world looked to Berlin for some sick new grooves, Spork was there to offer them, with releases from names who are now household in the world of house and techno (e.g. Robag Whruhme, Samim & Michal). The following year saw Haze's stock rising even more rapidly. With his first full-length album on Kitty-Yo , Love for a Strange World, and the Berlin Pimpin EP on Musik Krause, as well as remixes for Shitkatapult, Disko B, Soma, Catennacio, and Was Not Was, it was now clear that Haze and his growing empire were here to stay.

Haze launched yet another label in 2006, this time it was Junion, which is another jewel in an itchy, heavy crown, with releases from Haze under various guises, as well as Argenis Brito and Jambi. This year also saw Haze enjoying some crossover success with teens and some parents when he released the massively acclaimed Children of Love album as Fuckpony on Get Physical Music. For many fans and critics this was one of the best house records of the year, bringing some heat back into an increasingly cold German scene, and was quickly followed by two special Dark Side Of The Pony 10-inches on GPM. Haze also released the massive Fuckaponydelic 12”, “Switch The Lights", an acid-drenched biblical journey into sin, which was picked up by Sven Vath's label Cocoon for a major re-release.

To cap off his biggest year yet, Haze returned home to Tuning Spork to release Berlin Pimpin Pt. 2, which was played by all the big league DJs around the globe. Known for his skills not just as a producer, Jay Haze has DJed in all of the German clubs whose names are now known to techno fans all over the world: Panorama Bar, Harry Klein, you name it. He has also played throughout Europe and around the world, most recently in 2007 with a tour of Australia and Asia. Haze also has a residency at London's worldfamous Fabric club, as well as Tenax in Italy.

His tracks (and the tracks his labels release) are a constant feature in the sets of Villalobos, Anja Schneider, Ivan Smagghe, and all DJs who know, the world over. Jay Haze’s tracks have appeared on countless hot compilations and mixes, including Richie Hawtin's DE9, Sven Vath's Sound of the Sixth Season, Miss Kittin's A Bugged Out Mix, and M.A.N.D.Y.'s Body Language. This year Haze has exciting plans to release music on the almighty UK label Soul Jazz Records under his dub project Sub Version, and is also planning another solo album that will reveal his love for hiphop and soul. Meanwhile the empire of labels Haze runs continues to suck in new fans like a vacuum cleaner. The Jay Haze story continues with pace, but it is a timeless and simple one, the tale of a man who makes, releases, and plays the world's most psychedelic dance music. It's no surprise that Spielberg and Hanks want to make this into a movie!

The upcoming Jay Haze Album “Love & Beyond” will be released 28th of April on Tuning Spork. The lead single “Ass to Mouth” is a collaboration with Ricardo Villalobos – out in stores on 3rd of March.

There´s a sense of paradox in Love & Beyond. It´s Jay Haze´s most defining album to date, but also, his most unexpected, in both music and form. Then again, he´s never been described as someone who does what!s expected! Here Jay presents a divergent self-portrait, spanning two CDs and two vinyl LPs, with different tracks on each format. Love & Beyond exceeds expectations, defies limitations, explores and ignores genre. And it´s sexy. It´s hard to summarize Mr. Haze´s ever-diversifying ventures. He had three club hits under his Fuckpony alias, released by Get Physical, BPitch Control, and Cocoon. As Sub Version, he and Michal Ho teamed up with Paul St. Hilaire for Soul Jazz´s Box of Dub compilation, followed by a full-length. He maintained the labels Contexterrior, Junion, and Futuredub, and he held a DJ residency at Fabric in London. This, of course, was in 2007 alone – not including other numerous accomplishments since founding Tuning Spork in his hometown of Philadelphia in 1999. Taking all this into account, the level of progression shown on Love & Beyond shouldn´t be a surprise. Self-produced in his Berlin studio over the last three years, this is Jay Haze´s DIY oeuvre: a singular, yet fragmented vision from someone who is (in no particular order) a producer, a businessman, a DJ, a human.

His Aliases and Side Projects:

{Fuckpony}
Fuckpony represents Jay Haze’s effort in blending house music with soul, inspired by P-Funk and Princewithout re-hashing them. The appeal of a Fuckpony track transcends club culture, but still works effectively on the dancefloor. Thick bass and sexy synth work are congealed by Haze’s high productions values, providing a funky backdrop for the feel-good, party-starting lyrics. Preceded by just one 12” single, the fulllength Children of Love was released on Get Physical Music in 2006 with praise from both the DJ community and press world. Losing no momentum, five more singles and EPs surfaced, including one on Junion. Additionally, Sven Väth sensed a hit with “Switch the Lights” (a limited pressing accredited to Fuckaponydelic), which led to a widespread reissue on his Cocoon imprint in early 2007. Fuckpony is currently a solo act and touring live, although past contributors include Samim and Big Bully. Up next: “Lady Judy”, a single on BPitch Control dedicated to the beloved Fabric promoter (and inspired by the
DBX track “Baby Judy”).

{The Architect}
A dark, yet often poppy representation of the tech-house sound, Jay Haze’s aural constructions as The Architect span ten 12” EPs to date, released on the Sub Static offshoot Karloff Rekordings, Swayzak’s 240 Volts label, and Tuning Spork Records. Marked by snappy beats, atmospheric reverberations, catchy synth lines, and vocal clips, The Architect‘s productions have found a diverse audience of DJs, from Dominik Eulberg to Sister Bliss. He also met requests for remix work from Liebe Ist Cool, Sex in Dallas, Sophie Rimheden, and Marcel Knopf.

{Dub Surgeon}
Under the Dub Surgeon alias, Jay Haze takes an unexpected break from his dancefloor production in favor of psychedelic, forward-thinking electronic dub. Dub Surgeon’s ambience will meld with your surroundings, but still demands your attention with its intricately produced details thanks to Jay Haze’s steady hand. In addition to his EP on Futuredub, the Surgeon has crafted remixes for Mikkel Metal (Kompakt, Echocord), Fenin (Shitkatapult), and Lump (Karloff, Rrygular).

{Sub Version}
Sub Version is the duo of Jay Haze and Michal Ho (of Samim & Michal), who produce experimental dubstep that takes the listener to a different mental space. They made their debut with two tracks featuring Paul St. Hilaire (AKA Tikiman) on vocals, released on the 2007 Soul Jazz compilation Box of Dub, amongst likeminded artists such as Burial and Skream. Their all-instrumental debut album Sub Versions appeared shortly thereafter on Futuredub.