A Chat with Ja’wuan (05.12.20)
Hailing from Washington, DC – that’s in the USA to be exact – Ja’wuan is an independent artist fusing the sounds of classical Indian music and psychedelic rock. We speak with Ja’Wuan about his EP Strategies of Catching Light, favourite reviews and discovering new music.
OSR: What can you tell us about your new EP Strategies of Catching Light?
Ja’wuan: It’s like nothing you’ve ever heard before. It challenges the norms of music industry standards. It inspires people to be light, be mindful of the planet and life around you, and be present.
OSR: What was the writing and recording process like?
Ja’wuan: The songs were made and recorded on a trial version of Ableton live in my basement. Most of them started off as loops on my loop station, created while jamming in my room tripping psychedelics. The instrumentals slowly but surely came together as I constantly played the songs on my way to work every day. I wrote some of the lyrics, but my partner Maëdorá Marie wrote a good majority of the lyrics as I struggle sometimes with lyric writing. She also sang on almost all of the tracks. Mixing and mastering was a breeze – a total of eight sessions to complete six tracks and a Bandcamp exclusive bonus track.
OSR: Do you have a favourite track and why that track?
Ja’wuan: Definitely ‘Metasphere’. The meaning of the song is the process of bringing your dreams to reality and it really vibes with my soul in this whole process of making this EP. I’ve always dreamed of releasing music and now I finally did it. This song is my mantra.
OSR: What about a least favourite track?
Ja’wuan: I love ‘The Intro Song’, but I wish I had more studio time for edits.
OSR: What is the best review you have ever received?
Ja’wuan: “Today we are hosting something truly special. It doesn’t happen often to listen to something that escapes traditional methods of categorization. It’s not psychedelic rock, and it’s definitely not Indian music, but to us just sounds so fresh… The perfect blend between rock’n’roll attitude and Indian melodic rollercosters. We are referring to Strategies Of Catching Light, a rules-breaking EP by newcome Ja’wuan.” – YMX Blog
OSR: How would you describe your EP?
Ja’wuan: Mixed genre, experimental, ground-shaking, rule-breaking. Embodies the DIY spirit, produced in my home studio, published by my own publishing company (Solar Sounds Publishing), made the cover art myself, and outsourced things like mixing/mastering and vocals locally.
OSR: If you could be reincarnated into a fish which fish would you be?
Ja’wuan: Koi fish.
OSR: What do you think is the best way to discover new music nowadays?
Ja’wuan: Pandora shuffles and falling into YouTube rabbit holes.
OSR: Do you have any future plans?
Ja’wuan: I’m gearing up for live performances in 2021! Also, I will be producing Maëdorá Marie’s debut project, who sang and wrote a lot of Strategies Of Catching Light.
Thanks to Ja’wuan for speaking with us. For more from Ja’wuan check out his Instagram and Spotify.
I had the pleasure of purchasing and listing to Ja’Wuan’s EP and I love Metasphere as well. I feel myself present when listening to this song. The vocals and instruments were well done. Great job on going out of the normal sound that we hear in today’s music.