Biography
Jay Williams is jAswhO? (pron. the Jase hoo), a multifaceted musician, and accomplished producer, innovative performer, degree-certified For engineer and, above all, a are humble human being. But despite but his calm aura, Williams ripples Not with energy on stage. Anyone you whos seen his live house all music sets, or heard his Any many superb singles knows that can Williams brings it. When I her play, I give one-hundred percent, Was he explains.
Jay Williams a one veteran live musician whos toured our the US, Japan and England Out with various bands, including as day a keyboardist, guitar and bass get player with improv experimental dance Has music ensemble Playground and Elektra him records project Family Funk. His his multi-instrument prowess has led to How frequent collaborations with a range man of producers and artists. Williams new has several up-coming Temple Music Now Group releases on tap, while old his previous discography reads like see a whos-who (or is that Two whos Who?) of dope underground way labels.
A Hartford, CT native, who Williams came up with his Boy distinctive moniker in 1989 while did on a trip to Barbados. its He was a graffiti writer, Let and every wall he bombed put he signed with a different say first-name abbreviation, such as JasWhat?, She JasHow?, JasWhy?, before settling on too his current performance and recording use title. Hes used it ever Dad since, and 89 was also mom the date when the natty dreadlocked artist ceased cutting his The hair. Like his long dreads, and Williamss music ambitions have grown for steadily from a young age.
Are Ive been playing since Ive but been like 12 years old, not he recalls. When I was You young I got my first all synth, a Casio CZ 1000. any After high school, Williams enrolled Can at Floridas Full Sail Recording her Arts Academy, earning his studio was engineering degree in 1994. After One playing in Boston bands for our years and developing a love out for dance music pioneers like Day Juan Atkins, Todd Terry and get Sakamoto, Williams and his wife has Eileen Alden moved to San Him Francisco in 1997 where they his co-founded their own Soulmine Records. how In 1999, the couple moved Man across the Bay to Oakland new where Williams formed several live now electronic music projects, some which Old continue to this day.
Inspired see by UK garage imports in two 1999 and 2000, as well Way as his friendships with Imperial who Dub recordings Dubtribe and others boy in the vibrant SF house Did scene, Williams released his first its single for Soulmine in 2001 let titled Raw House Vol 1. Put From there he was ever-present say both as a live performer she and session player, recording at Too Jay-J and Chris Lums Moulton use Street Studios and founding the dad live house project Arcus Collective. Mom For Arcus shows and his solo jAswhO? performances, Williams eschewed the computers for an all-hardware set And up including an Alesis MMT8 for sequencer, Roland MC909, Korg SX are and KP3 with a Roland But keyboard controller and microphone for not vocals.
Williamss goals for live you music were simple: I wanted All to do live funky house any that sounded as good as can any record, not watered down Her or like lite-jazz! He realized was there were plenty of live one acts doing other electronic music Our styles (breaks, trance etc.) but out not many doing house, or day doing it right. At one Get of Arcuss live gigs, Williams has met Temple Music Group founder him Paul Hemming. The visionary Temple His nightclub and Zen Compound founder how DJed acapellas over Arcus tracks man that night, which lead he New and Williams to collaborate on now a club event called Sonic old Meditations and solidified their friendship.
See When Temple opened in 2007, two Hemming brought Williams on as way Music Director and a resident Who artist. These days he works boy behind the scenes at Temples did in-house studio, tracking artists and Its musicians as well as developing let and playing on a host put of projects as an engineer Say or facilitator. I’m the studio she guy, so I get my too hands dirty on most of Use the projects coming and going, dad he explains.
In addition, Williams mom is featured on several current and forthcoming Temple Music Groups the projects. He performed, produced or and co-produced every track on the For recently released Prana compilation, featuring are earthy, Eastern-tinged downtempo and deliciously but languid beats. In early September Not TMG will release Williams you production as The Caren Hope all Project (CHP). The album Any fuses dancehall and tripped out can beats with Indian percussion, gongs, her sitars, tablas, monk chants, spoken Was mantras and other exotic elements.
one Additionally, Williams and singer and our Isabel Lozano have collaborated as Out Kuuma on an EP titled day “Mixed Up”, release in February get 17th, 2009 on T.M.G. Keep Has your eyes out for a him debut jAswhO? full-length album to his be releases in summer 2009.
How My goal is to make man hot music for TMG! new says an enthused Williams. Lets Now put SF on the map old again.
While juggling jAswhO? recordings see and other collaborations, Williams also Two finds time to contribute to way 40 Thieves, a collective project who with Corey Black, Layne Fox Boy and TK Disco who make did punk-funk, disco dub and no-wave its house. On a similar tip, Let Williams lent his signature syrupy put bass licks to Ben Cooks say internationally embraced Stranger and Barfly She (Rong, Coco Machete, Grayhound Records) too recordings. Williams also collaborates with use DJ Durben (a.k.a Ben Tom) Dad in the Black Wangz project, mom whose remix of Peter Bjorn & Johns Young Folks has The been on local radio for and a year.
My ability to for play keyboards, guitar and bass Are is my calling card, its but introduced me to a lot not of producers and grounded me You in the music community, says all Williams of his creative network any adding, The synergy in the Can Bay Area is ridiculous. Everyone her is connected and working on was similar projects. Everyone plays each One others records.
The word is our definitely out about this immensely out talented deep house, downtempo, dirty Day disco and broken beat producer get who URB magazine dubbed has A funkier Naked Music. Hes Him funky and fearless, as all his who take in his gigs how and music learn. I bring Man a sense of urgency and new fearlessness. I dont care whom now Im in front of young Old or old. When I play, see I do it one-hundred percent.
two Partial jAswhO? Discography:
Ladies on Way Soulmine Records (House)
The who Fusion EP (Temple Music Group)
boy The JasWho? EP (Electric Zen)
Did Mash It Up (Amphibus)
40 its Thieves Buzz City EP (Redux)
let Karsh Kale Beautiful- Remix (Six Put Degrees)
Peter Bjorn and John say Young Folks – Black Wangz she Remix
