J-Justice: Connecting with dancers is paramount, but so is challenging them.
J-Justice: Connecting with dancers is paramount, but so is challenging them. @twodrsdwn

J-JUSTICE (aka Jason Justice; City Soul)

Current top 5 tracks:

Waajeed, "Shango" (Dirt Tech Rec)
"My homie in Detroit is putting out gritty dance-floor jams on his Dirt Tech Rec label. He produces his own music videos, too."

Joe, "Tail Lift" (Hessle Audio)
"More wonderful weirdness from Joe and Hessle Audio."



Harvey Sutherland & Bermuda, "Coast 2 Coast" (Clarity)
"There must be something in the water down in New Zealand. So much great music is coming from there right now including Chaos in the CBD, Jordan Rakei, and these guys."

Yadava, "Kadampa 125" (Ad Hoc)
"Discovered this thanks to the Stamp the Wax crew. Sounded amazing inside the Volunteer Park greenhouse this summer."

Mother Braintree, "Sailing" (Super Disco Edits)
"Fantastic reissue from this obscure Cleveland band."

Crew/label affiliation: City Soul/KBCS 91.3FM

Styles played: "I always try to play across genres as the event/dance floor allows, with a thread of soulfulness running through everything. I get bored with too much four-to-the-floor. Knowing your history and not always playing what’s current is also super important to me.

"City Soul, the radio show I co-host with Atlee Treasure, is a great outlet for being able to play tunes that aren’t for the dancefloor. Over the last few years, I’ve opened up the playlist to incorporate all the music I’m currently listening too and not just electronic so you may hear The Dead Weather rubbing up against Flying Lotus."

Events organized: "Since the end of TRUST, the party I did with Kid Hops and Atlee Treasure, I’ve stepped back from organizing events. It’s much better for my stress levels and I’ve been able to focus more on curating music. (Although our TRUST reunion at Monkey Loft was such a blast we’ve talked about mounting a comeback.) In the meantime, I’m fortunate that the new crop of promoters like Night Shift and Research are into what I do. They’ve been keeping me busy."

DJing philosophy: "I sometimes drive myself crazy philosophizing about DJing. I swear there needs to be a DJ support group for those of us who tend to overthink or have perfection paralysis. Seriously, though, the connection with the dancers is most important. I try to give them what they want while challenging them at the same time. DJing is also a community thing, and I’m lucky to work with some amazing peers from different scenes all over the city."

Preferred format: "My evolution has been from vinyl to CDs to Serato, with both turntables and CDJs; now I got my hands on a Pioneer SR2 Controller. It’s perfect for small, non-club gigs."

Worst request: "Let's use this space to remind people: Don’t stick your phone in a DJ's face."

Upcoming events: "City Soul airs every Friday at 9 p.m. on KBCS 91.3FM; Open House Session at The Beacon 10/26; Hillman City Collaboratory Fundraiser 10/27; Hotel Sorrento 10/28; Nacho Borracho 11/8"

J-Justice and Atlee Treasure's City Soul programs are archived here.