Judge Jules polarises the dance music community like no other. Everyone has an opinion on him. Everyone has at some point seen him play. Everyone falls into two categories; hailing him as an iconic figure of dance music, or crucifying him as its nemesis. I fall into the former.
This might seem a funny position to take considering that Jules is no longer what I would consider a personal highlight of a DJing roster. Sadly, his current musical position and my own are several stages removed.
However, for the period between 1997 and 2001, Jules’ radio show felt like a personal institution. I was obsessed. I had to listen religiously and study the playlists. And, without doubt, devoid of Jules I wouldn’t have started collecting records, got into DJing, become station manager of my university student radio station, started my own mobile DJ business, or promote my own nights.
While not the most technically gifted, he did extol a number of very important values which I attempted to emulate and have stuck with me though my DJ career: the importance of interacting and engaging the crowd, the wisdom of tailoring your sound to the night and audience, and finally the confidence to explore multiple genres within a set. He was the people’s DJ, playing not what he though he should because it was popular or expected, but what got the crowd going.
With this hero worship came the habit of collecting as much related media as possible. I stockpiled as much as I could. These scans come from Xfade, February 2000. Xfade decided to take on the pretentious hegemony of DJ mag who had monopolised DJ journalism. Xfade had a refreshingly down to earth candour though quickly changed names to International DJ and became a bit more serious.
While I may be somewhat in the minority with my opinions of Jules, thankfully I am not alone. The Judge Jules Archive is a vibrant community dedicated to documenting and preserving the history of the DJ. And, like a number of scans I did previously these will soon join the rest of the archive. The JJA is well worth a visit for anyone with similar views.
Pitchin’, the track alluded to in the article, and the first release under Jules’ north London Hi-Gate alias, seemed the appropriate audio accompaniment to this post. Back in 1999, I vividly recall the agonising wait for its vinyl release after Jules had been spinning it months on end - a situation frustratingly repeated with the follow up singles.
While his music may be different, and my tastes may have changed. Two thing stays constant. Firstly, I won’t ignore or denounce the massive influence he’s had. Secondly, I’m sure that he’s still inspiring many young men and women, just like he inspired me. These two facts still keep me as one of his biggest proponents. I just hope the next generations of Jules’ tutees have as much fun ten years on as I have.
This might seem a funny position to take considering that Jules is no longer what I would consider a personal highlight of a DJing roster. Sadly, his current musical position and my own are several stages removed.
However, for the period between 1997 and 2001, Jules’ radio show felt like a personal institution. I was obsessed. I had to listen religiously and study the playlists. And, without doubt, devoid of Jules I wouldn’t have started collecting records, got into DJing, become station manager of my university student radio station, started my own mobile DJ business, or promote my own nights.
While not the most technically gifted, he did extol a number of very important values which I attempted to emulate and have stuck with me though my DJ career: the importance of interacting and engaging the crowd, the wisdom of tailoring your sound to the night and audience, and finally the confidence to explore multiple genres within a set. He was the people’s DJ, playing not what he though he should because it was popular or expected, but what got the crowd going.
With this hero worship came the habit of collecting as much related media as possible. I stockpiled as much as I could. These scans come from Xfade, February 2000. Xfade decided to take on the pretentious hegemony of DJ mag who had monopolised DJ journalism. Xfade had a refreshingly down to earth candour though quickly changed names to International DJ and became a bit more serious.While I may be somewhat in the minority with my opinions of Jules, thankfully I am not alone. The Judge Jules Archive is a vibrant community dedicated to documenting and preserving the history of the DJ. And, like a number of scans I did previously these will soon join the rest of the archive. The JJA is well worth a visit for anyone with similar views.
Pitchin’, the track alluded to in the article, and the first release under Jules’ north London Hi-Gate alias, seemed the appropriate audio accompaniment to this post. Back in 1999, I vividly recall the agonising wait for its vinyl release after Jules had been spinning it months on end - a situation frustratingly repeated with the follow up singles.
While his music may be different, and my tastes may have changed. Two thing stays constant. Firstly, I won’t ignore or denounce the massive influence he’s had. Secondly, I’m sure that he’s still inspiring many young men and women, just like he inspired me. These two facts still keep me as one of his biggest proponents. I just hope the next generations of Jules’ tutees have as much fun ten years on as I have.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment