Jaguar Skills Interview

Jaguar Skills burst onto the scene in 2002 with his unique mixtapes and cut-n-paste style. Being an international man of mystery, he keeps his identity secret by wearing a ninja mask during his live sets and never revealing where he’s from, he has become a bit of an enigma around the globe. His live shows are world-famous for being energetic, crazy and diverse. Along with his weekly slot on Radio 1, Jag is set to play at Global Gathering, Creamfields and Electric Daisy Carnival this summer. His new album ‘Jaguar Skills And His Amazing Friends Vol 2’ is out on 1st July and the album launch party takes place at KOKO in London on 22nd June. BBM find out more about the man behind the mask, and what else he has in store for us over the next few months.

How are you today?
Very well thanks, how are you?

I’m good thank you! Where in the world are you right now?
I’m in the UK, at the Hideout in a secret location.

How do you manage to keep your identity a secret?
I wear a mask.

Of course! You just played at Rockness and Parklife, how were they? How do you prepare for the festival season?
Amazing, amazing, amazing, I love it. I love festivals. The most important thing for me is ear plugs, if I’ve got my ear plugs then I feel safe and protected from everything. It’s quite weird man, I kind of have to put them on five minutes before I get on stage. It’s like I’m really worried about my ears! So, ear plugs and a mask.

You’re playing some huge festivals this year, which one’s your favourite?
There’s lots of different ones for different things. Like, Bestival’s really wicked but then there are places like Global Gathering, V Festival and Glastonbury, which are amazing too. It’s almost like every festival rolls into one big…thing. I feel kind of honoured in being asked to play at certain places like Global Gathering, Creamfields and these big legendary places. But then there’s also all those small ones as well that are really cool too, and each one has got a different vibe to it, so it’s really hard to tell. I love them all really, to be honest.

How do the crowds at festivals compare to those at your own live shows? Any crazy fan stories?
You know what, they’re kind of the same and it’s the same vibe as the festivals. There have been some crazy fans. One guy pulled me over and showed me his arm, he was like ‘Yo Jag’ and he’s got all my logos tattooed on his arm, all up his arm, everywhere, I was like ‘Wow’. One dude in Japan dressed exactly like me and was dancing exactly the same. EXACTLY the same. He came round to meet me at the back and he comes in, very polite and everything and I had my shitty sweaty mask on. I took it off and I was going to throw it, and I said to the guy ‘do you want it?’ and this guy just started crying, and then walks out the room backwards, still facing me. That’s mental isn’t it? I think when you wear a mask, people put their own spin on how you’re going to be.

That’s crazy. So, your new albums out soon. What can we expect to see from it?
It’s like 18 tracks, it’s a mixture of all types of electronic music really and there’s a couple of hip-hop things in there, house records, kind of harder electro records, there’s some really tear-out drum n bass stuff on there. All types of different stuff really. Each track’s pretty much a different style. I’m really pleased with it, it’s come out really cool. It’s quite summery as well, it’s got a kind of summer theme to it.

So, the release in July is perfect timing then! What process do you go through to choose what tracks you’re going to compile on the album?
It usually just evolves as it happens, I don’t usually have a grand plan of what it’s going to sound like before it’s done. It comes together gradually through the whole process of a few months as a kind of moving, organic thing that I suddenly manage to give birth to at the end. It’s this freaking looking weird thing.

And have you played any snippets from the new album at these festivals? Was their one tune that’s gone down really well with the crowd?
Yeah. There’s one called ‘Fuck You Skills’ that goes down really well. That’s like a massive fight on the record, it’s like a bar brawl.

We saw your DJ booth at We are FSTVL, is that coming on tour with you?
I’ve got a robot too that has this CO2 canister gun that fires all this gas at people, it’s mental. That’s my tour thing, I’ve got my robot, my crazy booth and these two big heads.

Sounds insane, did you design it yourself? What was your inspiration?
I did. I’m really into computer games, I’m a bit of a nerd. I’m into computer games and stuff. I’ve got an arcade in my house with arcade machines and shit, like a proper thing. It’s a really nerdy thing to do but it’s amazing. I always wanted to do this as a kid, to own my own arcade. Old school. All my buddies come round and we just play arcade, it’s like you’re sneaking out of school.

The launch party is on the 22nd June, how much material from the album will we get to hear?
I won’t play the whole thing, I’m going to play quite a lot of it. Going to play all new stuff.

What do you like about playing at Koko?
It’s a wicked venue. The shape of the building is nice. It’s big enough, you know, it really feels like it’s big. When it’s full, it really feels like there’s loads of people there and it’s really exciting. I can’t wait to do it.

Who is your biggest musical influence?
Probably my dad, he was a DJ and had shit loads of records. But musician wise and stuff, I like weird people that aren’t famous. Like there’s this guy called Prince Paul and he produced De La Soul’s albums back in the day. I love him. There’s this other guy called Roy Ayres, his stuff is amazing. I really get blown away when I just see any band, playing any music, with any instrument. I’m just looking at that thinking ‘oh shit, I wish I could do that’. I admire pretty much any musician and I like a lot of weird, old, crazy cats.

What did you learn from your time with The Barefoot Doctor?
I learnt some moves off him, I learnt how to break someone’s arm. He used to live up this mountain in Spain, in these retreats and stuff. Like Martial Art retreats and stuff like that. I was Djing for years and years but I wasn’t making any money out of anything, it was all a bit of a downer, so I sold all my records, sold all my clothes and went to this retreat. I was up there for about three years when I got this email, somebody wanted me to DJ at a party. It was out of the blue and I just wanted to do it, so that’s when I started Djing again. What that showed me was that if you get rid of everything, the thing you actually really love will just arrive again. Some things are just meant to be.

What has your slot for Radio 1 done for your fan base?
It started a career for me really. Doing stuff for Radio 1 has just changed the game for me. It’s just mental the amount of people who listen to Radio 1, there’s millions. So, getting a mix on that every week has just been the best thing in the world.

For a ten minute slot, how long does it take to prepare for that?
A few hours, or a day before hand. It used to take me a week but I managed to whittle it down to a few hours. I put a lot of work in those ten minutes to make a flow nicely.

When are you coming back to Australia?
Probably Christmas time because there’s lots of festivals and stuff.

What do you like about playing here?
It was just nice going to a different place, they do seem quite familiar in a way. The people are very nice, it’s all just very nice and really easy. Yeah lovely, loved it. Can’t wait to go back.

Do you get to do much sight-seeing when you’re over?
No, it was just in and out. Didn’t get an opportunity to see much. I loved all the different food you guys have over there and all the restaurants. I love it. So, next time I would want to eat more.

You’re well-known for wearing your ninja balaclava during a live set. What’s the story behind you becoming a ninja?
I like illustrating and I like comic books, I like the idea of a hero I guess. I always thought, what if I did it for real? There were initial things, but, I like ninjas and I like djing, so I thought a ninja DJ would be cool. It was something that I used to draw, this character, and then I came up with the name when I was like 12.

Do you wear it when you’re doing Radio too?
Yeah I wear it all the time, I’m wearing it now.

You’re music must has taken you to some pretty amazing places in the world. Is there a particular country that you love playing? What is it that makes it so special?
I love Japan, love the culture, the people, the food, I want to live there. There have been some mad places. I’ve been on top of a massive metal spider with girls with flame throwers walking around underneath, shooting fire. I’ve been in a box before that’s comes down from the ceiling, hits the floor, opens up and I start playing. I did this one gig in Cambodia that was kind of like a scene from Star Wars with the freakiest bunch of Aliens dancing around. I was doing a gig on a beach in Thailand when the sea came in and I was basically Djing in the water, everyone was running away so they wouldn’t drown. To be honest, it’s the people that matter, you could be anywhere as long as you’ve got some great people. I remember one of my favourite gigs ever was in a barn with about fifteen people and five of them were over 70, there were about four kids and the rest were adults. I was just great, I played for hours.

When you travel is there one object or item that has to come with you?
My magic sword. It’s about six meters long. Ha-ha, I’m joking. Earplugs probably, that’s really important. Earplugs and my laptop, I could have no pants, socks or nothing but if I haven’t got those, I’m freaking out.

What’s the craziest or most random item you’ve ever asked for on your rider?
Nah I’m not that guy, I’m quite boring when it comes to that. All I have is a couple of red bulls and a bottle of Sake and then BOOM, I’m rolling.

Apart from the new album, what can we expect to see from you in the next year?
I want to do another album, I’ve got a new EP coming out, which I’m finishing off with a house and Drum n Bass track on it. Just loads of festivals and gigs. I really want to take my live show to the next stage and I’m thinking about different things to add on or take out. Just more exciting stuff.

Brilliant, so we’ve got a lot to look forward to then! Thanks a lot for your time and take care.
You too. Have a nice day man.

Jaguar Skills will be playing the Electric Daisy Carnival on Saturday 20th July 2013 at Queen Elizabeth Park, London.

Check out our festival listing for Electric Daisy Carnival here

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