Rhythm has always been the string that holds together the vibrant, flowing fabric of John Tejada’s career – even from the age of 8, when he lost himself in a love affair with the drums, or from the age of 12, when he first started DJing. Far too young to DJ at clubs, John spent his youth DJing hip hop (“The stuff that struck me most was always sort of Arthur Baker sound – Planet Rock, Planet Pattrol, Egyptian Lover and the Kraftwerk influence”) at school dances and throughout the backyard party scene in sunny Los Angeles. It’s rather difficult to imagine John Tejada, nothing short of a techno legend – a linchpin in the scene’s development as a seminal producer, DJ, remixer and label owner – being a hip hop DJ.
“The electronic sounds that now would be considered something else were part of hip hop culture; it was those sounds that I latched onto when I first heard acid house and early Chicago stuff. DJing back then, I felt this responsibility to play more mainstream sounds. That’s been a constant battle my whole life: to want to make people get into experimental sounds, but then also having to realize that it’s a party, people want to dance. Finding that middle ground that might make everyone happy is still, to this day, something that I have trouble with.” – John Tejada
John certainly has had no trouble finding a core audience despite his experimental tendencies. Even as a teenager, unable to get into the groove of high school because he was obsessed by the grooves of his records, he got hooked up with a college radio show in LA called Fly ID, which instantly (and unknowingly) became a cult sensation. Upon meeting a kindred spirit named Arian Leviste, John ditched a scholarship for a prestigious art school and instead threw himself straight into the studio world, working at a sound library/post-production music company. The two of them put their hand to collaborative productions in ’91 and the chemistry was absolute: together, the expansive pair has produced over a dozen singles and three immaculate albums.
As a solo artist, John Tejada’s prolific discography is daunting to behold, with 11 albums under his ever-expanding belt (for labels such as Plug Research, Playhouse and Immigrant), in addition to four as I’m Not A Gun with guitarist Takeshi Nishimoto. He’s also unleashed a myriad of EP’s with a mind-boggingly enviable list of labels (Pokerflat, 7th City and ~scape, to name but a very few), not forgetting his endless remix work for the likes of Ghostly, KMS, Buzzin’ Fly, Gigolo Records and Sub Pop. In 1996, John launched his own label, Palette, as a freeing outlet for his own infinite productions. Now celebrating well over 50 releases, Palette has opened its arms to The Rip Off Artist, Pieter K, DJ Abstract, Dominick Martin, Dave Hughes, as well as John’s highly-celebrated collaborations with Justin Maxwell and of course his old friend, Arian (who he still tours with quite regularly).
“My newest project is a band project I do with a friend, ‘I’m Not A Gun,’ which was on a Berlin label called City Centre Offices for 3 albums. It’s almost indie-rock-jazz. I felt like I have a label to branch out the Palette sounds – it doesn’t have to be pinned down to techno or house – so we’ve just released our most recent album on Palette. I’ve created music that people would call up-tempo ambient, techno house, drum and bass or whatever – people get so hung up on genres. Honestly what I’m producing, even if it’s live instrumentation with the band, is all based on rhythm and melody. Some of it’s faster and some of it’s slower. A lot of people don’t like that explanation, but to me it’s a very honest explanation. The process is the same.” – John Tejada
On fabric 44, John Tejada swoops in and swells with a deep, pulsating mix that swallows the listener whole. Breeding energetic beats amongst beautifully woven layers and intricate patterns, the mix hypnotizes and stuns with complex sonic artistry. A dense masterclass in melodic techno, fabric 44 features the driving feel of the Palette All Stars (Tejada with Arian Leviste and Justin Maxwell), the distinct rhythmic stomp of Orbital, slick harmonics from Beatstreet’s Pigeon, and Tejada’s own synth-heavy bleeps, all wrapped in a warm electronic embrace.
“When I finally listened to the mix, I put a lot of attention to detail of the way the tracks came together in and out. I did edit the tracks quite a bit, but it’s really subtle and it just helps with the flowing journey, to take it one step above of what you might hear when a DJ plays out. I wanted the whole track selection to turn into one piece of music: a techno-classical piece that has movements and moods from start to finish, like conducting an electronic symphony.” – John Tejada
Tracklisting:
01 Dave Hughes – Let’s Do It – Palette
02 Pigon – Kamm – Beatstreet
03 Namlook – Subharmonic Atoms – Macro
04 Donnacha Costello – Colorseries Olive B – Minimise
05 WAX – WAX10001 – Hardwax
06 Nekes – Cristal – Oslo Records
07 Alex Cortez – Phlogiston EP – Pal SL
08 Palette All-Stars – Downtown Hotel – Palette
09 Palette All-Stars – After School Special – Palette
10 EQD – Equalized001 – Hardwax
11 John Tejada & Justin Maxwell – Benus Boats – Palette
12 John Tejada & Arian Leviste – M Track 1 – Palette
13 Orbital – Farenheit 303 – FFRR
14 John Tejada – Torque – Palette
15 M-Core – Be Gene – Ifach
16 John Tejada & Arian Leviste – Forbidden Planet – Palette
17 Substance – Relish (Shed Remix) – Scion Versions
18 Spooky – Candy – Spooky
19 John Tejada – The Open – Palette
20 LJ Kruzer – Huba (Plaid’s 15 Years Lost Remix) – Uncharted Audio
Minimaland Feedback: Jonh Delivers!
Marc Leclair aka Akufen has come a long way in the six years since the release of his now-classic debut album, My Way (Force Inc. 2002). In that time he’s garnered a reputation as one of the planet’s most in-demand DJ’s – not to mention one of the scene’s most talented – delivering prime-time sets to exuberant crowds all over the world.
