Life Laughter Death
Every artist claims to defy categorization. Yet for Jokers Of The Scene, it's not a boast - it's a lifestyle.
For the past few years, Jokers Of The Scene have ranked amongst the brightest, weirdest lights of Canada's dance music renaissance. Between their Fool's Gold originals and their enviably deep remixography, the duo have passed on a "signature sound" to craft an unpredictable approach that's as cerebral as it is speaker-decimating.
Whether crafting epic, nine minute Salem remixes or raving out with their own anthemic tracks like Revolting Joks and Baggy Bottom Boys, Toronto duo Jokers Of The Scene have proven themselves masters of electronic music in all its forms. Their latest project, the J0T5 EP, may prove their most expansive yet, as Linus Booth and Chris Macintyre have created music perfect for home listening and strobe-lit warehouses alike.
The five tracks on J0T5 pulsate through ambient synth excursions, vintage sci-fi soundtracks, and experimental techno, somehow managing to connect the dots along the way. Equally diverse is the accompanying J0T5 RMXD EP. Here, the duos peers and contemporaries like Daniel Avery (aka Stopmakingme), Shadow Dancer (BNR), Hrdvsion (Wagon Repair), Savile & Olin, Cosmic Kids (Throne Of Blood), Gingy & Bordello (Turbo) and Babe Rainbow (Warp) each take turns driving the Jokers new material into new and unexpected directions.
Keep your antennae locked in to JOTS' wavelength for whatever surprise comes next...
Who are Jokers of the Scene?
A couple of friends making and sharing the music we love with as many people as possible.
Can you give us a quick potted history of Jokers of the Scene and what you’ve done?
Born out of mutual tastes and a chance meeting at the record store, we began throwing and DJing parties in Ottawa, Canada during the early 2000s. That lead to us creating our own exclusive club edits which eventually resulted in us signing with Fool's Gold Records where we began releasing our own original material. From there we spent several years honing our skills remixing a wide variety of artists and graciously traveling the world playing for every audience that would listen. An incredibly satisfying period for us as we absorbed every new experience possible as we listened, watched, ate and befriended our way through a whirlwind of years garnering invaluable lessons along the way. Several releases later and move to Toronto has found us refining our sound and collaborating with other like-minded artists. 2012 has been a very rewarding year so as we're on the verge of sharing a wide variety of new works under new monikers, with new labels, and with a general "the best is yet to come" attitude.
How would you describe your style?
That’s for others to perceive. Our sound is constantly evolving. There is no definition to what Jokers of the Scene is musically.
What attracted you to the project?
We're always looking for new experiences and creative ways to share our work.
What did you know about Tekken before?
Always remembered the soundtrack standing out at the arcade. It was definitely influenced by the rave scene of the nineties.
Have you ever worked in video games? What have you done?
We're inspired by and fascinated by soundtrack work so having our music in video games is an honor. Our only other experience so far has been our "Baggy Bottom Boys" track was recently featured in Saints Row: The Third.
Why did you choose the particular track you chose?
We're always up for a challenge and felt that "Night Falls" featured no obvious sample for a remix. We also liked that it had calmer feel than the rest of the works and the title definitely drew us in as well.
How did you approach the remix?
As with any remix we do we never approach the project with a stylistic idea in mind. Generally we only listen to an original track for a few seconds seeking inspiration from the individual parts of the track instead. We find the elements of a song that speak to us and begin writing around them. We view our most successful remixes to be reinterpretations rather than remixes.
How do you feel about the finished remix?
Love it! One of the poppier and most straightforward productions we've done to date. Which is funny considering how chaotic the soundtrack generally is.
What other projects are you working on at the moment?
At the moment we're finishing up a new single for Fool's Gold to be released this fall, preparing a new mix in anticipation of our appearance at HARD Summer, working on a couple new remixes for release this summer and continuous work on new Jokers' material and more for our Blank Capsule, Bohemian Groove and another as of yet unnamed project. Seems like there is something always on the go for us and that's how we like it!