Jesusdapnk is a talented deep house producer and DJ. His music is characterized by its atmospheric soundscapes, deep basslines, and intricate rhythms, drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical genres, including jazz, funk, and soul, and incorporates these influences into his music to create a unique and distinctive sound.
He has released several successful tracks and EPs on various record labels such as Robsoul, Nervous Records, Too Many Rules, The Basement discos, Miura, Hustler Trax, Brobot and Honne Music, while his music has been supported by numerous established artists such as Simon Dunmore, Disclosure, Mark Farina, Phil Weeks, Steve Bug, Cinthie, Demuir, Junior Sanchez, Channel Tres, and more.
He is known for his electrifying live performances and remains humble and dedicated to his craft, constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible in deep house music.
His debut album Summer Heartstrings – an eight track collection of heady grooves, mesmerising vocals and intoxicating atmospherics – is out now on Brobot, the respected US record label founded in 2013 by DJ and Record Producer Junior Sanchez.
Thanks for talking to us, and congrats on the release of the new album! Was recording it a pleasure, difficult, or a mixture of both?
Certainly, and no problem! Always a pleasure to talk about music. Thank you for the congrats on the album; it truly means a lot to me. Making the album was a nice process. It took me on a journey through my ups and downs, allowing me to express myself through music. I wouldn’t necessarily say the album was difficult to create. Once I was in the zone and the right headspace for each track, it all kind of flowed together eventually. I decided which tracks deserved to be on the album based on what fit and vibed with the overall aesthetic.
In other interviews, I’ve mentioned that when I make music, I don’t really have a set goal for what the track is going to sound like. I just start jamming, recording, and seeing where things go. This album is a collection of tracks that fell together well and kept me in a good headspace. Challenges came and went during the process, but I pushed on and learned many things while creating it. Ultimately, I produced a result that satisfied me, and I hope it satisfies the listeners as well.
Summer Heartstrings has a unique and cohesive flow, almost like a movie soundtrack. Can you describe your creative process for achieving this cinematic feel?
That cinematic feel in music, where everything is like a story or a movie, is something I have always been a big fan of. I love music albums that you can just press play and let everything flow. In my opinion, it creates a more memorable experience. I’ve always admired artists who take the risk to make an album stand out by ensuring all the tracks flow together, rather than just throwing a bunch of tracks together with no vibe or identity. I always told myself that if I ever got to the point of releasing an album, it had to be memorable and embody everything I am musically. An album is not just any random release; for me, an album is an imprint in a musical journey and career. It’s reaching a milestone in life and an achievement, a celebration of your talent and sound for your listeners and yourself.
The creative process was lengthy, taking two to four years. Some of the tracks on the album were started during the pandemic. I reworked, rearranged, modified, and even remixed many of them. Other tracks I made this same year. Once I had a few tracks that fit a similar vibe—warm, groovy, smooth, funky, and deep—I started to compile them in a cinematic listening format. The album opens with a smooth groove that introduces the listener to what they are in for. From there, the album goes into its second act, climax, and outro, creating the story and journey of the Summer Heartstrings album.
You’ve mentioned that your production is guided more by emotion than trends. How did your personal experiences and emotions shape the tracks on this album?
When I make music, I release a lot of stress. Unfortunately, I do not live solely on music; like many people, I have a day job, and it’s quite a high-volume job. When I get home from work, I often feel stressed and tired. However, I can resolve or treat those emotions by expressing them through music. If I’m having a bad day or going through something tough, sad, tragic, or anxiety-inducing, I often just start jamming and see where my mind takes me. Music has become my therapy, something I can turn to in order to clear my mind and leave everything on the music project. That being said, I also have moments of happiness, excitement, and inspiration. Not everything I create comes from a place of sadness. When I’m sad or going through something, my emotions often lead me to create deeper, more reflective music. I tend to work with deep chords, deep pads, deep basses, and a calmer, smoother groove to help me feel better. When I’m happy or in a good mood, I tend to create more upbeat, energetic, danceable, and club-oriented tracks, like Jackin House music. My emotions shape the tracks I make overall, and this is evident on this album. Inspiration for this album came from both the best and worst emotions, all expressed through music.
Jazz, funk, and soul heavily influence your music. Can you share a specific track from Summer Heartstrings where these genres are most evident, and describe the elements you incorporated?
Some tracks heavily inspired by jazz, funk, and soul are “Summer Heartstrings,” “Sleepless Fantasy,” “Moonlit Affair,” “Bring The Jazz,” and “Baseline Bliss.” “Summer Heartstrings” is overall jazzy and soulful, taking the listener on a relaxing trip. “Sleepless Fantasy” consists of a lot of funk, with high-energy melodies and a funky bassline slapping throughout the track. “Moonlit Affair” has many jazzy influences with a more moving groove. “Bring The Jazz” is self-explanatory, as the track features a heavy jazzy groove, soulful mood, and grooving funky drums. “Baseline Bliss” is driven by a funky bassline, grooving throughout a smooth, soulful mood. The inspiration that jazz, funk, and soul have on my music is truly meaningful. In some tracks, I chopped and flipped classic jazz or funk records, creating something fresh and new.
Your album has been described as both smooth and danceable. How do you balance these contrasting vibes within a single project?
I think it’s important to understand the vibe of each track and be able to match that vibe with another, even if it’s from a different genre. There’s always a way to incorporate dancey vibes into a deep house track or even smoother, slower tracks. It all depends on the feeling I’m portraying in the track. The album being described as smooth and danceable was definitely something I aimed for, as I love making music one can chill to, lounge to, mingle to, and even dance to. Just because the album is electronic music doesn’t mean you have to dance to it, but you can if the track hits you right. This album is all about balance, maintaining a cohesive story of relaxation and dance music using elements of house, funk, jazz, soul, and acid. I think it all turned out really well. As I’ve stated before, I focused a lot on creating a smooth and danceable album with a story, and I made sure the tracks are compatible to deliver a great listening experience.
Good Luck Penny, your label, has seen a period of reevaluation and new vision. How does Summer Heartstrings fit into or influence the future direction of your label?
To be honest, I don’t think the album will influence the future of GLP Records much. In regards to GLP, I’ll be focusing on bringing a new look, fresh sounds, and more physical releases. That is my goal for GLP in 2025. This album will definitely help me attract a lot of listeners to the record label’s catalog, especially if those listeners are fans of deep, jazzy, refined house music and more.
You often draw inspiration from everyday experiences and random ideas. Can you recall a particular moment or idea that sparked one of the tracks on this album?
While making the track “Dance With Essence,” I remembered how much fun it is to create a track using strictly hardware. The natural sounds of synthesizers feel more authentic compared to digital plugin synths. Just jamming and recording on hardware inspired me to create the track with a good vibe. It was definitely a jam session that sparked my motivation to finish it and release it on the album. I started that track with an open mind, just jamming, and I’m glad it turned into something great. It’s pretty much my favorite track on the album, to be honest.
Your live performances are known for their energy. How do you translate the vibe of Summer Heartstrings into a live setting?
If I were to translate the album to a live set, I would probably use my TR8 for the drums, allowing me to easily jam with underlying drum grooves, and my JDxi to lay down some basslines and simple chords. My computer would run Logic Pro Live Loops with a sampler loaded with stems of each track, so I can easily mix and match tracks to create a spontaneous, smooth experience while still providing the groove of a DJ set. I would probably try to have Ivonne perform some live vocals for “Tender Love” and some past projects as well. If I ever translated the Summer Heartstrings album to a live performance, I would also include some of my other tracks from previous releases to create a great performance and experience for attendees. I have a huge catalog of music I’ve made and released since 2011, so I would love to mix everything into a dope live performance. We’ll see what happens; I feel like to do a live performance, you need to be in the right mindset because things can go wrong quickly in live sessions. I’d have to practice, but I think I can do it. I’ve mostly done jam sessions and improvisation, sometimes recording them, sometimes not. I know if I commit to live sets, I will probably love it and might prefer it over DJ sets. But it is definitely a lot of responsibility. I’ve mentioned in other interviews that I’ve been considering this, and this is how I would do it.
Looking forward, what are your aspirations for your music and your label, and how do you see Summer Heartstrings paving the way for future projects?
To be honest, I don’t have much more to say besides seeing where the album goes and taking it from there. Regarding Good Luck Penny, I’m always looking for new demos, so if any readers out there have music they think fits the vibe or feel of the label, whether it’s in line with what we usually do or something out of the ordinary, please send it my way.
I do have an EP release coming out on August 30th with the amazing Miura Records. It’s an EP titled Model 3, which is mostly an acid house, electro, deep house EP with that Jesusdapnk touch and feel. I’m really stoked for this EP, as I think people who enjoyed the Summer Heartstrings album will also enjoy Model 3. Stay tuned!
Summer Heartstrings is out now on Brobot