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We all know her as the leading lady of Matt Tolfrey’s Leftroom imprint and a protégé under Detroit label Visionquest, but 2013 proved much more of Laura Jones. Combining work with pleasure all over the globe, Jones has used the year to fully establish herself as one of the most versatile and passionate artists in the scene. In between her hectic weekends, Jones sat down with Pulse to chat about what it means to be a leading woman in the industry and the kind of determination it takes to realize your goals. While she delves into the finer details of being a DJ, Miss Jones reminds us that DJing has only been her career for two and a half years, and that if you really want something, only you can make it happen.
You’ve had an incredible past twelve months, but what's been your biggest highlight for 2013? Laura Jones: This year has been one big highlight for me really. It’s always fun when I get to see parts of the world I’ve never seen before and experience different places. I went to Australia for the second time in September for a four date festival tour, which was cool. I also went to Brazil for the second time at the start of November, which was amazing. I’ve really fallen in love with the country, the amazing people and the general vibe of the place. I wasn’t so keen on the thunderstorms and getting stranded there for an extra day because of the weather though [laughs]. It’s always a pleasure to go to North America too. I had a tour there last July and was met with so much hospitality.
Where are your favorite places to play? LJ: Well there are the two obvious ones, to me at least. Playing at Fabric and DC-10 are naturally on the top of my list. But there are a lot of stand out places, it’s not very easy to pick a favorite. And with regards to highlights, the whole year has been one big one. I’m getting to do what I’ve dreamed about doing for the last seven years, it’s all finally falling into place.
You’re playing Fabric Room 1 this Saturday, right? LJ: I am indeed. It’ll be my sixth time playing in Room 1. I used to go raving there about eight or nine years ago. To be on the other side of the booth with such an amazing sound system is such a pleasure. I always absolutely love it. To be totally honest, I’d love to clone myself so I could be on the dance floor as well as in the booth [laughs].
You’ve said your romance with electronic music came about after visiting Ibiza with friends in your early twenties. what initially attracted you to the scene? LJ: I did my first and only season out there the year I graduated in 2005. I wouldn’t say it was one specific thing that made me go ‘wow,’ but more the whole atmosphere around the clubs, the people and music. I’ve always been very musical and spent every little last bit of pocket money on music. My dad calculated the obscene amount of money I had spent on music when I was a teenager [laughs], I got quite obsessive over a lot of genres before I discovered the magic in Ibiza. It all started in 2004 actually, when I went to Ibiza for the first time on holiday. But the penny really dropped when I went back a year later in 2005.
So where were your first gigs in Ibiza? LJ: Umm, good question [laughs]. There have been many at DC-10 but I started out summer of 2011 at Sankeys and Space. Yeah, that was my first summer starting out full time. I left my 9 - 5 job the August that year.
How does it feel to now have your face on the DC-10 wall of fame? LJ: Pretty crazy actually, I didn’t even know about it until my friend, who I actually met there in 2005, sent me the picture. It was quite funny because I’m one of the only people who’ve played there and actually has blond hair. You can’t miss me or Ellen Allien on the wall, we’re the only blonds in the crowd [laughs]. It was quite an honor to say the least.
So how has your experience been being one of the few leading women in the house and techno scene? LJ: It has two sides to it really. You always get the odd comment along the way, a bit of skepticism and cynicism. People sometimes say, oh, you’ve gotten further along because you’re female and you because you have a certain look about you. Of course these things still remain in the scene but I actually think it’s a lot better than it used to be. There’s still definitely a divide there though. For example, if I get compared to other people in the industry it will most likely be to other female DJs, rather than just people in general. I always find that quite funny. Why should females be compared to one another and men to one another, why aren’t we just seen as an overall pool of DJs and musicians? Obviously there are some female DJ’s out there who wear provocative things or act in a provocative way, which can increase that cynicism and whatever else, but generally speaking, I don’t experience too much sexism or anything like that. Whilst there still remains a little bit of a divide due to us being a minority, I think you can also stand out from the crowd a little bit more. I don’t necessarily feel like I’m so affected by being a female in the industry, not specifically anyway.
Switching gears, talk to us about your Sensoramic EP which was released on Visionquest earlier this year. What was your concept behind the EP? LJ: It wasn’t necessarily a concept as such, but I’m a big believer in just letting your creativity flow and not over-thinking the creative process. This has all happened so quickly for me, I mean “Love In Me” was the second track I ever finished and “Live a Little” was the third. I’ve been quite fortunate in that the first few tracks I actually put my mind towards finishing got scooped up and put out there. So the last two and a bit years have been a constant path of discovery, sort of figuring it all out subconsciously more than consciously I think. When I sat down in the studio to make the EP, it felt like a very natural process. I was really happy with the outcome, I like the direction I took with the tracks. What I’ve found since is that I’ve been making similar things, in the sense that some tracks are more melodic, some more on the techno side and of course house tracks here and there. But there’s always that little bit of individuality that comes through. Whenever I do make a track, I feel that there’s a strong melodic and musical element that comes through, which I think could be pinned down to my classical training from an early age. Overall, I was very happy with how natural it was to produce Sensoramic, especially as my first EP. It’s been very busy over the past twelve months as you’ve seen, so my main focus now is to get some more original music made in the studio.
Do you have any plans for another EP in the near future? LJ: Well, the tracks I’m making are quite varied, so putting a cohesive EP together isn’t exactly a priority. My DJ sets have always been quite melodic in parts and then more house and techno-y in parts. I aspire to make a variety of music because that’s what I love to play. Rather than necessarily EPs, I’ve got tracks placed here and there. I have a track coming out on Visionquest in the spring and an EP on Leftroom coming out around WMC time. Then I’ve got about four or five other original tracks made and I’m in the process of figuring out where to send them.
You’re also releasing a remix package for Matt Tolfrey next month. LJ: I am indeed! It’s actually got a remix on it that I did with my boyfriend, Gavin Herlihy. He and I did a remix of “Turn You Out” which was an original from Matt’s album earlier this year. Matt asked us if we’d do it together because he really liked our Romanthony remix we’d done together. We've also done the same for Todd Terry's house anthem, “Bounce to the Beat,” which will be out sometime soon as well.
New Years you’re going to play at the 02 Academy Brixton in London alongside a killer lineup. LJ: Yeah! I’ll be in Brighton as well. I’m playing a party that I play relatively regularly called Audio, and then I’m going over to London for Brixton Academy. It’ll be my first time playing there, so I’m very excited.
So what does the start of 2014 entail for Miss Jones? LJ: Well I’ve been getting some really nice European gig offers, so I’m looking forward to being in Europe for a while and getting my head down in the studio. New Years is going to be pretty hectic and then I’m playing at Amnesia in Milan on the fifth of January, then Paris on the tenth at La Machine du Moulin Rouge. It's my second time at Amnesia and it’s a great place to play, very much looking forward to it. I’ll also be coming over to America next year around WMC time, right about the time my EP on Leftroom will be released. It’s quite a good time for me release wise and timing wise, so that’ll be my first 2014 venture outside Europe I think. Gavin and I are actually thinking quite seriously about a move to Ibiza in April, I’ve been in Leeds since 2001 so I’m feeling like the change of scenery may not be a bad thing.
Laura Jones plays fabric London on Sat 30th November and London's Brixton Academy on New Years Eve for 'Last Night On Earth.' Her remixes of Matt Tolfrey's 'Turn You Out' on Leftroom and Gavin Herlihy's 'A Higher Love' on Lokee Music are both out Dec 9th.