Jason Blakemore has played at Coachella Festival, Together As One, Nocturnal Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, How Sweet It Is, JUJUBeats, Audiotistic, Monster Massive, Focus, Fresh, etc., etc., etc. Add to that performances in New York, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Miami, Mexico, Canada, Europe, etc., etc., etc. So the question is, how did he get there? We aimed to find out in this episode of Unmixed with Jason Blakemore!

Read more of Jason Blakemore's bio on his website Without further delay, ClubDistrict presents UNMIXED with Jason Blakemore!

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Photos by DanielsDigital.com

CD: You started DJing in the mid 80s eventually assuming the alias ‘DJ Trance’ in 1992, then later re-establishing yourself as in 1998 Jason Blakemore. Did you know the DJ Trance name lives again in MySpace, but it isn’t you?

JB: WELL, I GUESS NOW I DO! I JUST LOOKED UP “DJ TRANCE” ON MYSPACE AND IT APPEARS THERE ARE ABOUT 30 OF THEM. GOOD THING I GOT RID OF THAT NAME! (LAUGHS)

CD: Musically what impact did growing up in Orange County, CA have on you?

JB: MORE THAN YOU WOULD THINK. I MET A KID IN 8TH GRADE WHO LIVED IN THE OC FOR ONE YEAR BUT WAS FROM NEW YORK AND HE TURNED ME ON TO DJING, BREAKING, SCRATCHING, GHETTO BLASTERS, MIXING, UNDERGROUND HIP HOP AND GOOD ELECTRONIC MUSIC. I GOT INTO DJING AND AFTER HE MOVED AWAY I WAS THE ONLY DJ AT MY HIGH SCHOOL (DANA HILLS), CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT NOWADAYS? ANYWAY, I USED TO DRIVE UP TO THE CLUBS IN LA AND LISTEN TO THE DJS AND GO RECORD SHOPPING ALMOST EVERY WEEKEND FROM THE TIME I WAS ABOUT 15. SOUNDS NORMAL NOW, BUT IT WASN’T BACK THEN. I GUESS I KINDA LUCKED INTO IT ALL BY MEETING ALEX FROM NEW YORK AT A YOUNG AGE; OR WAS IT FATE? (LAUGHS)

CD: You’ve been a producer for over a decade now, what is distinct about your sound? Have you shifted your style at all?

JB: WELL, IT’S ALWAYS HARD TO DESCRIBE YOUR OWN STYLE. BUT I KNOW IT’S THERE BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS TOLD ME THAT THEY CAN TELL IT’S ME WHEN THEY HEAR IT. I GUESS I WOULD CALL IT PROGRESSIVE ACID HOUSE. BUT REALLY IT’S A “BLAKEMORE” SOUND?? I ALWAYS TELL NEW DJS TO HAVE THEIR OWN STYLE. I SAY, “IF YOU PLAYED YOUR MIX FOR A ROOM OF PEOPLE AND ASKED, ‘WHO DO YOU THINK THIS IS?’, WOULD THEY BE ABLE TO GUESS IT WAS YOU? STRONG STYLE IS VERY IMPORTANT, IT’S WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE AND RELEVANT. IF I PLAYED A DOC MIX, OR DJ DAN, OR SANDRA OR DIGWEED, I THINK MOST PEOPLE COULD GUESS IT WAS THEM BECAUSE OF THEIR UNIQUE STYLES. IF I PLAYED SOME ELECTRO MASHUP MIX IT COULD BE ANYONE.

CD: You have an extensive early rave resume, playing at every major festival in the U.S. from Coachella to Electric Daisy Carnival to Jujubeats and everything in between. Do you miss the days of the old underground raves?

JB: WHO DOESN’T?! (LAUGHS) WHAT’S NOT TO MISS ABOUT IT ALL HAPPENING FOR THE FIRST TIME?? IT WAS MAGICAL.

CD: It seems like these festivals and raves have grow into full blown business’. You literally have to be a major artist to even play at one. What steps does a new DJ need to take to play at one?

JB: YES IT DOES BOTHER ME A BIT THAT NO LOCAL DJS EVEN PLAY AT THE BIG MASSIVES ANYMORE, I THINK WE HAVE SOME AMAZING LOCAL DJS AND THEY SHOULD BE BOOKED PROUDLY TO REPRESENT OUR CITY AT THESE SHOWS THE WAY WE USED TO.

CD: You started a new record label called “Fiveleg”, adding a third name to your labels “Bassex” and “Life Music”, why the new label?

JB: BECAUSE IT’S FUN TO CREATE! THIS IS MY FIRST DIGITAL LABEL, IF YOU CAN’T BEAT ‘EM JOIN ‘EM I GUESS. I LOVE HAVING FULL CREATIVE CONTROL OVER THE LOOK AND SOUND OF EVERYTHING.

CD: Do you have anyone special signed to your label that we need to know about?

JB: THERE’S A NEW LOCAL ARTIST I JUST SIGNED NAMED NICK DOUGLAS. HIS TRACKS ARE AMAZING. I’M PUTTIN HIS RELEASE OUT NEXT MONTH (FIVELEG 002).

CD: Tell us about your new EP – ‘More Suspicion’? How has the fanfare been?

JB: WELL, I’D BEEN PLAYING THE FOUR TRACKS OUT FOR THE PAST YEAR OR SO AND DIDN’T TELL ANYONE THEY WERE MINE AND GETTING GREAT CROWD RESPONSES. EVEN MY GIRLFRIEND WAS SURPRISED WHEN I TOLD HER THAT THEY WERE MY UNRELEASED TRACKS! SO IT’S FUN TO PLAY YOUR OWN TRACKS AND GET AN HONEST CROWD REACTION FROM THEM. SO FAR EVERYONE SEEMS TO LIKE THEM. IT’S GREAT TO HAVE THEM OUT EVERYWHERE NOW, ITUNES, BEATPORT, RHAPSODY ETC.

CD: Now that your new EP is out on Beatport, what is on your production plate?

JB: I’M ALWAYS WRITING MUSIC. LIKE I SAID, PUTTING OUT NICK DOUGLAS’ EP NEXT AND THEN SOME OTHER NEW ARTISTS ‘PUDDLE MIRAGE’ AND ‘LOW BATTERY.’

CD: What was your New Year’s resolution and how does it affect your plans for 2010?

JB: I JUST SIGNED WITH WWW.BLUEMOONDJS.COM AND PLAN TO START TRAVELING MORE, ALONG WITH PUTTING OUT TRACKS ON FIVELEG. NOT MUCH OF A ‘RESOLUTION’ PERSON, I GUESS IF I HAD TO PICK ONE IT WOULD BE TO STAY SANE! (LAUGHS)

CD: What is the best advice you were given in your early days that you would now like to impart on our young DJs and producers?

JB: IT’S PRETTY SIMPLE REALLY. BE CREATIVE, BE ORIGINAL, DON’T FOLLOW TRENDS, AND BE GOOD!

Thank You Jason Blakemore for joining the ClubDistrict family !
We look foward to seeing you on tour and in the nightclubs. - ClubDistrict -
Interview by ClubDistrict & Photos by DanielsDigital.com

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