RJD2 Interview

Issue 36, check it out at your local bookstore.

Artist and producer RJD2 is a force in the music industry. His work appears in a slew of albums, mix tapes singles and EPs, but his most recognizable work is his song "A Beautiful Mind," which became the theme song to AMC's hit television show Mad Men.
Known as an innovator, RJ is also a tinkerer, a thinker and maybe a bit of a purist. More Is Than isnt his fifth studio album, is out this October and is the second he's released on his own label, Electrical Connections. It also sounds fan-fuckin-tastic!
Few artists have struck me as being as sincere, humble and well thought-out as RJ. When I finished our intewiew by asking him if there was anything else he wanted me to include about the next album he simply said, "Write what you feel, man!" and that is a perfect example of the artistic integrity he has.

Ghettoblaster: Knowing that it's different for everyone, what sparked your initial interest in music?

RJD2: My ah-ha, light bulb moment was when I was eight or nine and a friend of mine learned how to play "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zepplin. It is a very vivid recollection that someone could play something that they had listened to. I became enamored with recorded music and that it originated from a performance.

GB: Do you consider yourself a musician, composer, DJ or all of the above?

RJ: Im not sure what I am. I'm more concerned with doing and the process. When I am mixing I am mixing, not worried about the branding or what it should be called. I know that this is not a very marketable strategy. [laughs] Last record I mixed everything, because I have a very particular way to do it that requires lots of revisions. Having to pester a mix engineer for recalls is annoying to both parties, so I do everything myself. It takes me a while to realize what every single element in the song is doing. It is pretty easy to change hats, that is, composing, sampling, mixing each process. Committing to a process and switching gears is easy; makes me feel like I am getting things done.

GB: Where do you find your inspiration comes from?

RJ: At the base leval, all humans have a desire to create. One of the reasons it can be enchanting is that you can walk away with a thing that did not exist before, it is a captivating feeling. Creating is a thing that helps people cope with their limited time on earth. I just need to creat, out of compulsion. Whether it's true or not, it can make you feel like you are leaving the world in a better state. Of all the feelings associated with making music, that is the most enduring and the most impacting on my life.

GB: When you listen to music to unwind, what do you listen to?

RJ: I let the mood dictate. Sometimes it's the first couple Sabbath records, sometimes new or old rap, sometimes jazz I'm not looking to unwind when I have free time. I want stimulus! I want to push all aspects of life out of my mind.

GB: Tell me about More Is Than Isn't, the new album. As your fifth studio release, what were your goals for it?

RJ: I did not have a goal other than to make music I was happy with. It took almost two years. The only goal, really, was to not overthink and to just do, trying to focus solely on the emotion as it was being created and not think about how I was making it.

GB: What is your workflow for creation? Do you start with a sound, sample, melody?

RJ: Depends on the mood. If I am in the mood to sit down at a sampling with a bunch of records then I love doing it, and I can focus. Sometimes that idea would hit a wall, and then I would have to take over with live instrumentation. Sometimes you know that you can't take it any further with a machine and have to take the track over to the live format, as if you were writing a song. I throw a lot at the wall and see what sticks, and sometimes it pushes the song in a new direction entirely. Sometimes I will sit down with an aesthetic or a feeling and just start doing.

GB: What is your favorite piece of gear?

RJ: Drum kit. simple drum kits. Because I am most interested in learning, and, more than anything else, drumming is the funnest instrument to play. Just sit down at a drum kit and tell me it is not the most fun! It is such a simple thing that you can take very far and still have decades of learning, that I could stand to do, and still be interested in them as an instrument.

GB: As a DJ, do you think technology improves music, or does it hinder the creative process?

RJ: Recorded music does not exist without technology. I see this as a thing that goes back 50 years. People probably argued about the electric guitat when it was first being used. Don't overthink it It's how you use it.

GB: It's definitely radically influenced how music is consumed over the last couple of decades. How do you feel about piracy?

RJ: That is a very hard question to unpack, and I am continually having realizations about it Bottom line is that recording budgets will never be the same, and it is hard to say if that is good or bad. It would rest on the assumption of causal links that cannot be verified, say if a friend downloads a record and then goes to the show. There is no way to know if they would go to the show. There's no way to know if they would have discovered the music on their own. The entire argument rests on assumptions that can never be verified. Sadly, recording budgets are plummeting, and that economic environment makes it harder; one of things that made The Beatles so great is that they had amazing engineers and amazing producers with an unlimited budget That can't happen now. Not to say there could never be another Revolver, but all those situations were economically viable enough to give The Beatles carte blanche When those economic conditions are removed you remove that potential. Another thing about discussing this is that our culture wants a tidy, positive narrative. We are at a point where if your assessment is not rosy, people don't want to hear that shit People like to use Nine Inch Nails or In Rainbows as examples, but those are not necessarily the norm.

GB: Knowing there's more to being a musician in the 21st century than just performing and recording, how do you maintain your personal relationships throughout it all?

RJ: I don't, but you do your best. I am getting to that age where I realize that I threw away my twenties for the sake of my career, and I don't feel good about that. Only people in my line of work are going to truly understand. I have a family. Hanging out with my friends is refreshing, but family is my main priority.

GB: On that note, how do you keep the public persona and your personal life separate?

RJ: I don't think about it that much. If you were to fall can be a very dark and difficult thing. I mean, people have committed suicide over that So I decided early going to take fame seriously. I am just a fucking dude taking out the trash and washing dishes. Being a fucking dad. I would rather have rude awakenings about it I would rather have the fame be the rude awakening than real life be the rude awakening.

GB: Will there be another Soul Position record for you and Blueprint?

RJ: I am hoping so, and have even started work on it. AJ [Blueprint) is on tour, but we are going to do what we can to make it happen. If I had my way, there would be another Soul and Icebird in the next two years.