Space Is The Place with Jozef K

 
Music

At the age of 27, following several years of musical success both in his home of Manchester and beyond, DJ and producer Jozef K found himself at a bit of a crossroads.

Having held a residency at one of the city's nightclubs for nine years, the unfortunate closure of the club meant the end of a long standing collaboration, leaving him without a main source of income. In a twisted turn of events, at the same time his relationship with his girlfriend came to end which forced him to move back home.

But Jozef set about turning this situation into a positive one, using music as an escape from the outside world and an opportunity to fully immerse himself in production. These inner workings resulted in his long awaited debut album Battles. 

A decade on since putting out his first productions into the world – which have seen him land on imprints like Chiwax, Last Night On Earth and Acid Test – Battles showcases the dreamy, emotive side of Jozef's scope as a producer. 

Here he selects some of the tracks that bring to mind those sci-fi elements that forms the sonic palette for most of his work…

"I am obsessed with futuristic sounding shit, I am really into the whole dystopian nightmare/Bladerunner aesthetic and this is something I incorporate into both my Jozef K and Bluematter (collab with Thomas Ragsdale) aliases. There is a space in my head for this post-apocalyptic, end of days feeling, which is something we are all experiencing at the moment – though not so much of this is evident in my debut album, Battle, that is out 03 April. I was coming from a different place with this, but generally I incorporate a lot of futurism and sci-fi elements into the soundscape, which is evident on several of my upcoming Jozef K releases after this album, and on absolutely all of the Bluematter stuff."


Follow Jozef K. Buy Battles.

 

David Goldberg - M4l-Uv (Joannes Remix)

Love this jam a lot, a favourite recent discovery for sure. Drifting, ethereal pads and early U.K. warehouse rave aesthetics. Really into the filtered out vocals too; build some futuristic tension.

  • David Goldberg - M4l-Uv (Joannes Remix)

    Love this jam a lot, a favourite recent discovery for sure. Drifting, ethereal pads and early U.K. warehouse rave aesthetics. Really into the filtered out vocals too; build some futuristic tension.

  • Bluematter - Blankness (Original Mix)

    Bluematter is inspired by the early darkside jungle greats and laced with futurist elements, Bladerunner-esque textures and sci-fi melodies. Retrofuturism.

  • Aurora Halal - Shapeshifter

    I get a visceral sense of otherworldliness from this one. Who the fuck makes an organ sound sci-fi? Aurora bangs!

  • Mark Ernestus' Ndagga Rhythm Force - Yermande (Prophet 5 Mix)

    Major, long-lasting personal favourite. Love the futuristic bassline against the tribalism of the drums and vocal. Ancient worlds meet 2096 dystopian daydreams. Another example of retrofuturism here.

  • Jozef K - Between Two Worlds

    Dystopian 303, reese bass, cold, ethereal pads and cut up David Lynch samples.