We recently caught up with the well established Greek king, CJ Jeff. We spoke about his new groovy sounding EP on the mighty Nervous Recordings, what his childhood musical memories are, what he gets up to in his spare time plus more…

Let’s first start by talking about your new EP signing with the amazing Nervous Recordings. How does it feel to sign to a label seeing some of the world’s greatest have also signed to previously? 

You know, I hate to sound like a cliché, but you have to understand that every time I sign a record to a label that I myself have been a fan of and bought so many records from, it feels unreal.

Nervous is one of my all-time favourite labels in house music. That iconic logo takes me back to when I first got introduced to house, and to be a part of their catalogue now, is such an honour.

On your track ‘Daylight’, who is singing the vocals? 

It’s classified haha. She’s the same girl that sang on Sabb’s track “Jeopardized”.

FNX Omar delivers the remix track to complete the two track EP. What do you like about his take on the track the most? 

For the remix, I was thinking about “afro house” and FNX Omar is the perfect man for the job! His version of it just screams “summer” to me. I mean – I love his version, I think he’s the master of that sound for sure and this remix is the proof.

https://www.facebook.com/MrAfterParty/videos/375330456343907/

How do you prepare yourself for a day in the studio? 

For me, there is no magic formula. No ritual. Some days I’m not even in the mood for it, but then something happens and at the end of the day it doesn’t matter, if it took 30 days or 3 days or even 3 hours to make something.

Only the result counts and all I know is that it’s like a lottery – if you don’t buy the ticket, you can’t win the prize. Same with the studio – if I don’t go in, then for sure nothing will come out of it. So, I get in and then inspiration strikes, but I also need like 3 espressos to get started, You never know what can happen, until you go in there and play with the toys.

Away from music, what else do you get up to on your day to day?

I’m into reading actual books and during the summer, I go to open air cinemas. We have some amazing ones located around Athens and Acropolis and for me, it’s the perfect relaxation remedy and helps me to let go of the touring stress.

What’s been one of your highlights of 2019 so far?

It’s funny how this question always pops up in every interview. I don’t think anyone makes constant effort to remember the good times and the highlights, as they happen. I think in the current climate of constant oversharing on social media we all get sucked into the pressure of portraying our lives as a reel of “highlights” and “amazing moments”, which they aren’t.

To me, honestly, it is just the fact that I’m alive, doing what I love and I am surrounded by the people I love and who love me. This is enough for me, everything else is a bonus.

How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard any of your productions before? 

Emmmm… I’ve no idea. How about: I make people dance, whether they want to or not haha.

Let’s talk about your new record label… What can we expect to hear on the label in the next coming months? Any exciting artists? 

Oh yeah, my other ‘baby’, my record label (Rhythmetic Records). It has been around for a few years actually. I just don’t feel the need to have a release every five minutes – I only put out stuff that (I feel) brings something to the table. Next up we have the Drunky Daniels release. They are a Brazilian duo that have released on Rhythmetic before and this time they went a bit more “afro”. We already have support from Blond:ish, Who Made Who, Denney and more. It’s dropping mid-July, so stay tuned!

House music or techno?

From house to techno and back again. I don’t discriminate. Good music is good music.

When growing up as a child, what genre of music did you grow up around?

Psychedelic rock – Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, Massive Attack were my early days heroes.

Right now, how is the music scene in Greece? 

Greece has a huge club culture / music scene. From tiny beach bars on the islands to something like Cavo Paradiso Mykonos to some cool spots and promoters in Thessaloniki and of course here in Athens. My weekly residency at Dybbuk Athens is going on 10 years now. Sonar is coming to Athens in October. I mean – things are on the ups and up if you ask me – and I should know, I’m a Greek first and foremost lol.