Last fall, Nosaj Thing blew us away with his opening set on Bassnectar’s Cozza Frenzy tour. Nosaj Thing, whose real name is Jason Chung (Nosaj is Jason spelled backwards), started dabbling in music production in high school. In the 10+ years since his start, Chung released his debut album, Drift, toured around the world, and has shared the stage with Flying Lotus, Diplo, Bassnectar, and Gaslamp Killer, among others. In 2008, Kid Cudi used Chung’s “Aquarium” (from the Views/Octopus EP) for his song “Man on the Moon”, which first appeared on his breakout mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi, and later became the title track of his debut album, released in 2009. Chung has recently done remixes for The xx (“Islands”) and Drake (“Forever”), both of which are available for download on his official website.
Nosaj Thing will kick off the Magical Properties Tour alongside Daedelus and Jogger this Thursday in Palm Springs. The trio will make a stop at NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge on February 20. We’ll be giving away a pair of tickets to the show next week.
Click through for our full intervew with Nosaj Thing, and check out his remix of Jogger’s “Nice Tights” below…
Jogger – “Nice Tights” (Nosaj Thing Remix)
How and when did you start creating music?
I started started creating music in 99. I was already into DJing at the time and a friend of mine gave me a bootleg copy of some music production software. After I installed it on my dad’s computer, I never looked back.
Do you consider yourself to be a DJ? If not, what would you call yourself?
I don’t DJ much these days. I concentrate on production and performing live with software/midi controller.
For those not familiar with your work, how would you describe your style?
Electronic music with a cinematic/hip hop/experimental influence.
You’ve cited hip-hop as a major early influence – how did your sound evolve into what it is today?
Exploration with synthesizers and production software, mistakes, life experiences, new music, old music, and seeing other performances.
Who else influenced you early on? Who influences you now?
Dr. Dre, The Beatles, Daft Punk, Satie, 90’s Rock, 90’s Hip Hop, Electro
and now…
Low End Theory (Club), friends, family, Radio (mainstream hip hop), Indie Rock
What was your ‘big break’? What were some of the major milestones in your career?
Not sure what was my big break…but major milestones are my first Album “Drift” , SXSW 2008 OBEY Showcase with Diplo, Flylo, Free the Robots, Shepard Fairey, and Gaslamp Killer, Touring Europe, Seeing my song on a CSI Episode, Seeing my song on a major label release (Kid Cudi).
How did your debut album Drift come together? How did you evolve between Views/Octopus and Drift?
I would say my sound evolved quite a bit. I made Views/Octopus in 2005 and most of Drift in 2008. I had a specific vision/sound in mind when making “Drift”. It was to tell a story.
Describe your live performance set-up: what techniques, equipment or music software do you use?
My set up is pretty simple. I had a Macbook Pro running Ableton Live with a midi controller. With that setup I have control over every part of every song that I made and can mix things up on the fly.
What songs do you currently like to play when you’re performing live?
I like playing the most recent remixes that I’ve done. The xx remix for the song “Islands” and Drake “Forever”.
Who are your current favorite artists and/or DJs to listen to?
Four Tet, Beach house, Kanye West, and Drake.
What are some of your favorite artists and/or DJs you’ve seen live?
Cornelius’ live show is amazing. Daft Punk, Flaming Lips, and The Books.
What has been your favorite experience as a musician?
Being able to travel the world playing my own music is an amazing feeling. I truly feel blessed.
What are your goals in music? Have they changed since you first started?
I’d like to work with more rappers and vocalists. My short term goal is to finish my next record!
What’s next for you?
A couple more remixes and the next full length.
Any advice for up and coming DJs?
Play what you love. Not too many blog house remixes.
Click here to view photos of Nosaj Thing from the Cozza Frenzy tour last November.
