Interview: RJD2 Plans to Create a Night to Remember at Brighton Music Hall
The moniker of Ramble Jon Krohn, RJD2 has been one of the most inventive artists in the world of electronica and instrumental hip hop since his debut album Deadringer made an impact on the musical landscape back in 2002. Over that period of time, Krohn has released six more studio albums while diving into an abundance of collaborations. The latter has seen him work with a wide array of artists ranging from Son Little to Blueprint to Aceyalone to Homeboy Sandman among others. He’s done a ton of remixes as well, and there’s a chance that he’s going to include a few of them as part of his performance at Brighton Music Hall on 158 Brighton Avenue in the Allston neighborhood of Boston tonight (March 7). Local music makers Hassan Barclay and DJ Carbo will be kicking off the show at 8pm.
We had a talk ahead of this evening’s festivities about how he started out in music, running his own record label and his plans for the near future.
You first started to make your own music back in 1993 when you were 17, so was that when you started delving into instrumental hip-hop and electronica? What were you first getting into stylistically as a musician?
I’ve always had a fairly “kitchen sink like” set of interests, as it relates to music. I played in several different types of bands before getting involved in jazz, rock, funk and hip-hop. I think in some ways hip-hop felt the most right to me once I started being involved on the creative side, partially because it felt the most inclusive of most of my musical interests. De La Soul, Tribe, Gang Starr, etc. was what I would say I was into when I got serious about hip-hop.
Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, was there a scene out there when you were in your teens and 20s where you could hone your skills? What was it like for you as a musician during your formative years in that city?
Yea, there was definitely a little underground scene happening then. It was pretty great, in hindsight. A good amount of talent, and a particular cultural environment that was both competitive and supportive that I haven’t really seen re-emerge since then. I feel pretty lucky to have experienced that time and place in both local culture, as well as nationally. There were many analogous scenes in mid-size cities around the country at the time. I see it more as a period in time, than a period in a region, if that makes sense.
Yeah, it does. Since your fourth studio album The Colossus that came out in 2010, you’ve released all your music via your own record label RJ’s Electrical Connections. What would you say are the pros with running your own label that folks might not immediately recognize and what are the cons folks might not immediately recognize?
The biggest pro is that it streamlined my process of releasing music and removed any kind of filter. Most of the time, that filter would be less creative and more related to timeline and releasing music with frequency. I’ve been able to release both the quantity of music, as well as the styles of music I want to. The big con I see is that the albums themselves probably have a smaller reach than if I were to be signed to a label. In some ways it’s probably a fairly direct tradeoff.
I think this tradeoff probably works in favor of the folks who have been sticking with me over years while having less of a “payoff” with more casual listeners.
For folks who haven’t seen you perform live before, but they’re thinking of coming to see you at Brighton Music Hall, what can they expect when they attend?
Four turntables, one MPC, a bunch of recreations of songs using those tools, new music, stuff they know, and hopefully a night to remember!
After the show, what are your plans for the coming months? Can we expect a new album, or do you have any collaborations planned?
I’ll definitely have some announcements coming soon on that front, I’ll leave it at that!
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