After witnessing a massive set by Brian “Levitation Jones” at F.A.R.M. Fest and hearing buzz about a similar get down following Camp Bisco we had to talk with the young producer from Rhode Island. We began speaking about Brian’s music and career up to this point, and being the candid guy he is we ended up discussing much more.
When did you start making your own music, and why?
I started teaching myself to write music in 2012 after a couple years worth of festivals and falling in love with the culture. I wanted to become more involved and was asking myself “how do I go to these events I like for free??” Obviously there is much more to it than that, but my desire to be more involved motivated me to release my first music.
You don’t strike me as someone who’s always been into electronic sounds. What was the first album you ever bought?
Definitely not! Really the first music I fell in love with and actively bought myself was probably System of a Down’s “Toxicity”. I always enjoyed trippy, spacey, but still aggressive music like Deftones, Mastodon, Lacuna Coil, Coal Chamber, and KoRn. I think my production reflects that – the deep and dark but so damn hectic.
Can you explain the hashtag “everybody who acts famous is a dick”?
My manager was listening to my unreleased stuff, begging me to put some out, so I did it as a joke, posting the track “I hate all of you.” As far as the hashtag, it was kind of a follow up to this story. I think a lot of artists act as if they aren’t human. Like they don’t live at their parents house, or they don’t work as a bus boy on the side. So I was taking a quick stab suggesting if you don’t take yourself too seriously people will respect you more.
I love the rolling synthesizer at the end of “Drunk Science” (starting at 2:45). Was that your contribution or Orchestrobe’s?
I wrote the bit at 1:15 and Taylor (Orchestrobe) actually replaced it with that synth instead. I was really into that part though, so I actually took his stems and arranged them as a second drop. This was a total experiment for both of us as we slightly stepped out of our comfort range, but I did enjoy the outcome and we’re currently working on another track. If you haven’t gone through some Orchestrobe, definitely check him out.
The 808 trap beat is hot right now. You use it, everybody uses it, it’s on fire. Where do you plan on taking your beats in the future?
808s are a blast and I will always incorporate them into tracks and my sets. But the way to stay ahead is to do something different to always set you apart from the norm. Especially this year with guys like G Jones, Space Jesus and Yheti opening the door kids are freaking out to the most broken stuff you can play. People like myself, Esseks, The Digital Connection, and Clozee are just throwing caution to the wind when writing music now, which helps our creative flow so much. “Make honest music” is my favorite quote, and all of these folks are doing that.
Did you know that sound can levitate objects? If not, watch this video and let me know what you think.
Yeah I invented that. I actually had a lot of people send me this when it popped up on the Internet. I’m fascinated with audio/visual projects like Amon Tobin and Flying Lotus. I’ve met talented visual artists over the years but we’ve never clicked on that next level to where we could start doing something like small room projects for a group of people at a time.
You’ve played some great festivals, what was your favorite setting to play at? Festival? Basement? Hole in the wall?
I can’t say it was my favorite, but the funniest place I’ve ever played was with the ThazDope Records guys at the Washington Theater in New Jersey. It was literally a movie theater. We had a giant movie screen behind us, and half of the small crowd was sitting down in the seats eating popcorn or passed out drunk. We used to throw parties in Providence at my graphic designer’s place (ZFG New England Street Art). Above an abandoned liquor store we would cram tons of people into his apartment and the attic above. I would play up there for literally 10 to 40 people if we were lucky, and we would rage so hard we’d almost go through the floor every time. As far as most professional experience Camp Bisco and FARMFest have been perfect performances for me. The energy of the crowds was insane. I’ve never had people get down that hard. Looking forward to Wild Woods and Creatures of the Night to top that though!
What’s the best music festival you’ve been to as a patron?
Infrasound stole my heart this year. I have been trying to get booked by them for years! Hopefully we’ll see my name on their Equinox lineup later this year! But after learning that once again they weren’t planning on booking me, I decided to suck it up and go from Rhode Island to Wisconsin to a sold out Infra without a ticket. I got in and had the time of my life. Their musical lineup is close to ideal for me.
Do you believe in aliens? Why or why not?
I definitely saw a few on my tour with Soohan, so no.
Big up to Brian and his team for sharing with us. You can catch him at Creatures Of The Night Music & Arts Festival in Adams, Tennessee in October where he’ll be playing a pre-party with Kaminanda and Sixis in addition to his set at the fest itself.
Connect with Levitation Jones:
https://www.facebook.com/LevitationJones
https://soundcloud.com/LevitationJones
Connect with Creatures of the Night:
https://www.facebook.com/Creaturesofthenightfestival
http://creaturesofthenightfestival.com
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