Jason Chance 'Grafting on the Decks' at Jungle Experience

Phanganist catches up with Jason Chance before his headlining slot at Jungle Experience...

Hey Jason, so are you looking forward to coming to Koh Phangan?
Yes I’m totally hyped to be coming back to Phangan for this August 6th Jungle Experience party! Thailand is one of my fave spots in the world, I was here with my girlfriend back in Feb/March on my last Asia tour & it was amazing as always.
I've played for Jungle Experience a couple of times before & their parties are always rocking. They're a great crew to work for too so am looking forward to seeing them all as well as doing the actual gig.

What have you been up to since we saw you last time?
Like I say I was last here back in Feb/March & it feels like I've been travelling a lot since then - so it's just been a case of trying to juggle everything on the move.
This particular Thailand tour has been fairly last-minute but the last-min ones are often the best so I am really excited to be back here for these 4 gigs.

How has 2017 been treating you?
It's been an amazing year so far thanks guys! Work hard, play hard and with lots of travelling going on. I'm at a happy place in my life and I wouldn't change a thing about it. I'd had a tricky time a couple of years ago after losing my Dad but what I've come to learn is that the hardest times usually precede the best times so yeah, 2017 has been great to me so far thanks guys.

What have you been up to in the studio recently?
I've got some cool bits coming up actually; I've literally just signed off my new 'Lost In Music' collab with Jose Nunez to Hotfingers, which I'm very happy about. Jose and I had our first collab (called "Feeling This') signed to Toolroom Records a year or so ago, so it's great to have our follow-up finished & signed away. There's also a wicked track I've got coming out with my buddy Pagano on his own label, KISM Recordings; it's called 'Make Everything Alright' and features Shena (from Full Intention fame) on vocal duty. It's been a long time coming so I can't wait for the release!

Separate to that I've got a new 2-track Tech House EP completed which I'm just pimping out to some labels as we speak. And another new track featuring some Michelle Weeks vocals I've had for a while, I road-tested the track at the March Jungle Experience gig & it went down a storm. Am still tweaking that one but will definitely be trying it out again on this Thailand tour. And lastly, I've also got a remix coming out this month for my mate Mike La Funk on Pacha Recordings. So yeah, there's plenty going on at the moment.

Whats track are you most looking forward to playing at Jungle Experience?
Oooooh there's one which I can't name as am hoping no-one else will drop it before my set at Jungle Experience! I don't know my set time just yet so am keeping that track name quiet for now haha......maybe I'll tell you after I come off the decks!
And I will definitely be road-testing a few of my new bits which is always exciting with an awesome, responsive crowd like the Jungle Experience lot, so am probably looking forward to dropping those more than anything.

How do you want people to feel on the dancefloor?
I want them to feel alive! The aim is always to take them on a bit of a journey and give them the best night we can. They are all out here in Thailand having the time of their lives and many of them would never have been to a Jungle Experience party - so I want to help make sure it's absolutely rocking for them.

We noticed you have released some tracks alongside Luigi Rocca before, is this the first time you guys have played alongside each other?
Yeah Luigi was one of the co-owners of Hotfingers Records with Alex Kenji and Manuel De La Mare and I have worked with Hotfingers for a long time now; they've signed several tracks off me over the years (including my new collab with Jose Nunez I mentioned earlier) & I've always had great support from them. Now I think Luigi & Manuel are concentrating more on their 303lovers label, which has always been really strong. I think Luigi and I played on the same bill once-upon-a-time either at a Pacha London gig or maybe even a Ministry of Sound one in the 103 Room, I can't remember for sure though! But it was years ago either way so it will be great to play the same bill as Luigi at this next Jungle Experience gig. I emailed him last week to say am looking forward to a catch-up there!

What are your main projects for the rest of the year?
I've been travelling lots so haven't spent as much time in the studio as I would have liked recently but I think that will change in the second half of the year. The aim is to get my head down and get some new projects finished off. Hopefully Jose Nunez and I will do another track together later in the year but generally I'll be concentrating on my solo stuff I think.

What would you say to aspiring djs hoping to play around the world?
Just keep grafting, it's the only way. Make sure you genuinely enjoy what you do otherwise there's no point in pursuing it. Good things happen when you love what you do.
And just keep on knocking on those doors. With most of the labels I work with now, it would often take me sending them 4 or 5 demos before I finally nailed the right vibe/sound to get signed. So don't give up, keep at it.

And leave us with your music philosophy....
This kind of ties in with what I said in the previous answer too but make sure you love what you play; there's no point going through the motions playing stuff you don't want to be playing because that will come across in your energy & vibe and it will show in your sets. People want to see you loving what you do. I get excited picking out records to play because I know if I was a clubber on the floor then these are records that would excite me. So above all else, believe in your music!