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Tjaro, a rising talent in electronic music, released his debut EP in summer 2023. The two-track Discreet EP showcased his eclectic style, merging deep house, tech, and melodic techno elements, with the EP’s lead track securing a spin on Pete Tong’s renowned Radio 1 show, signalling Tjaro’s imminent ascent in the electronic scene.
The follow up ‘What We’re Feeling’ was a garage-inflected deep house cut: gorgeously understated, and evoking the early work of producers like Kings of Tomorrow and DJ Fudge. Now, following being named Tunecore’s Artist Of The Month in December, this seemingly boundlessly talented producer has left-turned once again, with the gorgeous, atmospheric melodic techno cut Forever U.
Out now, his new single Forever U combines a relentlessly propulsive bassline with subtly warped and chopped vocals, both fragmented and rhythmic, which add an otherworldly quality to the track. Arresting and hypnotic, it’s a slick club anthem in the making.
We’re super-excited to be speaking today with acclaimed electronic music sensation Tjaro; greetings and salutations, Tjaro! Before we dive into the Q&A mosh-pit, how is the freshly-minted New Year treating you and yours?
That’s very kind of you, thanks a lot for having me! Yeah, it has been good. Feeling very inspired in terms of music and I have my first full DJ gig coming up on Friday 15th March at Loki in Brixton which I’m really looking forward to.
Major congratulations on your latest smash single Forever U! Starting at the top, can you talk about what inspired you to record this beautifully hypnotic track?
I’ve always wanted to try a Giorgio Moroder-inspired synth bass line and flip it into a more modern environment. So, the tune initially started out as a playful 32-bar loop with just the bass and the beats. The vocal was chopped and re-structured from a soulful house acappella and it involved the most amount of processing I have ever applied to a vocal. It came out really nice but it caused my creaky old laptop all sorts of problems, haha.
In your humble opinion, what differentiates Forever U from the competition on the 2024 music scene?
I’ve always tried to strive for authenticity when putting together tracks, and not to be too swayed by what’s going on around me. To me, ‘Forever U’ is another example of that – it loosely references Moroder and Italo elements but I have tried to stay true to myself and have attempted to create something unique.
You’re based out of East London. How do those particular stomping grounds inform both you and the sound of your music?
East London is obviously known for grime which was part of my soundtrack growing up but I tend to get my influences now from a really wide variety of music. I think a lot of the gigs and music I have been lucky enough to be around in recent years have definitely had a major impact on my own music and the way I make it.
In the wake of the release of the new single, can fans look forward to catching you on the touring/performing circuit in the coming weeks and months?
For sure! It is early days for me DJ-ing after focusing heavily on production over the last year but there are various shows in the pipeline following my first show ‘CLOSER’ in a couple of weeks’ time – so keep an eye out for those…
How is Forever U similar to some of your past music such as What We’re Feeling? How is it different?
If there are similarities or differences with all of my tunes, it has just come about from time spent in the studio, trying to get better and developing my own sound. I think that’s the most important aspect when putting together a body of work over a number of years – constantly varying and tweaking your production process, and keeping a really open mind so that there are endless possibilities every time you enter the studio.
Looking ahead into 2024, what do you have waiting in the wings, musically-speaking? Should fans keep an eye out for an EP or LP release from you before the end of the year?
My focus over the next couple of years is really to lay out my sonic world, and to demonstrate to everybody what I’m about stylistically. I feel like I still have a lot to say before committing fully to an album, so putting regular tunes out through singles and EPs is definitely the direction I want to head in for the foreseeable future. My next release following Forever U, Inertia, will be dropping in early April.
Who inspires you musically?
I tend to take my influences from a lot of different places and really feel that you can learn a lot from each individual genre, from recent and older music and also beyond dance music. When listening to a lot of older tracks in particular, there might have been an emotion that was expressed in a really interesting, particular way. That is always very inspiring and constantly assists me in my writing process.
When you’re working on any new music, what does your creative process generally look like? Is there a method to the creative madness?
The majority of my ideas currently stem from me jamming on my Prophet REV2; it’s a fantastic synth and you can achieve some really amazing textures very quickly with it. I try and make the most of the times I am in the studio and often, lifting sections from jammed ideas and “doodles” can lead to some of my best tracks. It’s a great feeling when those ideas start to take shape and take on a life of their own with everything flowing exactly as you want it to.
At the end of the day, what do you hope listeners walk away with after giving many-a-spin to your banger new single Forever U?
I hope listeners will feel that it’s something a little different… and that they’ll be singing that vocal line when they walk into the supermarket! It definitely shows another side to my productions and it will hopefully be a springboard for people to discover more of my music and follow me on my future journey.
Massive thanks to Vents for giving me a platform for my music!
