Jelly For The Babies [Interview]

Jelly For The Babies’ diverse style has made him a favourite amongst a broad range of top tier tastemakers including Hernan Cattaneo, Mark Knight and Eelke Kleijn. When not producing some of the smoothest deep and progressive house around, Marijan Raskovic aka Jelly For The Babies also runs One Of A Kind, RYNTH and The Purr. Now on the cusp of a new collaborative single 'Flying' with Plecta and Eleonora via The Purr, we catch up with the Serbian artist for an exclusive chat to begin the new year. Enjoy!

Hi Marijan, thanks for catching up with us today! How was your holiday?

- Very busy to be honest. A lot of new and quality releases that I prepared for my publishing houses as well as original music that I worked on during the whole year.

Do you have a gig on NYE and if so where is it?

- On December 31st, I am performing in one of the best clubs in this part of Europe, a club from Montenegro, based in Podgorica called BIRO. Probably the most beautiful garden I've ever been in, as well as the best surround sound from the renowned brand Function One. Honestly, I can't wait.

Looking back across 2023 what tracks or gigs stood out for you and why?

- Ugh, very difficult question because there is really a lot of good music, but you should pay attention to artists such as Plecta, kanata.t, Hiyus... As for parties and festivals this year, I have to single out the already mentioned BIRO, the Flows festival on the island Ugljan in Croatia, always beautiful Dubrovnik and club Dubina and Memorial Festival in Kumanovo.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your production work and otherwise, please.

- Well, until recently, my day was balanced in the sense that I get up early, drink coffee, have breakfast, training and then my duties, but considering that I moved to a bigger city a month ago, I am mostly busy with the third shift and then I sleep late, training I'm late...so everything is moved. But I promised myself that I would return to a healthier and better way of life. And what concerns nutrition and sleep and work. This year's work was reduced to successful collaborations with musicians such as Plecta, Eleonora, Gav Easby, Melaniya, but also remixes that I did for Yazz Min and Amir Telem, Pedro Capelossi, INACIO, DSF among others, so it was done this year, but it will be next year. be definitely more active.

You are one of many artists who made a successful transition from progressive house to organic and melodic house & techno, while still producing traditional progressive as well. Do you think it’s important for artists to follow music trends and what is your opinion of the current genre landscape?

- It depends on what you want. It is very difficult to establish that balance between pleasure and business. If you follow industrialization and do only what is popular, and at the beginning you started making music out of love, there are great chances that at some point you will stop liking it.

You have a new single ‘Flying’ to start the year which you worked on with Plecta and Eleonora which is out on your The Purr imprint, tell us about the release and how this collaboration came to be.

- Yes, and I can't wait for that edition to come out. Plecta and Eleonora are my good friends and cooperation with them has been going on for many years, from joint collaborations to releases on my publishing houses. Anyway, this is our first edition in joint collaboration. Plecta is currently "on fire" because almost every release of his is on the Top 100 playlists of renowned portals, while Eleonora doesn't need to be said... Collaborations with the greats, great vocalist and live performer. I am very glad to know them both. This release was completed by masterful remixes by Greenage and BAYA, and the "Flying" EP has already been supported by Eelke Kleijn, Olivier Weiter, Fernando Ferrey and many others.

How would you say ‘Flying’ differs from a track you would have produced in solo capacity?

- As with every song I've worked on, a lot of effort has gone into it so far. Taking into account that this is a collaboration between the three of us, this track is a mix of the highest quality ingredients from the "kitchen" of Plecta, Eleonora and Jelly For The Babies.

Let our readers inside your studio for a moment, what is your current setup and what studio tools are featured heavily in your recent productions and more specifically ‘Flying’?

- I am one of those musicians who have very modest studio equipment. Focal monitors, Focusrite 2i4, Novation Impulse midi keyboard and a great desktop with fantastic performance. For now, I mostly rely on software plugins, but in the near future I will start entering hardware ones as well. I don't think equipment makes a music producer, just like you don't need a laptop to write a book. Ideas come from your head, and to get started you only need the absolutely necessary equipment for work.

You assembled a great selection of remixes on the release as well from Greenage and Baya, why were they a good fit to re-interpret this track?

- Greenage is someone whose career I have been following since the beginning and I think that his work is completely unique and BAYA is the "next big thing" because his magic melodies from the studio are something that I fell in love with at the first listen.
With their remixes, we gain the diversity of this release so that there is something for everyone.

You DJed quite a bit across 2023 in addition to hosting your Deep Impact radioshow, tell us how you approach DJing and more specifically programming a set.

- I try to present myself in the right possible way, to be full of positive energy and transfer that positive energy to people, as well as to create a balance between who I am and what the club is where I came to perform. I believe that mutual sharing of positive energy between people and performers is something that makes a party complete.

Can you tell me a bit about how your work as a DJ has influenced your view of music, your way of listening to tracks, and also, your work as a producer?

- The overall approach to DJing is not at all as simple as most of those who don't do it think it is. For me, it mostly came down to mental preparation, not only the preparation of the music I'm going to play, but also the part where I emotionally share myself with someone. I consider it a somewhat more intimate part of this job. I am standing there in front of a number of people who have expectations from me and I from them. I have to live up to my expectations, and they should return it to me with smiles and dance. I have a conductor's stick, right? Listening to music is the next step. I mostly choose music appropriate to the place, club or festival I'm playing at, and again, as I've already mentioned, I don't want to move away from what makes me ME. It's the same with production. My songs are who I am at that moment.

How much prep do you put into the tracks you choose to play?

- Not much, maybe a few days. But I try to chart and like music that I like, so I put it through my sets for a while.

If you are not DJing, producing or socializing at clubs, where do we find you? And doing what?

- I try to hike, ride a bike and train. I love that off-social world where everything boils down to the sound of the wind through the trees in the forest.

Current Top five tracks in your sets?

1. Luciano Elvira - Dudemile (Kyotto Remix)
2. Nick Muir - All One Word (Trilucid Midnight Extended Mix)
3. Emi CA, Facucio - Mofa (Gaba & Foletto Remix)
4. Aman Anand, Bondarev - Warpp (Original Mix)
5. Hassan Maroofi, David Charpentier - Reminisce (Plecta Remix)

Looking back on your career thus far, what advice would you offer to your younger self?

- Try to be yourself.

If you were not a DJ/Producer what do you think you’d be doing with your life?

- What is a good backup for me today - anything in the IT sector

What TV series have you been enjoying recently and what are some of your all time favourites?

- The Fall Of The House Of Usher, outstanding if you ask me. Fav well GOT.

What can we look forward to from Jelly For The Babies in 2024?

- Lots of new releases!

'Flying' is available now via The Purr: http://tinyurl.com/bp5jv25x