Juheun [Interview]

Following slew of impressive career releases on the likes of Octopus Recordings and Set About over the past few years, iconic American-Korean techno producer Juheun now announces his long awaited debut on Simina Grigoriu's Kuukou Records, with the unveiling of his remarkable new extended player, Instant Communication.

Landing on the esteemed German imprint for his first full-length EP of 2022, the exquisite three-part package represents an incredible showcase in dark, driving techno from the in-form producer and comes complete with two diverse remixes from I AM BAM and Melody's Enemy. We sat down with Juheun to find out more...

Hello Steven, and a very warm welcome to Progressive Astronaut. How are you today?

I'm good! Super excited to be here, thanks for inviting me on.

Where are you answering this interview from?

I'm sitting on my patio in Phoenix Arizona and enjoying this amazing in 85 degree weather right now.

How have the last couple of years been for you, given everything that's been going on in the world?

Oh what a crazy couple years it has been indeed lol. It's been a very chaotic time with all the lockdowns and mandates, but seems things are finally turning the corner. At the start of this whole mess I ended up taking things online and spent time streaming on Twitch when things were first locking down. I had the chance to play some Insomniac TV streams and guest streams with the label (Octopus Recordings) and Sian. We did the whole remote thing with some location streams in the Hollywood Hills and I even went as far as setting up a complete streaming studio in my house at one point lol. It was literally a broadcasting setup in the dining room. I remember at one point we had 6 camera angles with gimbals and studio lights and the whole nine. When we weren't streaming, my time was spent in the studio working on music with the occasional gig here and there during the brief moments of freedom between variants.

Do you feel like life is finally beginning to return to normal?

If you would have asked me last month I would have said yes. Just as things were starting to look like we were turning the corner, all this craziness breaks out on the other side of the planet. I hope that resolutions will be coming soon and we can move on as a planet to do great things.

You have a new release out on Simina Grigoriu's Kuukou label. Can you tell us more about that please?

I've got my first release of the year on her label, it's titled "Instant Communication". It's a three track EP with the original mix and a banging remix from my guy Melody's Enemy plus a warehouse smasher from my other homie IAMBAM. The original was actually a sample I recorded off an old TV series based around Police Detectives called "Drag Net". I heard the sample "Push a few buttons and instant communication" one night while watching TV. I think the original reference was to some communication device like a walkie talky or something the police used in that episode, but I took more of an 'interstellar radio to let astronauts or space travellers communicate' in my version lol.

Talk to us about the music scene in Phoenix, Arizona. Any new talent we should be keeping our eyes on?

The scene out here has been making some serious waves for the past few years leading up to the pandemic, and most recently with things opening back up, we're seeing a big hype around it again. People are hungry to get out and party, and the dance music scene is no exception. Don't get me wrong, Arizona has been low key thriving for years when it comes to electronic music, but I'm seeing and feeling a different energy after all this lockdown and craziness that's been going on. The underground scene especially is starting to see more support as people are maturing and their ears and sound is evolving for something with more substance. The festival scene has been going strong for years, and that only means more and more people are getting exposed to it.

I'd say when it comes to Techno and underground, you're gonna want to keep an eye on Michelle Sparks. She's been releasing on Octopus as well, and has been a mainstay in the Arizona techno scene since the early days. She's been honing her craft for years now and I think she's really starting to make waves in the scene both here in the States and internationally. Her style of minimal techno with an edgy driving baseline is something you need to hear if you haven't already.

What else do you have coming up over the next few months? Any more exciting releases or projects you can share with us?

I've got a bunch of new music that I recently finished and polished up during the whole lockdown period and I'm itching to finally give them some proper road testing. Some of my best work has been coming out of the studio this past year and I can't wait for everyone to hear it.

Anything you'd like to add before we wrap this up?

Yes, please be kind to everyone and don't forget to call your mom!

Thanks so much for your time!

Thanks!

Juheun - Instant Communication is out now via Kuukou Records