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Today we are shining a spotlight on a great upcoming producer by the name of Jack.Lion. I first came across Jack.Lion a few months ago by way of his remix of friend and collaborators Allwack track Wack. The remix samples the classic group Kriss Kross, two rapping kids in the early 90s who went platinum at 12 and 13 years old respectively. The track builds with anticipation before going into a distorted bass drop that twists and turns over booming bass that never seems to settle. Jack.Lion sound is always evolving reminiscent of kLL sMTH who Jake mentions as a favorite, but unique all it’s own. Jake Leone is the man behind the beats and he blends all things bass music into his sound from killer dnb to chill future tracks, there is something for everyone. His new track Drizzle was just released this week and is a psychedelic journey through a lush landscape of sounds. I linked up with Jake to chat about his musical journey, LionBass sound, inspirations, and new music. We will surely be hearing much more from Jack.Lion so give him a follow here and check out my favorite tracks and interview below!
Where are you from, and how did your musical journey begin? When did you begin producing Electronic music?
Okay, so I am a Florida boy born and raised. Pretty much lived in Southern Florida since I was a year old and I was born in Jacksonville. I began taking up a particular interest in music when I first heard the Tran-Siberian Orchestra Christmas Eve / Sarajevo when I was probably in kindergarten. It’s funny to me now but it feels true that looking back, that song is what started it all. I grew interested in playing guitar and signed up for lessons when I was 8. I never really got into it though until High School. I still thought the guitar was sick so I took it up again (a little more seriously this time) and got swept up with the right people to start learning. I will always be grateful to my parents for their boundless support and for taking me to shows and allowing me to go see some grimy underground punk bands with my friends when I was a teen. From there, I started playing in rock bands and the high school jazz band all the while listening to Circa Survive and Rise Against. I really didn’t take up a particular interest in Electronic music until later in High school when I discovered Flume. I really appreciated electronic music with good composition and melodic structure due to being sort of an ‘elitist’ about theory (and just a music nerd overall) at the time. I didn’t begin making Electronic music until one of my mentors showed me Ableton and Serum the summer going into College. for me. I never realized how much control Electronic musicians needed over the software in order to make it work and grew such a respect for the realm of Electronic music that night. Around that time I had also gone to my first music festival, Bonaroo, and saw my favorite bands. But what I didn’t expect was to be exposed to Griz, Cashmere Cat and the concept of raving at a stage to who knows who is playing until the sun rises. I’d say after that, I was open-minded to production but still saw myself as a guitarist. After I went to EDC and had sort of a rough time, I ironically began identifying with being a producer more and more until I loved doing it.
Your “LionBass” sound is super fresh and unique; listening to your sc, it seems like you really found your projects sound in the last year or so. Can you talk about the progression of your sound and the journey you’ve had to get here? Any tips for others trying to break through and find their sound?
Thanks, homie! Ya, a lot of people have been gassing up my sound design lately which makes me feel more welcome and at home among my fellow bass producers. I guess I just like spicy aesthetics when it comes to bass music but I also feel humbled on a daily basis by the things I hear other producers doing. Last year I felt like I was a babbling baby, goo gah gah-ing my way around sound design and just keeping whatever sounded sick together. I would highly recommend going through a phase like this because you’ll learn more about sound design by experimenting with your own ideas as well as incorporating proven techniques you’ve been taught. This year I’m more like a grammar school student in terms of where I feel I’m at with my sound design. I would also highly encourage people to practice a sample-based workflow for sound design alongside a more traditional synthesizing approach. Using warping and processing can often give you more meta results if you can use your imagination a little when using the devices on Ableton. I try to think of the signal flow a lot and why I’m doing something. Once I tease out pleasing results, I see how far I can push it with the character and loudness without making it too distorted. I like to tease aesthetics between LoFi and Hi-Fidelity production styles. In simpler terms, I like huge awesome sounds but I find it interesting when something with a lot of production value has a sound that’s skewed in a controlled way. The more contrast between detail and emotion present in a sound, the more I like it. I’ve been really inspired by Woulg since Tipper and Friends last year. I’ve been loosening up my flow and honing in on some out of the box ideas. I can attribute a lot of the glitchy and unique sound design stuff I’m doing to him as well as a few other mentors. My advice to anyone who genuinely wants to improve is to listen more often than try to show off unless you’re helping someone else learn (which is also good for you ultimately). Ask yourself why you feel threatened by someone’s technique or why you want to show off so bad. If you can inhibit that then the doorway to learning opens up. If your favorite producers are nice people and not too busy, they will respond warmly to you and be good to you if you are good to them as well. Just try to be a healthy, active member of the scene and I feel like you’ll inevitably climb the ladder.
Living in Florida, has that influenced your sound in any way? I do feel like there is a certain wild exotic swampiness to your beats haha.
I like this question ahaha. If I were to define the “swampy” vibe it would be specifically in regard to the sounds. Things like animal noises, aquatic granulated textures, loose shuffle beats, and mysterious plucky melodies… It all sounds swampy to my ears because it evokes an image of being surrounded by a swamp. I live in a gated community so that influence probably just comes from the overall humidity from Florida driving me insane enough to make bass music in my room All jokes aside though, I really got into bass music as I know it by going to smaller fests in the southeast region including Georgia and north FL (Suwanee). I suppose hearing the likes of Toadface, Bogtrotter, and Tipper while surrounded by a swamp does tend to influence my sounds and the overall culture. My more logical answer would be, keeping in mind how I defined the sound above, I never wanted to go for a straight-up swampy sound. Since my music is branded by the Lion, I often find myself gravitating towards sounds that evoke African wildlife as well as tribal rhythms. In Afro cultures, they don’t concern themselves with so many rules like Eurocentric art and they, therefore, open themselves up to an untapped sea of creative potential. Although I could never just drop traditional theory (as I tried once) I do try to embrace a more Afrocentric approach to beat-making in which I make it an experience of spiritual expression. Instead of hating my music for not being like my heroes, I embrace it for what is good about it and fix what I don’t like. The wise words of my Elementary art teacher always echo in my head: “Fix it or forget it, just don’t leave blank space”. So to answer the question more specifically, I would say Florida has had a huge impact on my beats since I embrace being a part of that culture, but I deliberately am always trying to broaden my worldview of music so I don’t stagnate. I actually have been learning and drawing more influence from foreign producers I’ve gotten into contact with. It’s so cool seeing how everyone else works and understanding how there are so many different approaches and styles.
Many of your tracks have an unpredictable structure to them and the listeners never know what’s coming next which I love. What’s your process like? Any tips for beginners wanting to sit down and learn a DAW?
Ya that’s my biggest strength and my biggest weakness as well as the most common pieces of feedback that I get. It’s cool because you either love it or hate it which is totally fine at the end of the day. Its not necessarily for everyone and I wouldn’t call it easy listening for sure. That said, I believe it’s mainly a product of several factors. One is just being exposed to such a sheer amount of creative electronic music. Second, being that Ableton just gives you complete freedom to try whatever idea you want to which my active imagination exploits with joy. Last being just part of that phase of learning. Lately, I’ve been cutting back more on some tracks as well as just going all out on others. I feel like people can get the best of both worlds with everything I have coming up. There’s a little something for everybody. Something I’ve learned is the more hours you actively spend working on a track, the more you begin to align all the chaos in a controlled way. I’ve been a lot more patient with my beats and more active so the time I’ve been putting in has proven to me that it’s never a good idea to just say you’re done on a track until you’ve put at least 10-20 hours into it. I still struggle to tame the chaos sometimes but that’s how I like to work most the time so it benefits me to struggle to get better so that the next track is even crazier yet somehow makes more sense. I don’t aim to confuse the listener, I just ask that they pay attention to how they feel and not worry about the details as much as they are only meant to help tell the big picture of what’s happening. I used to get crushed when people would give me feedback because people’s immediate reactions were not to dance to my tracks. But I feel like we are maturing as a musical culture to a point where some people just like to be mesmerized by crazy sounds more than dance. Although I do try to make it so that you can have a lot of fun dancing if you’re down to try ahaha. In any case, find the right person to give feedback to your specific sound as to help bring out what makes it special rather than force it to conform to a model.
What inspires you, how do you stay inspired? Do you have any tips for other musicians struggling to feel inspired during this lockdown?
A huge part of what motivates me is the people I surround myself with. Growing up, you get better at sorting out who is worth your time and who just wants to waste it. Although it’s hard sometimes, letting go of toxic people and deliberately surrounding myself with other producers probably makes me 50% more productive. I have taken 3 or 4 break days this whole quarantine because I just keep seeing my close friends producing who are new to the game and as hungry as I was. It makes me feel like I don’t have to go at it alone and it also creates healthy rivalries which light a fire like nothing else. If you don’t have producer friends, try streaming on Twitch. Twitch has been a blessing for keeping me motivated, inspired, and informed. You can watch your favorite producers’ techniques and ask questions as well as stream yourself and get live feedback or even a collaboration opportunity if you’re lucky. I want to emphasize that it’s important not to treat music like a competition because you’ll always lose to someone who’s better or just has a sound you envy. These things will cloud your judgment and are best left at the door, at least while creating. Instead, be more compassionate and collaborative. It’s true that some people will not be worth your time, but that’s just another skill to hack. Figure out who the friendlies are and just be good to them. You’d be surprised how giving someone a little love when they have nothing to give back could come back to you in a bigger way. Just know your worth and don’t let people bully you who are on the competitive edge. The online bass community is more active than ever so if you’re looking for inspiration, try reaching out to another artist.
What producers are pushing the boundaries at the moment/inspire you the most?
I have to say off the top of my head that Littlesnake has some of the craziest bass music I’ve ever heard and deserves some listening time for anyone who likes experimental music in general. I’ve also been getting directly inspired by Woulg who is a really intelligent and kind dude worthy of attention as well. He’s been making some really out there bass music and has directly contributed to my sound this year consistently. Stasys is a German producer who is younger than me and he makes some of the freshest psychedelic IDM I know of. Definitely a huge influence on my melodic/neuro bass sound so check him out for sure. I also want to point towards l33t & newsensei. He and l33t are on another planet and make some of the coolest swampy dub out there. Anyone off Night Owl Collective is great. I also really like kLL sMTH haha
Any fellow upcoming producers we should look out for?
optiK sound is a longtime homie since the 3rd grade, BLLY is another friend and collaborator who brings funky fresh good vibes and badass beats check. Stank. is another homie, collaborator and partner in the showbiz. Without him, I wouldn’t be throwing my own events anymore. Allwack – a kindred soul whose intellect and kindness have bolstered my progress. Dendroid – another collaborator who makes downtempo music. Alpha Transmission – collaborator who recently rebranded from another project. Also a few other homies off the top of my head Jonteal, Dende, DeathMomenT who are all pushing dope sounds.
Whats next for Jack.Lion? Any upcoming releases you’re excited about?
I’m really looking forward to this EP I have coming with optiK sound. We’ve had a long journey as friends and have converged together on bass music this past year. Although he is new, he brings a fresh perspective to the jam and is very task-oriented which makes the man a machine to work with which I dig. I don’t like to waste too much time but we keep it casual and fun as well so its straight good vibes with him. If anyone else wants to collab, I’m certainly open to it, I’m just a little picky so maybe hit me up and let’s chat for a bit. If we hit it off, I know we’ll be bound to collaborate at some point.
