Kit Jones. A name you will hear a lot about in the future.

One year after the creation of his solo drum & bass project, the 20-year-old youngster follows up with his mesmerizing debut EP “Isolus” on Surveillance Music (we had an in-depth talk with Vowel, one of the three label-boss, regarding their new imprint. You can read it here). We caught up with the Bristol-based producer to ask him a few questions. From the launch of his solo career to the formation of his side project Circumference with Freshney to his upcoming collaborations with Grafix, Kit Jones has definitely a lot of interesting insights to talk about.

– It’s been a year since your first track as Kit Jones and the birth of Circumference with Freshney, why was now the right time to release your first EP?

It breaks down to how comfortable I was with my own music. I’ve been producing for around three years, up until this point I felt that my solo material hasn’t been adequate. Only now do I feel that I sort of have it down from a technical standpoint but my songwriting has improved to a point where it now appeals to me musically.

– How would you define your style as Kit Jones? Would you differentiate it from what you are doing with Circumference?

I guess the styles are quite similar in terms of experimentation. I like to think of Circumference as mine and Freshney’s love child, there’s a clear blend of both of our sounds yet our sounds are ever-evolving so Circumference will just be a product of whatever vibe we’re both feeling.

– As a 2000’s drum and bass producer and a young artist, how are you approaching music production?

It’s difficult to define. I don’t really have a specific process when it comes to creating ideas. I believe a lot of inspiration comes from outside of drum & bass as in my mind, it’s vital to take a different approach and not sound too cliche. For example, Valeyard was a happy accident, I was going through a creative block at the time experimenting with producing house music, then decided to just increase the tempo and was quite satisfied with the result.

– Let’s do a bit of time-traveling. How did you discover drum & bass and what were the tracks and artists that influenced you the most?

It was during 2017 when I really discovered it, after DJing for a few years I wanted to take it a step further so I applied for a Music Technology course at Exeter College. I didn’t have a clue how to produce at first, everything seemed so alien. Originally, I tried my hand at producing bassline/garage as I was a huge fan of that music back then. After meeting Finlay (Freshney) at Exeter, he guided me towards drum & bass which allowed me to discover artists such as IMANU (fka Signal), Synergy, Noisia, Mefjus, Phace, Culprate and the list goes on. What intrigued me most about these artists was the technicality and sonic quality of their music, I found it fascinating.

– Let’s talk about your upcoming EP on Surveillance Music. Why did you choose this label to release your first solo EP?

I remember after releasing my first track as a free download via Soundcloud, Joao (Jon Tho) approached Freshney enquiring about me. A few days later, he got in touch with me and we started planning a release! I was excited to finally get my solo project properly started.

– With four strong yet varied tracks on the ‘Isolus’ EP, which one is your favorite and why?

My favorite would either be ‘Valeyard’ or ‘Counting’. It’s hard to choose between the two as I love the aggressiveness of ‘Counting’ but also love the overall vibe of ‘Valeyard’.

– Something quite funny is that your friend Freshney released exactly one year ago on Surveillance Music, could you tell us a bit more about your relationship with him?

I first met Finlay in college around 2017 and we got on quite well, as I mentioned before he guided me towards drum & bass, he was much more experienced than I was and basically started tutoring me throughout our time at college. Fast forward to around 2018 where Finlay mentioned the idea of starting a collaboration, we released our debut tune on our friend’s label ‘The SkankBank’. It’s called ‘Glass Lid’ and it’s still available to listen to and download for free!

– As Kit Jones or Circumference, are you planning to work with other labels or artists?

There’s a lot going on right now with Circumference, one thing I can say is we’re pleased to announce Circumference’s first EP with Flexout! It will be titled ‘Ambivalence’ and you can expect to hear it around the end of March. Circumference has also been working closely with Grafix, our edit of one of his tunes ‘Stutter’ emerged recently as well as a couple of secret collaborations with him. For my solo project, I’ve had some interest from other labels but can’t reveal anything just yet! 2021 is definitely going to be a big year!

– What are your thoughts on the current COVID situation? Does it have a direct impact on the way you’re producing or living?

In a way, it’s pushed me to produce more often, especially since I’m living with Freshney, we can easily work on projects together which is great due to the amount of unfinished music we have collectively. It’s really unfortunate not to be able to play out or hear our music on big sound systems, we haven’t properly performed together other than a couple of small venues around Bristol. Hopefully, in the next year, we’ll have a chance.

– Before ending this interview, do you have any secrets to tell us?

Grafix steals our drums.

Huge thanks to Kit for taking the time to answer our questions, “Isolus” will be out on the 19th of February and you can grab it here. 

If you’d like to read more content from Studio Drum & Bass, you can check our last article which deep-dives into the topic of creativity and innovation in drum & bass.