Heard It Here First

Jauz is a name most EDM fans are very familiar with. Behind the monstrous production moniker is Sam Vogel, an artist whose motto has always been setting no boundaries for his music. Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing Jauz and chatting with him about his new album and so much more!

The iconic artist has headlined festivals like Life Is Beautiful Las Vegas, EDC Japan, Tomorrowland, HARD Summer, and Ultra Music Festival, where he just went b2b with HIHF favorite and one of the biggest names in dubstep, SVDDEN DEATH, this past March. Over the course of his illustrious career, Jauz has cranked out masterpieces in all sorts of genres, bass house, heavy dubstep, chill-trap, future garage, and so, so many more.

Collaborations with acts like Marshmello, Zeds Dead, Skrillex, DJ Snake, and tons of other EDM staples have led this talented creator to become a name who is always associated with pushing boundaries of artistry, within his productions as well as his high-octane live performances.

Now, the electronic music production maestro is bringing fans his newest work, his highly-anticipated eight-track Rise Of The Wise album. The project is out now through Jauz’s own label, Bite This!, which has housed releases from tons of exciting artists and HIHF faves, including tracks from some of our guest mix alumni like Evalution, Allen Mock, Guilt Chip, and more.

For Rise Of The Wise, Jauz is bringing his crispy, distinct production stylings to the forefront of the album. It’s tough to listen to this project and not just stop to appreciate this producer’s mastery of his craft. Going down a more progressive house-led route for the album, it’s another testament to Jauz shining in whatever sub-genre he chooses to concoct. Tracks like “U Feel,”  “Crazy (3AM Sound),” and “What I Wanted” carry late-night downtown Miami vibes while other efforts like “Just Hold On,” “Who U Are” and “Fall Into Me”  seem like the perfect soundtrack to your next pool party or beach club outing.

As a whole, Rise Of The Wise is the kind of full-length project that you just want to keep on repeat all summer long, jam-packed with euphoric anthems, and maybe even the one that finally convinces you to start learning how to shuffle. Many of these tracks are sure to get some solid festival play as well, as the season continues on throughout 2023.

We had the opportunity to chat with Jauz for an interview about the new album, entering fatherhood, his long and impressive career, his influences, and what’s next for this shining star in the EDM world. We can’t wait for what’s to come for Jauz, learn more about him down below in our exclusive HIHF interview and be sure to show him love on socials! Also, let us know what you thought of Rise Of The Wise in the comments!

HIHF: Tell us about the “Rise of the Wise”? What was the process like of making this album? How did it differ from your process for “The Wise and The Wicked”?

Jauz: TWATW was such an undertaking – 27 (if I remember correctly) songs, all trying to get finished creatively, then tonally, then figuring out where they all fit in this universe I was trying to create. This time around, I wanted to get more micro and really focus on giving the world of “The Wise” as much attention as I had to the entire album prior. I think it shows in the records on the album – putting so much time and thought into just what “The Wise” was to me helped me realize that it was the perfect outlet for the more techy and melodic sounds I’ve been making and playing for years now but without a proper home for them. I think all the songs live together really well, and paint a really solid picture of what I envision for the world of The Wise and what I have planned for it for the future.  

HIHF: How does your thought process in the studio differ when making heavier bass house tracks versus smoother progressive house tracks? Is there more of a story you are trying to tell within your work with one of those sub-genres over the other?

Jauz: This question is basically how the original TWATW album came together in the first place. Since day one, I’ve always been a scatterbrained, dichotomic kind of producer. For a week I’ll make nothing but heavy bangers, and then in the blink of an eye, I’ll want to do nothing but make groovy techy house records. After that, maybe something totally out of left field. But allowing myself to explore all these different avenues instead of trying to force myself to follow one specific sound has been how I’ve tried to avoid “burning out”. For me personally, there are only so many times you can make the same kind of song in a row before you find yourself stuck in a “loop”, making the same song over and over again. My goal has always been to avoid this by any means necessary.  

HIHF: Who are some of your progressive house influences?

Jauz: I’m not sure if I would even really call my influences or the music I put out on the Wise album for that matter progressive house necessarily. That said, I think a lot of my inspiration comes from artists like Rufus Du Sol, Ben Boehmer, Patrick Topping, George Fitzgerald, and ANOTR, just to name a few.  

HIHF: Earlier this year, you released your track “SOS” with Zeds Dead, featuring beautiful vocals from Nicole Millar, a favorite of our team’s over at HIHF. How did that track come together? How does it feel when you work together with Zeds Dead in the studio after so many successful past collaborations? Is there a certain production flow that comes from working with someone for the third or fourth time?

Jauz: With Zack and Dylan, it’s really more than just working on tunes together multiple times. We’ve known each other for so long at this point, played so many shows together, became close personal friends, and just spent so much time together that getting the studio now feels almost as natural as when I work by myself. This track came together so quickly, even though it kind of took us forever and a half to finally release it. I’ve always been huge fans of Zeds Dead, way back to when I first got into electronic music, so friends or not it always feels extra special to get to make a record with those two. 

HIHF: Tell us about some of the festivals you’ve played recently. How was Bonnaroo?

Jauz: I’ve been kind of taking a “light break” this year, adjusting to being a full-time dad now and being in album-writing mode, so I really haven’t played as many festivals as I usually do this year. That means that when I do go out somewhere like Bonnaroo, it feels extra special. On top of that, I’ve never properly played one of the main Roo stages until this year, and it’s been on my bucket list forever. I will say I was kind of bummed when I realized that it lined up to be the exact same day as what would have been my first ever Father’s Day, but that show was absolutely 10/10 mind-blowingly good. I had a lot of expectations going into it, which normally means it can’t ever really live up to the hype I put on it, but they exceeded them with flying colors. Seriously such a breath of fresh air, one of those sets that really reminds you why you do what you do for a living.  

HIHF: What about Ultra Miami? Tell us about your history with that festival playing solo vs your b2b with SVDDEN DEATH this past year.

Jauz: I honestly don’t even really know how many times I’ve played Ultra at this point, but it feels like a lot. There’s not really much else like it. I feel like I’ve had a lot of pivotal moments there – one of my favorites is that it’s the first place I ever played Rock The Party, just kind of randomly threw it into my set, and that was the catalyst that started turning it into the record that it eventually became. Playing B2B the last two years, first with NGHTMRE and then with SVDDEN DEATH has been really cool because it’s given me the opportunity to play a lot of records I probably never would with the limited time you get in an Ultra set. It’s pretty hard to keep up with Danny (SD) because every song he plays is just the heaviest shit you’ve ever heard, like 1000 times heavier than anything I have on my USB, but we worked a lot together to make the set feel really unique for both of us. We also played 4-5 records we made together for the first time in that set. So now that I’ve played a ton of “real” Jauz sets at Ultra, a few extra-heavy B2B’s, my next goal is to play a set on the Resistance stage as Jauz Presents: The Wise. Ever since I first started writing the kind of music that came out on this album, that is one of the landmarks I’ve been striving for. It might be a stretch but you never know!

HIHF: What is the one most memorable venue or festival you’ve played in your extremely tenured career?

Jauz: This is always the hardest question to answer. How can I pick just one? It’s really hard not to say either the first time I headlined at Bill Graham in San Francisco, or playing Sahara stage at Coachella. I grew up in the SF Bay Area, so Bill Graham was always sort of a pipe dream as a bedroom producer, and Coachella was something that seemed so far off from being possible I never even considered it. It’s been years since I did either of those things (for the first time), and even now I still don’t really understand how I got to do that. I guess that’s what they call imposter syndrome, right? Haha!  

HIHF: You just welcomed a newborn into your life, how amazing has that been? What can you tell us about your time as a father?

Jauz: It’s the best thing ever. I know that sounds cliché, but it’s just the truth. There’s nothing like it. Getting to wake up and hang out with this little thing that changes, grows, learns, and turns more and more into a person every day is just the craziest thing you could ever get to witness. She’s 8 months old now, and she’s just smiles and sunshine all day long. Half of me can’t wait until she’s old enough to come to work with Dad and dance on the side of a stage, and the other half hopes that she stays this age forever because we won’t ever have these moments we’re experiencing together again. 

HIHF: Has that process taught you anything you can use in your career moving forward?

Jauz: I think it’s helped me really dial in my time management, and to put it bluntly, stop fucking around. Every minute I’m in the studio, not helping my wife take care of the baby, missing time I could be spending with her, I better be doing something useful. It’s also helped me with my decision-making a ton, because, again, to be blunt, I give a lot less of a shit about just about everything now. Things that may have seemed important or a tough decision a year ago are incredibly simple now. It’s just one question – does it make sense to me? Yes? Great. No? Easy enough. 

HIHF: Rumor is you have more upcoming projects in the works – can you tell us anything about that?

Jauz: I’ll let you and the fans do the math on this one – I’ve seen plenty of kids on socials that have already figured out what’s coming next. Either way you’ll be finding out sooner than later!

HIHF: Are there any other exciting upcoming collaborative tracks on there you can tell us about?

Jauz: Unlike the first TWATW, I wanted to put an emphasis on putting out Jauz records. I didn’t really intentionally not do any collabs on this album, but I’ve written so much music on my own lately that it kind of just happened organically. I’ve put out so many collabs in the past, which is great, and one of my favorite parts of making music, but I think especially for something as personal as the world of TWATW, I’ve started trying to lean on myself and trust myself more. 

HIHF: What’s next for the Jauz project? Are you entering a ‘progressive house’ chapter? Or just experimenting with different styles as always?

Jauz: Am I entering a new era of the Jauz project centered around “The Wise”? Absolutely. But I’m also not any less focused on the other aspects of what makes me Jauz either. This album was a way to create a separate world for the kind of music I think would be hard to fit organically into a “typical” Jauz set, and even more than that, needs its own space to thrive in. 

HIHF: What do you want fans to know about “Rise of the Wise”?

Jauz: I think if you listen to the records, you know just about everything you need to know about the album. What I want to make clear to fans who think I’m going to completely abandon all of my old music and only be a “house music guy” now, I promise you, there’s more for you on the horizon very soon. But until then, why not be open to a new experience? That’s what Jauz has always been about to me.

Big shoutout to Jauz for chatting with us for this HIHF interview! Be sure to show him love on socials and check out his brand new Rise Of The Wise album up above!

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