Just A Gent is one of electronic music’s favourite success stories, as the 21-year-old producer continues to wow fans with his stunningly intricate creations. Teaming up with fellow Australian artist Thandi Phoenix for his latest single, Just A Gent delivers another slice of his unique musicality with the energising Space Odyssey.
One of the most favourable aspects of Just A Gent’s music is that it dodges categorisation; just when you think you know what to expect, the producer switches up his game. And he’s certainly gone the extra mile with Space Odyssey. Incorporating elements from all corners of the electronic universe, Space Odyssey paints an attractive picture of a soundscape previously untouched by many an acclaimed musician. As alluring as it is impactful, Space Odyssey is bursting with otherworldly appeal, all the while maintaining a satisfyingly bass-heavy edge.
Having taught himself how to produce music whilst in primary school, Just A Gent has always been ahead of his time. After winning Triple J’s ‘Unearthed’ competition aged just 16, he went on to secure his first national DJ set at Listen Out festival. He’s since released a pivotal EP – Stories To Tell – and a string of singles, all of which have catapulted him in to the limelight he deserves. Keep your eye on the young talent as he prepares to make his mark on 2018 in unique fashion.
About Just A Gent
Few artists deserve the title of “prodigy” more than 20-year-old Just A Gent.
After teaching himself to produce when he was still in primary school, in 2014 – at age 16 – Just A Gent scored a set at national festival Listen Out after winning a triple j Unearthed competition. That kicked off a star-making two years that saw him remix artists like Alison Wonderland, Peking Duk and ZHU, clock up millions of SoundCloud plays on his 2015 single Limelight, get noticed by Skrillex and sell out shows around the country – all before he could legally step foot in a club.
His 2016 Stories To Tell EP Just A Gent wrote, produced, mixed and mastered himself from his bedroom in Maitland. At eight tracks deep, Stories To Tell is no throwaway release – it’s the product of two years of relentless creating and the drive to a make something that would stand the test of time.
Sharing the EP is a milestone moment for producer Jacob Grant. “I’ve wanted to release something this big for a really long time and now it’s finally happening,” Grant says. “I make so much music – I have hundreds of songs sitting on my laptop – so it’s really satisfying to be sharing it with people.”
Two singles from Stories To Tell – the supersized Heavy As A Heartbreak featuring LANKS and fan favourite Loaded – have already done big things, the former hitting the #1 spot on blog aggregator Hype Machine and spending five months on high rotation on triple j.
Jacob’s influences for the EP were “drawn from so many places,” from the music of Odesza and Point Point to sci-fi movie soundtracks and video games. At the core the tracks are electronic, but they aren’t wed to a particular genre, running the gamut from bangers to experimental tracks featuring his own pitched-up vocals and chilled-out headphones music. As he says, it was “meant to be a mix”.
Just A Gent also drew inspiration from the vocalists he worked with on Stories To Tell. Despite already being a star in North America, Grant chose to tap into Australian singers for his EP, from Melbourne’s LANKS to triple j unearthed darling Melissa Ramsay. Just A Gent says it’s about paying it forward to the local scene that he thinks, “Keeps getting bigger and better”. Many of the songs on the EP were sent back and forth between him and the vocalists; a workshopping process that Jacob says helped him see his beats in a new light.
Leading the EP is the emotive new single Rolling Dice, which saw Just A Gent collaborate with vocalists Ella Voss and Joey Chavez. “They sing in a duet almost and they work so well together. It almost sounds like an Angus & Julia Stone type of vibe,” Grant says. “It’s pretty amazing. They killed it on the vocal.”
The Stories To Tell EP is the latest in a year of big moments for Just A Gent. In July 2016 he premiered his first live show in a packed set at Splendour in the Grass.
Stay tuned as Just A Gent releases new music in 2017.
