If there’s one thing One Stop Record Shop loves more than great music, it has to be sitting down for an e-beer with those involved in the making of it. Today we bring you an exclusive interview with Ben Hawthorne and Jack Moore, the duo behind the indie soul-rock machine Juke Jaxon. Formed in the summer of 2014, these relative newcomers effortlessly blend smooth pop hooks, with gritty, rock tinged vocals. It’s a glorious combination, one that has set these boys up for big things in 2016. We sat down over an e-beer to talk new singles, future collabs and dream touring plans.
Hey guys, thanks for taking the time out to speak with us today. How are you both?
We are good, cheers. It’s been pretty full on recently with choosing the single & ensuring the music video is on point. So yeah, a lot of late nights and early morning discussions!
The One Stop Record Shop office loves your new single “Memory Man”, could you explain the inspirations behind the track?
“Memory Man” came about whilst in the middle of a studio session – recording another song! Ben started jamming with the Electro Harmonix Memory Man pedal & we really liked what it bought to our sound. It sparked the initial idea behind the title of the track. Lyrically, Jack put a personal twist on it, representing how his brother had planted the musical seed from a young age. It’s this influence that has shaped the style of music he creates with Ben as Juke Jaxon.
We’ve heard that the two of you actually met on the London Underground, how did you go on to form the group?
Yeah, Ben was traveling back from Denmark Street with his Guitar, and Jack, from a writing session, and we started chatting about what we do. It turned out we had mutual interests & we thought having a jam sometime might be good fun. We exchanged numbers, and starting writing together a few weeks later!
The London Underground works in truly mysterious ways! Growing up, were there any musicians you feel particularly shaped your musical sound into the Juke Jackson creation we hear today?
Growing up, Jack was vocally influenced by artists like Isaac Hayes & more recently James Blake & Jamie Woon. Ben grew up listening to bands, like the Gorillaz, Futureheads, & The Strokes. And between us, we mutually share a love for bands like The Beatles and The Kinks.
You’ve got a fair old mix of influences there. We know it’s a dreaded question, but for anyone who hasn’t caught onto the sounds of Juke Jaxon yet, are there any musicians you would compare yourselves to?
We honestly feel like we have something quite fresh sound wise, with our combination of production and vocal style. We don’t like to compare / label our sound, so we let people make their own judgement.
So what are Juke Jaxon hoping to achieve in 2016?
Well for us, 2015 was about nailing our sound and making sure our songs stand strong lyrically. With a collection of songs we truly believe in, we are hoping to have an album written by the end of 2016. We’re also hoping to have played some big festivals – if not, next year for sure!
Thanks for chatting with us over here at One Stop Record Shop. There’s just one last question: if you could tour with any musician in the world, who would it be and why?
Kanye West. Apparently he is amazing live 😉
Like the sound of Juke Jaxon? You can check out more here.
