Jaymie Silk doesn’t make straight up-and-down techno or house music. The Paris artist draws from a range of influences informed by his Afro-European heritage and his teenage years in rap, firstly as an MC but then as a beat-maker—before he moved to Montreal, Canada in 2013. While there, he became tired by the lack of flexibility in rap music. “I couldn’t find anymore the artistic, cultural, and social value that I loved in this music,” he told XLR8R.

Which is when he discovered ballroom culture and began DJing and releasing his first tracks, mixing multiple influences from house music to African rhythms, jersey club, and vogue ball anthems. In 2016, he released Trouble In Paradise, and he put out his latest album, The Rise & Fall Of Jaymie Silk & Rave Culture, on Shall Not Fade last year.

From his home in Paris, Silk has prepared an XLR8R podcast to coincide with his latest release, Free the Nip, an EP of five high-energy tracks on Sous Music. Like that EP, it’s defined by speedy, energetic percussion and layer upon layer of boisterous beats. It runs at just over an hour, and is focused on the essentials of Silk’s music: groove, soul, and energy. You’ll hear some of Silk’s latest tracks but also a wild remix of Beastie Boys.

01. What have you been up to recently?
I’ve been making a lot of music lately. As my motto is “Let’s bring back the groove in house and techno music,” I’m just making tracks and tracks. Blending percussive rhythms, elements of soul music. DANCEFLOOR ONLY! I produced a track called “Limitless” for Cerena, an artist from Toronto and Free The Nip is my new EP on Sous Music.

02. What have you been listening to?
As I need the energy of the dancefloor to produce my tracks and it’s not doable to go to see great artists everyday, I’m listening to a lot of DJ sets online, a lot of classic house and techno sets and more recent ones. After years of love and hate with Soundcloud, I’ve started to use it again and I’ve started digging through a lot of unknown artists making incredible music. I don’t listen to specific things; I’m just looking for groove and I enjoy the surprise of the discovery.

03. What is it that appeals to you about electronic music?
As an artist, it’s definitely the flexibility, the possibility of having access to a wide range of sounds, aesthetics. The possibilities are limitless. It’s not a genre to me. It’s more like a house with different family members in it and everyone participates in what we call electronic music. Especially nowadays; everything is electronic music when you think about it, whether it is rap or pop music.

04. Where and when did you record this mix?
This mix was recorded in August during a hot Sunday in my Paris apartment.

What setup did you use?
As I’m waiting to upgrade my setup to use some Pioneer XDJs, this one was made with my Traktor Kontrol S2 controller.

06. How did you choose the tracks that you’ve included?
It’s all about energy. I just listen to a few seconds of a track, put it in a folder and then I freestyle with it. If I don’t feel that I’m in the zone and I’m having fun while mixing, it means that’s not good. I need to feel the groove and the energy first to share it. Simple as that!

07. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
Recording a mix is always a special exercise but I always picture my mixes as something you’ll be able to listen to during your gym sessions, while you’re riding the subway or in your car. While playing live I can match the crowd energy.

08. What’s next on your horizon?
I’m gonna bring more happiness into the world by sharing more love and soul with music. Expect new music each month: a self-released EP in September, a big single on a dope UK label in October, new music in November and December with a remix by a legend of house and techno music.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Duty Paid “Black Tracksuit” (Self-Released)
02. Unknown “Just Be Good to Me” (Unknown)
03. Jaymie Silk “Keep Moving” (Sous Music)
04. Floorplan “Baby, Baby” (M-Plant)
05. Dj Tracksuit “In Vogue (Self-Released)
06. Beau Didier “Like That” (Mutual Rytm)
07. Jaymie Silk “Ghetto Carnival” (Self-Released)
08. Beastie Boys “Intergalactic” (Ang Remix)(Self-Released)
09. Dj Physical “Get Busy” (Molekül)
10. Chris Flannigan “Drive” (Eternal Damnation)
11. Jaymie Silk “Concentrate” (Sous Music)
12. Cajmere “Brighter Days” feat Dajae (Geo Baile Remix) (Self-Released)
13. Jaymie Silk “Brotherhood” (Sous Music)
14. Kerr Jack “Metalface” (Deadline Records)
15. Dispulus “Express Yourself” (Self-Released)
16. .mezer “How Much Money Ya Got” (A lot rejuked) (Self-Released)