Routes 18: Jafu

Routes turns 18 and to celebrate the release of his new Albion Collective EP with Vaun (which you can purchase HERE) we hit up the man they call Jafu to talk us through his influences.

01. Von D Feat. Phephe – Show Me

This was an instant classic for me, I’m always a sucker for a raw vibe like that.

02. Alicia Keys & Maxwell – Fire We Make

The production on this one is stellar. I always find myself wanting to clean up my productions when I hear this one.

03.  F – Phase One

F is just a killer. I can never get enough of his technical style of progressive music. He’s very good at blending so many fine details that when put together create something truly unique.

04. Slum Village – Untitled (Fantastic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BOJH-G0T3I
This one is just the perfect deep soul vibe for any hiphop head that’s into that sort of thing. I’ve certainly taken a lot of inspiration from this jam in particular with it’s raw vibes and overall deep sound.

05. Watermelon Man – Herbie Hancock

There’s nothing I can say that Herbie can’t tell you better with this groove.

06. Aphex Twin – Alberto Balsam

I can’t make a list with some of my all time favourite tracks on it without including this one. There are countless Aphex tracks that resonate with me, but this one in particular was one of the primary driving forces in helping me understand how electronic music was made. That chair sample sounds like a chord. I mean… ’nuff said.

07. 2562 – Intermission

I love this song. As I get older I find myself sometimes losing the spark of imagination when I listen to music, maybe it’s just due to the fact that I make so much music of my own.. but this one always does it for me though. It’s a fairly recent tune, but I know it’ll stick with me. 2562 is cool, man.

08. Samiyam – 22222

This track has a dope vibe. Perfectly sums up the raw drag blended with a unique and musical vibe. He’s definitely inspired me to move a different sound of hiphop vibes into my own 140 tracks.

09. Martyn – Vancouver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVF3oQo3ALc
Another techy 140 one that gets me everytime. Definitely have found a load of inspiration from Martyn’s tracks. Vancouver in particular is just huge. He teaches me.

10. Ruckspin – Jibber

Man is this one just super tight. I always find myself noticing something I hadn’t noticed before with Ruckspin’s tracks. His stuff is just so groovy. I definitely try to capture some of that groove in my own prods.