SNJÜ has rapt himself in music since the early years when his days were occupied with helping his parents launch their sporadic basement parties, which they were known for throwing.
His career would blossom in the seasons to come, topping the Canadian world music charts with his sonic troop "Dehli 2 Dublin" and performing at mammoth festivals like Glastonbury and Burning Man, to name a few.
This year, with his love for electronic, synth-wave, and pop, SNJÜ chronicles his past experiences underneath the guise of his solo project and works to envelop audiences in his expansive sonic-landscapes, decorating his electro-pop creations with the touchstones of the musical influences he grew up with.
His debut single, "Jealousy," was produced under the careful eye of producer KULTARGOTBOUNCE, and with great attention to details, the musical power-house festering beneath SNJÜ's moniker comes to life; shining like a supernova and enveloping everything in his path.
Opening with a powerful monsoon of incandescent synths that drip with nostalgia-inducing saturation, "Jealousy" feels like an audible amalgamation between the contemporary R&B dynamics of The Weeknd and the spaced-out sonic panoramas you'd find Roy Woods singing from within.
Here, SNJÜ's soft-tethered voice croons over swelling reverbs that garnish his voice with width and depth, expanding into the gregarious atmospheres of a cosmic mix that churns like a space-ship on cruise control. When the 80s-hued drums beat down, "Jealousy" takes it's dynamic footing to the next level and works in tandem with the multifarious pads and synths to color the background voids, which SNJÜ sings over with his infatuating timbre.
It's a song about the gravitational influence behind love and desire, and overtop a dialed-in mid-tempo march, the Vancouver-based intoner's top-line charms and delights with articulate, gripping lines: "be my supernova, working over me, sun-bright, one night, that's it, fantasy."
The entire playback renders up like a space odyssey that navigates over a star-dusted interstate: littered with kinetic melodies, rich sub-frequencies, and an abundance of mystifying reverberations to drive the mystifying sonic-vessel home.
By the time you reach the apex lines of "Jealousy" ("I just wanna put you through college, I just wanna go the mileage, all night, real slow, you and me,") it's nearly impossible to not feel committed to the retro-futuristic ride SNJÜ is taking audiences on with his electro-pop music.
What was the inspiration behind the narrative you infused into "Jealousy" and how did the electronic stimulation behind the abundance of synths you used help facilitate your storyline?
First just need to give credit to my producer on this track, KULTARGOTBOUNCE, he is a big-hearted, super warm, wizard genius dude and he’s really the one that was able to make this vibe come to life. The funny thing is he added the synth in last, but it really captured what this song needed and made it come to life after the tone was laid down. I mean the inspiration came from a night pre COVID at a venue that specializes in fantasy escapes and the transactional arts (laughs). And that synth just exudes sexiness. He just understood the energy of what I was putting down and made it fly, he sonically made it feel like you are being seduced like you’re the only thing in the world in the eyes of the sexiest thing you’ve ever encountered.
What sorts of emotions were you channeling into for the performance you've captured on "Jealousy," and are those emotions commonplace in your artistic process?
I was trying to capture that feeling of leaving this earth, that feeling that anything is possible when you’ve been seen by the one you are feeling on - even if it’s a fantasy. I find sexual tension so interesting. I say it all the time but it’s an energy that moves the world. It can make people move mountains, and at the same time, it can destroy homes, careers, families, and really entire lives. It is such a powerful thing to play with but if harnessed, amazingly beautiful. This is definitely a theme in a lot of the tracks that I’ve written for this project. I think these emotions have always been here, but now I’m able to express them in the way I want with this solo project.
Have there been any crucial learning experiences during the production of "Jealousy"?
Yeah for sure, be patient and I gotta trust that everything will work out for me. The song was started pre COVID and I just wanted to finish it so bad. I was frustrated that I couldn’t get into the studio during the lockdown to track the final vocals and I was trying to get Bounce to send me the instrumental so I could track it at home but he was super busy finishing off other tracks for like a million different artists so he never really got around to it and I’m so glad ‘cause finishing it with him together was always the right way and was always just the way it was supposed to be.
Do you feel like those are lessons you'll take with you on your next musical endeavor?
100 percent. The more I’m able to let go and trust that it’s all working out for me in the perfect way and at the perfect time the more than that is actually happening. So, I’m really trusting the flow and continuing to just follow the joy and the rest will take care of itself. I’m taken care of, I always have been.
If you could give your listeners a few words that would act as a prologue to the experience behind "Jealousy" and the rest of your upcoming music as SNJÜ, what would you say, and why?
It’s a sexy vibe. I want people to literally roll one up and get lost in sexual energy. It’s so powerful and such a high. My music is here to help make that happen, I want it to be the soundtrack to backseat adventures and champagne room exploits everywhere. Not really sure why besides that I love that shit, it’s kinda what just flowed through me when I started this project, it just felt right. It felt like me, so why fight the flow?
What has been keeping you inspired in 2020 and what can we expect to see next from you?
Straight up I’m just having fun, when you’re in that kinda zone one doesn't need to keep inspired, you’re just in it. The flow just keeps you floating, it invigorates the soul and I’m just buzzing. And thank God for that because 2020’s been one hell of a strange year, shit’s gotta break down so we can build this thing up better than ever and that’s inspiring too. Not to discount the ugliness of a lot of what’s going on right now but really just taking a step back and observing that change is coming - if I can stay in that state of mind, I am able to see the beauty in all this. Also, I’m super blessed in that while being forced to stay home, I am able to use this time and space to be creative.
I’ve got a lot of music lined up. Singles on singles ready to go, so stay tuned, I’m in full effect right now and so stoked about it.
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