It’s fair to say that over the last couple of years Julian Jeweil has taken the techno world by storm.

He has produced the sort of dancefloor tunes that should be inspected by the UN as legitimate weapons of mass destruction. They really are bonafide dancefloor bass bombs. It’s been a steady journey though for the Frenchman who first came to the scene’s attention through the 2006 track ‘Air Conditionné’, a track which was licensed to over 20 CD compilations. Fast forward to 2016 and the producer is a Beatport chart-topping darling, even becoming the digital store’s highest selling techno artist in 2015. With only a couple of weeks to go to before the Frenchman make his Australian debut for the earthcore festival in Melbourne (and the earthcore in the Park show in Perth), we were lucky enough to track him down for an Australian exclusive interview:

SR: It all started when you were 16 and you fell in love with electronic music. You recently mentioned in an interview with Dancing Astronaut: ’After a while, I started buying records; I’d lock myself in my bedroom – I was still a teenager at the time – and listen to them endlessly’. What was some of those classic tracks that kept you in your room?

JJ: Amongst the tracks I used to listen to non-stop in my room were ACCELERATE by Zzino, Der Tod B by Johannes Heil and Psichatric Toons by DJ Tuttle.

SR: Your first track ‘Air Conditionné’ was a underground anthem back in 2006, and according to Discogs was licensed to about 20 DJ compilations! 10 years later, what are your thoughts on that track now? Have you ever considered going back to update it?

JJ: ‘Air Conditionné’ was the very first track I released so I’m always touched when I hear it. I’ve never considered updating it, though. Basically for me, when a track’s finished it means I’ve concretized the idea I initially had and that’s it.

JJ: I think the techno scene in France has always had a strong presence, and especially nowadays because you have so many new artists emerging. Techno is developing quite well in all French cities, including Marseilles.
SR: Back in 2010 you remixed Moby’s ‘Stay Down’ and turned in one of your more melodic remixes to date. What artists on the more melodic-tip inspire you? And which artists do you listen too on a regular basis which might surprise us?

JJ: The artists I’m listening to at the moment which more focused on melodies are Obscure Shape & SHDW and Recondite. Otherwise, I do listen to stuff that would surprise you indeed! Including Massive Attack, the Beastie Boys , Grandmaster Flash and French rock artist “M” (Mathieu Chedid).

SR: You’ve had multiple number one placings on Beatport’s techno charts, and last year you had 4 tracks in the top 10 at the same time! In fact, you were Beatport’s number one selling techno artist for 2015. In what way do you feel having success on Beatport had an effect on your career? Could you pin point an exact moment where you felt that things were changing for you based on a Beatport charting?

JJ: I am so happy and proud to see that people like my music, obviously career-wise it can only generate good things. But to be honest, I don’t have a specific moment to describe, I’m simply thrilled about everything – it’s all good!

SR: One of the more exciting gigs for you this year must have been Carl Cox’s party at Space Ibiza where you played B2B with POPOF. This was also Carl Cox’s final party in Ibiza, as well as Space Ibiza’s final season. In your time since you’ve played in Ibiza, what have been the biggest changes that have happened?

JJ: Oh my goodness yes, it was amazing, such a good party. I loved playing B2B with POPOF for Carl Cox’s Space closing, the vibe was incredible  😉 I haven’t really noticed any major changes though, I enjoy going to Ibiza and always have 🙂

SR: You will be coming out to Australia in your debut tour, and you will be performing at earthcore festival, Australia’s longest running festival. The techno lineup for this year’s event is pretty insane! Outside of yourself of course, which acts would you suggest to our readers as unmissable?

JJ: Yes, and you won’t believe how excited I am to come over Down Under. I really recommend listening to Slam and Christian Smith, they slay!

SR: Are you working on any exciting projects that you would like to tell us about?

JJ: I’m currently working on two different EPs and two remixes. POPOF and I are also working in the studio on our first collaboration effort.

SR: And finally, what in your opinion is the best techno track released so far in 2016.

JJ: 2016 saw an incredible amount of killer tracks released, but there were two I particularly adored, and it was Magnet – Oliver Huntemann – (Victor Ruiz Remix)  and Freedom – Kaiserdisco.