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It
seems every time one tries to
reach Joshua Lorne Obront --
a.k.a. Jelo -- he's either just
come back from a gig or is about
to jet off to the next. A call to
his mobile results in a cellular
hookup to Vancouver, where he's
loungin' in a swank hotel suite
paid for by a
promoter.
"Dude,"
Jelo enthuses, "this place is
phatter than the crib I got at
home!" He describes the stellar
views, the full kitchen, deck, a
den and three closets. It's no
wonder he plays out of the city
so often.
Jelo's
still recovering from the
previous weekend, when he
attended a wedding in Toronto for
Paul Walker, the owner of Eastern
Bloc Records. The celebrations
went late -- real late. "I got
completely fucking retarded
drunk," Jelo says with a laugh.
"It was fun, but I missed my
flight!"
 Needless
to say, Jelo -- hungover, of
course -- had a bit of drama to
deal with while the others got to
sleep it off. He had the
Vancouver promoter up in
stitches, because the flight he
missed was supposedly the only
one out of Toronto for Vancouver.
(Fortunately, it wasn't.) The
travel plans hopefully won't be
as difficult to sort out on his
current tour in support of
jelo live.mix@bassline, halifax,
n.s., which spearheads a new
series called The Project
put out by 2Wars & A
Revolution Records and Eastern
Bloc Records.
The
CD was recorded in Halifax at a
recent Bassline party by 2Wars
labelmate the Incredible Melting
Man. Microphones were set up in
the crowd to capture the
audience's response, enhancing
the CD's live feel. "Hands down,
Bassline is one of the best club
nights in the country," Jelo
raves. "But it's not so much the
club as it is the
people."
The
disc's release is about to make
Jelo's crazy schedule a whole lot
crazier: he appears on
MuchMusic's Electric
Circus Friday and spins an
extended set Saturday night at
the Toronto CD launch party at
Life, as part of the Nation
weekly. Then, in January, he'll
be featured on Musique Plus'
Bouge de la, and he's
booked to play Montreal's Sona
club that same weekend -- and the
thought of that big gig is
putting a smile on his
face.
"It's
the big middle finger I've been
waiting for," Jelo says with a
hint of sarcasm, "to the people
that said, 'His music isn't
right, it's too hard' or 'I don't
like his sound or style.' There's
only been a handful of Canadian
DJs -- with the exception of
Montreal locals -- that have
headlined at the club. People
like Ritchie Hawtin, Misstress
Barbara, John Acquaviva, Max
Graham and Kenny Glasgow -- it's
really cool that I got
included."
But
while Jelo has his detractors in
the Toronto scene, he's also got
some big supporters.
"I
always thought Jelo worked well
for a party," says Rob Lisi,
founder of Syrous and Renegades,
now with Benson and Hedges' club
program. "He brings a lot of
energy, which helps build a
better vibe at the
show."
The
Incredible Melting Man -- a.k.a.
Anthony Hudson, head of A&R
at 2Wars -- was a big fan of
Jelo's before he started
releasing his music. "I'm not
impressed by that many DJs in the
scene," Hudson says. "But I've
sat in enough clubs where
I've said, 'Wow!' and when I
asked who's DJing, it always
ended up being Jelo. His sound
just has something that makes it
more intriguing. It's powerful,
definitely coming from industrial
roots. It's exotic."
All
in all, 2001 has been a very good
year for Jelo. The initial run of
his
bass-bin-kicking-beats-in-your-face
Saturday Night 12-inch EP
sold out quickly, making it
2Wars' fastest-selling single. He
was voted Most Innovative and
Most Intense DJ in eye's
Best DJ Poll. The tracks
"Chaos Bringer" and "Effective"
were licensed by Bad Boy Bill and
Donald Glaude for their recent
mix CDs. He got signed to other
labels, including the
Toronto-based Bugeyed and Bad Boy
Bill's IHR imprint, and Glaude
has just picked up Jelo for his
Respect Recordings
label.
"He
gave the 12-inch to me when I was
in Toronto," Glaude recalls.
"Once I heard his production I
knew it was some next-level shit!
It's a fusion of breaks and
hard-house energy with a techno
edge -- you can't really explain
it. I've also got Jelo doing the
remix of my track 'The
Bomb.'"
Simply
put, the interest in Jelo's
productions is off the hook, and
much of the mystique surrounding
him can be attributed to a
philosophy many DJs don't realize
until much later in their
careers: don't overexpose
yourself.
"I
never took a residency in Toronto
because I never wanted to be
overplayed," Jelo admits. "I
wanted people to be excited to
see me play, to look forward to
it. I didn't want a situation
where people could catch me any
time anywhere."
By
sticking to his guns, Jelo has
built a rep for delivering the
goods outside of T-dot, having
established monthly residencies
in Calgary, Whistler, Vancouver
and Halifax. His only real
problem lies in scheduling local
weekend gigs between his
out-of-town jaunts.
Well,
that and the fact he hates
flying.
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