Born Jasper Edward Attlee, berlioz has been making waves in the jazz-house scene for a few years now, straddling both worlds with a mix of live instrumentation and production hardware. It’s made the format of his live shows as unpredictable as the content, just as likely to turn up to a show with a well-oiled jazz quartet as he is a set of decks. His use of TikTok has found him a growing fanbase and coupled with his reputation for the lively and inventive have made his shows both here and in North America roadblock events.
Recent shows in Denver and Quebec were hot tickets with lines going round the block, and with his newly-released album, Open This Wall—a follow up to last year’s jazz is for ordinary people EP (a fan-favourite)—we asked berlioz to go inside the mix with some jazz-house pressure for our latest Complex Sessions.
Tell us a bit about your selections in this mix.
I wanted to give a little sample of what my berlioz DJ sets sound like. I tend to follow my ears and not overthink things too much. Some of these songs I’ve been playing for years, one or two I found specifically for this set.
What was the one track you absolutely had to include?
I had to include my track “Something Will Happen”. It lifts the soul. I’ve had it on repeat since I dropped it in May.
Any tracks that narrowly missed the cut?
I wanted to play “nytmp”, an unreleased song on my album, but you’ll have to wait a little longer to hear that.
What’s the first single or album you ever bought?
I bought John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme when I was 6 or 7. It’s still one of my favourite albums. I was learning to play sax at the time, but I dropped it very soon after. I’ve never been very good at playing instruments [laughs].
What’s the last physical record you bought?
I went to see Vieux Farka Touré with my wife. We picked up a signed copy of Ali, his collaboration with Khruangbin. Gorgeous!
What do you want to see happen musically over the next 12 months?
I’ll keep doing my thing. As long as I stay true to myself and make the music I want to hear, I’ll be on the right path.
What trend or scene absolutely needs to die right now?
I’d love to see venues, artists, promoters and labels putting planet and people first, avoiding collaborating with polluting/genocidal industries that don’t share the optimism and spiritual integrity of the arts.
Tracklisting:
Persian Empire - 3 Options
MK Gee - CZ
070 Shake - Under The Moon
The Durutti Column - Otis
Mereba - Rider
SPINALL - Bow Down
Sam Gellaitry - Games
Snctm - Omokage
Stan Getz - Moonlight In Vermont
Lauren Auder - In God’s Childlike Hands