Nosaj Thing

Photos by Chloe Aftel

“It’s really therapeutic. If you make sure the music is honest, you will always remember how you felt at that time. It’s like looking at an old photo. That’s how I like to think about it.”

It’s a typically grey evening in London, and Jason Chung is sitting in a small flat about 8,781 kilometers away from his sunny Los Angeles home. But the 23-year-old cosmic beat creator couldn’t be happier: “I’ve wanted to come here since I was a teenager,” enthuses Jason, a little tipsy on the capital’s finest red wine. “I started DJing at 13. I was so into the drum and bass scene—Shy FX, Ed Rush and Optical—it seems crazy that I just played Fabric, [London mega club and music club—Ed.] on the same lineup as them. I used to dream of coming to London, just to see them play.”

Futuristic, emotional, and with a melodious thunk, Jason’s production alias Nosaj Thing takes it to Neptune by the way of the dirty, beat down drums of downtown L.A. His musical aesthetic is a collision of tweaked out electronic wizardry and hip hop’s machine-gun funk, shaped by a savant with beauty and soul. “I try to create a sound that I’m feeling at that moment and build off of that, be as natural as possible. I’m not a perfectionist. I just like experimenting with sounds,” he says, with a smile. “It’s really therapeutic. If you make sure the music is honest, you will always remember how you felt at that time. It’s like looking at an old photo. That’s how I like to think about it.”

Nosaj’s sounds have included a roll call of incredible remixes for the likes of Radiohead, Los Angeles bass brethren Flying Lotus and Daedelus, a self-released EP “Octopus,” not to mention his mouth-watering debut selection for Daddy Kev’s Alpha Pup imprint, currently self-titled. “The album is going to be balanced and really personal. Some songs aren’t even going to have any beats. I want it to be really dynamic,” he explains, with a knowing pause and laughs into his glass. “Although the album is due in three weeks and I only have three songs done. I’m fucked.”