The Detroit-native has been making noise as :Brownstudy and under his own name for quite some time with experimental sounds ranging from abstract electronics, house, future jazz, drum & bass, broken beat and more. The Australian label Inner Tribe is about to release their incredibly versatile first compilation Lemonade City Vol.1 and included one of Jason's stunning deep tracks.
Jason Hogans aka :Brownstudy has been consistently making noise for over 20+ years. Although he might not be one of the first names you're thinking of when the city of Detroit pops up in your mind, he's been acknowledged and supported by anyone else who probably is. Jason released music on Carl Craig's Planet E, Theo Parrish' Sound Signature label, Third Ear Recordings, Alélah Records, Moods & Grooves, a compilation feature on Moodymann's Mahogani Music and several albums + EPs on his own imprint Really Nice Recordings. The man got busy and is not afraid to try new things.
His start in music was back in 1993 already, when he began to make beats and write lyrics after high school. It's something he never really stopped doing till this day. Some of his early influences were people like Herbie Hancock, Q-Tip and Carl Craig, the latter kind of took him under his wing by letting Jason use the studio, equipment and even released his debut EP on the Planet E imprint back in '98.
To get a glimpse of Jason's wide range of productions, we recommend you to check out a live beat-set he did a few years ago at our dearly missed Red Light Radio spot in Amsterdam. After 7 years of broadcasting they had to close down early in the pandemic last year. Fortunately all recordings are still to be found online.
His tracks embody the wide history of his hometown Detroit. Doesn't matter if its off-centre Dilla-esque beats, deep house cuts or quirky electronic jazz, it all has that signature motor city-feel in some sense. His continuous explorations have a raw edge that slightly reminds me of a prolific producer such as Madlib. Both rise above any categorisation and continue to push the sonic borders in every direction. Jason deserves to be heard and appreciated a lot more in my opinion.
Lemonade City Vol.1 is the first compilation on the Australian Inner Tribe label and it features a wide array of artists from our own Kid Sublime to Sofatalk, Oliver Night, mfp, Edseven, Applejac, Soulparlor & many more. The label is run by prolific producer/DJ Inkswel and he curated the 21 tracks carefully by selecting all kinds of gems by his worldwide family. Connecting the dots between his local Aussie scene of talented MCs & producers to the people he crossed paths with, in real life or on the digital highways.
The Lemonade City Vol.1 compilation will be out on Sept 3rd via Inner Tribe Records.
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