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Interview with Chicago's Multi-Faceted Musician Jontan

An enlightening interview with Jontan on his latest single 'Over and Over,' his collaboration with jazz saxophonist Gabriel Heinemann, his creative process, the gear that shapes his sound, the music industry's twists and turns, his dream collaborations, thoughts on AI-generated music and more.

By Eugenia RoditisMusicngear Editor

Meet Jontan, the Chicago-based musical artist blending Bossa Nova, Beatlesque pop, and classic soul into an original sound that’s as playful as it is profound. 

With the release of his brooding, jazz-funk single Over and Over, we had the chance to chat with Jontan about his creative process, his collaboration with jazz saxophonist and composer Gabriel Heinemann, his dream of collaborating with artists like Connan Mockasin, Rita Payés, and Kate Bollinger, insights into the evolving landscape of the music industry and much more.

Eugenia, Musicngear: Your upcoming single, "Over and Over", features a unique blend of jazz-funk and brooding vocals. Can you share the story behind this track and what message you aim to convey through it?

Gabe and I created “Over and Over” in two sessions without a lot of preconceptions. I think we benefited from the excitement of it being our first time writing and producing together. I think we were both trying to make something that the other would like.

I showed him spacey guitar chords; he dug it and interwove some eerie keys and a pensive, two-part sax melody – Gabe is quick on the uptake, and I think he likes the challenge of composing atop unusual harmony.

As a listener, I find “Over and Over” impressionistic rather than literal. I wrote the lyrics associatively, without intent. It's too soon for me to know what it means, but I’ll provide the tasting notes I lifted from wine writer Chris Mercer: Deep color, velvety red. Firm backbone, but ripe tannins. Tightly knit fruit on the palate, wonderful ripeness, still showing youthful black currants and blackberries. Ripe enough to enjoy now, but still a long way off its best, which should be during its third decade.

You used a variety of gear for the production of "Over and Over." Can you walk us through how each piece of equipment contributed to the final sound of the track?

My production is a balancing act between clean and dirty. Everything gets recorded into a Universal Audio interface, which runs hardware emulation plugins such as Ampex ATR-102, Distressor, 1176, and LA-2A, which are designed to be used subtly. They help me toe the line between clarity and texture. I don’t need everything to sound like The Black Keys or mid-60’s Motown, but maybe let me dial in 25% of that vibe.

For dirty sounds, I’m using a “crotch mike,” an EV635, on the drums: heavily compressed and saturated, yet quiet in the mix, it adds a touch of grit. I overdubbed vibey drum fills in the last minute of the song using a Beyerdynamic M160, a hypercardioid ribbon mic. The guitar, sax and vocals all have their own delay sends, which I think add to the dreamy spaciness.

As far as clean sounds, my bass, Rhodes, and guitar all go into the Rupert Neve DI, which delivers a good, clean signal, everything you need and nothing you don't. The venerable AKG 414XLS handled vocals, sax, and drum overheads – like the Neve DI, it gives a usable signal that I can adjust later on – and dial in the vibe.

Collaborating with fellow Chicago jazz saxophonist Gabriel Heinemann seems like a perfect fit for "Over and Over." How did this collaboration come about, and what was it like working together?

As audio engineering coworkers, Gabriel and I have talked endlessly about music, jazz in particular. He has a keen sense of melody and harmony. I’d wanted to get him in my studio for a while! We made “Over and Over” the first time he came by, and finished it in a second session.

Working together was easy – plus, he can plug in an XLR cable!

Your debut, "The Orange Book", received a lot of local attention. How have you been promoting your music since then, and what strategies have you found most effective?

In moderation. Send a couple emails, play guitar, take it easy. They say networking is essential in the entertainment industry. But many artists are shy tinkerers, for whom heaven is found in quiet dedication to a personal goal, preferably indoors in solitude. Networking, small talk, and self-promotion are anathema to them.

Fortunately, I'm not excessively introverted. Small talk doesn’t kill me. I say the wrong thing a lot, but at least I say it confidently. Like anything, I’m discovering my style. I go to shows sometimes, jams sometimes. It’s enough!

The Orange Book

Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I believe AI cannot compose 'Hey Jude,' 'Bésame Mucho,' or 'The Girl From Ipanema'

As an artist blending genres like Bossa Nova, Beatlesque pop, and classic soul, who are some of the artists you'd love to collaborate with in the future?

It would be a dream to work with Connan Mockasin, Rita Payés, or Kate Bollinger. All lovely talents. Connan is a master of being himself – and he’s weird! His personal brand of slippery-dippery, stream-of-consciousness soul entrances me. I’ve studied his music deeply.

Rita, at 24, is a real deal musician – singer, soloist, songwriter. Apart from her raspy and sultry alto voice (which is at once highly refined) and her lyrical trombone stylings, she channels the romantic, golden-age Mexican, Cuban, and Brazilian music.

Last but not least: Kate makes soul music without making soul music. Understated vocals, no melismatic gospel vocal runs proving that love is true, but she still puts the sauce on those songs. You set her up with these jazzy guys from Richmond, VA who play on much of her music and you see interesting things happen: diminished chords, offbeat hits, Jamersonian bass lines – shouts to bassist Jimmy Trussell.

The music industry is rapidly evolving with technology. What is your opinion on AI-generated music, and do you see it influencing your work or the industry at large?

Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I believe AI cannot compose “Hey Jude,” “Bésame Mucho,” or “The Girl From Ipanema.” Note that I qualified my last statement. While AI looks like a recombinant tool for the time being, I think musicians are genuinely concerned about how it will affect our art form. None of us knows how it will shake out.

I write for amusement, reflection, and satisfaction. If I give my job to the robot, I miss out. If I wanted to prosper, I would practice law.

From a historical view, I think AI in music will go down as another controversial technological advancement. Plenty of watershed moments in music technology have inspired backlash, going back to the phonograph record. It reportedly sounded way worse than Thomas Edison's wax cylinder and didn't even play at a consistent speed (all records play faster as you get towards the center). But the records were cheaper, easier to store, and boasted exclusive recordings of many important artists of the day.

Not to mention the synthesizer, drum machine, CDs, and iTunes, all of which attracted their fair share of controversy, earning near-universal adoption, before losing out to new technologies, then finally enjoying a resurgence in coolness for a select view. Will 2040's hepcats listen to 96Kbps .mp3s on NOS iPods? Should credible colleagues champion AI songwriting tools, I imagine I'll still continue doing it the old-fashioned way. Even if the AI writes killer choruses?

I write for amusement, reflection, and satisfaction. If I give my job to the robot, I miss out. If I wanted to prosper, I would practice law.

My challenge is perseverance – with there being so much “product” available, all essentially for free, one more single can feel like a drop in the ocean. But I trust that I have something worthwhile to say. 

You've had packed shows at venues like Empty Bottle and Schubas. What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced as an artist, and what advice would you give to fellow musicians dealing with similar struggles?

You’re making me blush! At this stage, my challenge is perseverance – with there being so much “product” available, all essentially for free, one more single can feel like a drop in the ocean. But I trust that I have something worthwhile to say. I want to earn respect in my field.

Because today's independent artists double as our own producers, managers, and press agents, we must balance this work, which may be less appealing to us, with our art practices. If strong opinions, eight years recording music, and a hundred songs written qualify me to offer advice, I'll say the following: Artist, stay in touch with your inner voice. Slow and steady, focus on the road.

Being a teacher exposes you to fundamental, tricky questions about your craft

In addition to being a composer and performer, you're also a string arranger, music educator, and audio engineer. Given the distinct skills required for each of these roles, how do they collectively influence your music and creative process?

My background in cello allows me to create flowing, legato textures, which contribute a thickness and depth to productions. The natural irregularities in the cello's sound add a human touch that seems to appeal to a lot of people seem in a synthesizer-heavy world. I’m proud of a few cello arrangements on my next album, and several that I've done for other artists' upcoming projects.

My music theory/composition training from college sensitized my ear to the geometric relationships between melody, chords, and rhythms. I loved ear training! It makes a great party trick – next time an Ed Sheeran song comes on at a party, pause midway to offer your analyses (speak loud and clear): "It’s a I-V-vi-IV with a bridge modulating to bVI." They’ll love you. (Maybe that’s a stretch – Ed would never modulate to bVI for a bridge. Too risky.)

Being a teacher exposes you to fundamental, tricky questions about your craft: 1. How do I do this? (Ex: Play a chord, Sing a note, etc) 3. What background info is needed to do this? (Ex: To read sheet music, To play in 4/4, etc) 4. Why is this the way it is? (Ex: Why does a C chord look like this? Why are there 12 notes in an octave?). As a seasoned musician, you may rarely question your knowledge of music's basic building blocks. As a teacher, you must. You don’t need to have all the answers, but you will be asked these questions.

Audio engineer: For my first album, I tried everything: stereo-miked vocals, kitchen sink as a reverb chamber, area mic in the stairwell. Nowadays, I’m starting to intuit how I want to record each instrument with less outright experimentation. Say I have ten microphones; it’s like ten different paintbrushes. Say you’re painting a tree in a landscape. There’s no one paintbrush for painting trees. There are the brushes that others tend to use, there are the brushes you feel most comfortable with, and so on. Over time, you develop your intuition and your style, assuming the analogy holds water (color).

Your songs are in both English and Portuguese, which adds a unique dimension to your music. How do you decide which language to use for a song, and what impact do you hope this has on your audience?

Brazilian music is the reason I learned Portuguese. I wanted to understand the lyrics, work in the same vein as my heroes, and connect with the audiences who love that music. Writing in a second language, everything is new: I write words without knowing whether they’ve been written before, whether they’re idiomatic, or even grammatically correct. I find the newness inspiring.

I hope to reach people who have never heard the classic songs that Brazilians take for granted. But I don’t need my music to inspire them to do a Jorge Ben Jor deep-dive; I want to prime their ears covertly. They won't notice a thing, but they have no choice in the matter. Two years later, the hippie coffee shop they frequent spins some João Donato jazz-funk on vinyl. They go nuts and strike up a conversation with the barista. I mean, they Shazam it.

Over and Over

Connect with Jontan
Instagram / Spotify / Bandcamp

Connect with Gabriel Heinemann
Instagram

About Eugenia Roditis

Eugenia's passion for music was ignited from an early age as she grew up in a family of musicians. She loves attending concerts and festivals, while constantly seeking fresh and exciting new artists across diverse genres. Eugenia joined the MusicnGear team in 2012.

Contact Eugenia Roditis at eugenia.roditis@kinkl.com

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