Jack J Breaks His Silence

a.k.a. The first-ever interview with the Mood Hut co-founder, whose long-awaited debut album drops next month.

Seven years is a long time in any genre, but in electronic music, it’s practically an eternity. Yet that’s how much time has gone by since Jack J (a.k.a. Jack Jutson) last released a solo record. (And for what it’s worth, the title track of that record, “Thirstin’,” was an anthem, landing at number 2 on Resident Advisor’s list of the Top 50 Tracks of 2015.) The Vancouver artist and Mood Hut co-founder hasn’t been completely absent since then—aside from extensive touring as a DJ, he’s also released a couple of Pender Street Steppers (a.k.a. his similarly lauded collaborative project with Liam Butler) records—but he’s certainly kept a low profile in recent years. Perhaps that’s why the recent announcement that he’d soon be releasing not just new music, but his first full-length album, felt like such a surprise.

It’s hard to overstate just how intense the hype around Mood Hut became during the mid 2010s. The label’s laid-back brew of hazy house, dusty disco and woozy ambient was veritable catnip for the tastemaker set, and also introduced the wider electronic music world to Vancouver’s talent-rich scene. Mood Hut themselves never chased that kind of influence or attention—in fact, the entire collective has basically shunned interviews since the very beginning—but that didn’t stop journalists (myself included) and industry types from fawning over their output, nor did it stop countless imitators from attempting to replicate the label’s enticingly chill aesthetic.

Much of electronic music has moved on since then—“chill” is definitely not a word that can be applied to many dancefloors these days—but Mood Hut has quietly maintained course, even as its release schedule has slowed down a bit. Jack J’s debut album, Opening the Door, will be the label’s first new record in more than a year, and first single “Only You Know Why”—a warm, vocal-driven pop song that evokes memories of soft rock and ’70s AOR—makes clear that catering to the club isn’t necessarily his first priority. (“I Saw Fire,” the LP’s newly shared second single, is even more relaxed, and actually sounds a bit like Sade.)

What’s going on with Jack J? Has he decided to leave dance music behind? Back in 2015, it would have been all but impossible to find out (because of Mood Hut’s whole “no interviews” policy), but given his extended absence from the public eye, I took a chance and asked if he’d be up for a chat. Much to my amazement, he agreed, and over the course of a long conversation last weekend, we dug deep into a variety of topics, including his early experiences with Mood Hut, how he navigated the hype that sprung up around the label, the particulars of the Vancouver music scene and what exactly he’s been up to during the past seven years. Of course, we also talked a lot about the new album, and although Opening the Door isn’t due to arrive until April 5, Jutson was happy to shed some light on the long-gestating LP, including why he doesn’t actually see it as a departure from his previous work.