Jay Wud Talks Rock

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Jay Wud Talks Rock
Jay Wud in his Home Studio

Dubai - Jay Wud talks to City Times about the Dubai music scene and working on his third album

By Maán Jalal

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Published: Sat 14 May 2016, 1:01 PM

Last updated: Wed 18 May 2016, 3:08 PM

When one thinks of Dubai, new frontiers in rock music don't often come to mind. But nestled in JLT, in a high rise with a brilliant view of the city, is Jay Wud working diligently in his home studio. The clichés of rock musicians are many - loud, aggressive, messy, party animals, lots of tattoos, long hair. Jay Wud is none of those (well, except for the long hair and tattoos). Full of quiet integrity, we found him to be a meticulous thinker about his craft, his music and the direction he wants to head in. A ridiculously talented guitarist, he's released two independant records New Blood (2010) and False Utopia (2012) which have gained him masses of fans and an impressive social media following for a musician based in Dubai.

'I moved here after what happened in 2006 in Lebanon, the war that happened,' he says, 'I was kind of fed up with the politics. I was never into politics to begin with. I love my country and everything but I didn't see myself evolving or moving forward as a musician.'

It was a common theme that we noticed when we chatted to Jay Wud in his home. Hard work, sacrifice, perseverance and passion drive him. Among his collection of comic books and graphic novels, interesting poster art, Jay Wud talked to us about his creative process, and working on his third album with multi award winning producer Howard Benson in Los Angeles.

Dubai
Time flies here. I like the security here. Dubai helped me a lot, I evolved a lot in this country. I found myself here in Dubai as an artist. That's when I started recording myself. My first debut album was self-produced and recorded here in the studio where I work. I didn't have the means to do that in Lebanon but when I started working as a sound engineer and producer, it's something to pay the bills. It's not easy to be a musician. Dubai helped me a lot in terms of writing and discovering my sound.








Dubai Music Scene
There are opportunities in Dubai. I wouldn't have imagined that I would support Guns 'N' Roses and Mötley Crüe and I've even supported Aerosmith with a band when I first started here. I didn't have those opportunities in Lebanon. That's one aspect of Dubai that I really like. If you're good, you have this platform you can use as well to get more exposure. I think organising festivals for local musicians is a must. Have a festival to get all the bands from the region to perform. I think this is a big plus for the expats. Because they will go if you promote a proper festival. As a rock scene, I think it's evolving. When I first came here I don't thing there was this scene compared to now.  But when I first started there wasn't a lot of venues that cater for this. That's one of the big problems.




Writing Songs
I'm more of a melody kind of guy. I write a lot of stuff on a daily basis and I record them on my phone. When I come up with an idea I always record it and I end up having a big file of ideas. They might be two, three chords, they might be a melody or a full song. Then I leave it there and when I sit down and I feel like I have something coming, an idea I want to talk about, I'll dig into that file and see what kind of works with the theme I'm going for. I'll pick an idea from here, an idea from there and I'll try and match it together and then I would write the lyrics. Sometimes I'll work the other way around. Some tracks on the new record, I started writing lyrics because of stuff that inspired me and it was different for me, because I've never composed music to lyrics.





New Record
We went back to LA end of January this year and we stayed there for three weeks. We were living in the studio and we finished the full album, ten tracks and it's done. There's a lot of work happening behind the record right now . . . We are taking our time, because this record really means something to me. It's my blood sweat and tears. It's is going to be a collection of sounds that people didn't expect from me. The first and second record, were very alternative. They are a bit commercial, I way trying to sculpt my sound. In this one I found my sound. Working with Howard helped me a lot and he pushed me to my best potential. Even the lyrics are different, the melodies are stronger, the hooks are stronger, the subjects are different. I want it to be the best thing coming form the Middle East. That's my vision for it.



Crowd Funding
I've been wanting to start a crowd funding campaign for a while but we were waiting for the right time. We've been working with an incredible, award winning producer called Howard Benson in Los Angeles on the new record and just got to a point were we needed the fund to complete it. We originally intended to record an EP, but we had a lot of encouragement to write more and a get a full album done. We were so overwhelmed by the response and support we got. By the end of the campaign we raised more than $30,000 and that helped us to go back and finish the full record with Howard. It's a great experience to get your fans involved. You appreciate each and everyone and being able to give something back to them feels very rewarding.




Social Media
It's not only important, it's vital. Because if you don't move with the current trends, you're dead. You don't have any other choice. If you're not following up with the people that support you and care for you and go to your shows, and like your photos and share your music, you have nothing.










David Bowie and Prince
I had a favourite record for him (Prince). It's not that known, its called The Rainbow Children. That's the name of the record. I related a lot to this record. David Bowie . . . I was very into the first two tracks he released from Blackstar Lazarus and I was so psyched for the album to come out and then it comes out and two days later I'm on Facebook and I see he died. I thought it was a marketing scheme because if you hear the words of the record he's saying that he's dead and he's shifted to another place. It was all staged, even in his last work, he was an artist. It was well crafted.





Music Advice
Practice, practice and keep practicing. Try to evolve, try to be open. Lose that ego and listen to other people's advice. Stick to your guns and don't take no for an answer. If you're passionate about being a musician, it's a big sacrifice, but you have no other choice,  you either go all the way or you just don't do it. If you want to be an artist, you have to sacrifice and you have to be willing to take chances.


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