Terminal V Podcast 029 || Juliet Fox

From her DJ sets, to her self-painted artwork that adorns the cover of her own record label TREGAMBE Australian artist Juliet Fox doesn’t believe in waiting for things to happen. Not content with following her dreams of being an artist in one discipline Juliet has successfully branched out to include all her passions in several multimedia projects.

As well as these self-made projects, she has made her name based on the hardwork that has been brought her to the attention of some of the most discerning promoters and labels in the business. They don’t get much more discerning than Adam Beyer’s Drumcode imprint and entrusting her track ‘Was Beautiful’ to close his own festival speak volumes of her studio skills. Juliet’s creativity and drive to explore it knows no bounds and it has already taken her far and wide and will continue to do so especially with mixes like this.

 

Great to meet you Juliet, how is your summer going so far?

So far, I can’t complain, I’ve actually been fortunate enough to be able to play out and get to make people dance again. I even managed to get over to Ibiza which is my spiritual home, so that really felt good. Now I’m back in London, enjoying the freedom over here, long may that continue!

Have you been solely based in Berlin or have you been able to travel at all?

Aside from Berlin, as mentioned I got a quick break into Ibiza and now I’m back in the UK for a little while. I played down in Brighton last week and it was amazing as it was inside a club without restrictions… It felt great to play music loud and act like things were normal once again. I’ve got more shows planned this month and next, so fingers crossed nothing happens and I’ll get to see a few more places this summer.

How has your first gigs in Berlin been? Have you been able to drop any new music of yours? What’s the reaction been like?

Over the lockdown period I started my own label ‘TREGAMBE’ and released 3 EPs there. I have never had the opportunity to play them out so of course these were straight on my tracklist! I’ve got a few more tracks lined up for release later this year so these gigs have been great to actually road-test them once again. The crowd seemed to like what they heard, so that was a relief 😉

What is the general vibe in the city with regards to events? Is it softly softly or full steam ahead?

Berlin had one of the longest lockdowns and everything gradually came back to life. As soon as the sun was shining the infamous Open Air season began. It is great to see the city come back to life as it is full of creative people and minds, without the option of expression it just feels a little sad. Like most places there are still restrictions there and people are adapting, so I can only hope that everything stays on track and we get to see the big clubs reopen over the Winter period for that proper Berlin experience.

How does the scene you grew up in Australia compare to the scene you find yourself in now?

I grew up in Adelaide in South Australia – it was a lot of fun and of course it is always my home, but it is hard to compare the nightlife with that of Berlin and London. I haven’t been back for a couple of years now due to the pandemic, but hopefully I’ll be returning later this year and I can’t wait to see my family and friends and of course to play out across the whole country.

Let’s talk about your own music, how did you get into production? Are you a DJ first or producer?

I would say I’m a DJ first, but in recent times and years especially over lockdown I’ve really spent time learning and perfecting my production techniques. It has actually been great to have the time and space to be able to do this and it has made the production process that much more fun and interesting. My own production is always a bit ‘weird’, I love using my own vocals and messing them up in my production.

Which of your releases would you say has been your most defining?

‘6AM’ was a track from my very early years that was released on Toolroom Trax. It is from a time when I was very much focused on a different sound. The track always hits home with people because of the lyrics and wherever I go people always comment on it. However, in recent times, my favourite track was ‘Was Beautiful’ released on Drumcode – it just meant so much to me and the emotion I put into the track really defined the final product. It was great to see Adam Beyer close his Drumcode Festival in 2019 with it too.

Tell us more about your label TREGAMBE and where it’s headed?

My own label was launched as a lockdown passion, it is something I’ve always wanted to do but just put it off as time didn’t allow. The label name is my actual surname taken from my Dad’s Italian side, and it means ‘Three Legs’. I wanted the label to exist as a place where I can release my own tracks that perhaps don’t easily fit anywhere else. For each release, I also paint the cover art, which meant I could also do my other love which is painting. I have had 3 releases so far which all fit together as 1 chapter, the next chapter I’m yet to fully decide on the direction but I really like the idea of opening it up to collabs with other artists.

Will you be producing the artwork for every release? How important is this to your label?

I hope so! Let’s see how many releases we start putting out 😉 As said I like the idea of collaborating with someone that includes the cover art too…

Tell us more about your other artistic outlets and where the idea came from?

I’ve always loved to paint, it is something that suits me well as it keeps my hands busy. I’ve tried to always tie in painting and socialising as it is such an amazing activity to do with friends. If I’m honest a lot of times I don’t know where I’m going to go, similar to production! The end product can either be something I love or something that I had to get out of my system! Either way, my painting is here to stay, I can’t recommend it enough.

What tour dates do you currently have in your diary?

I’ve got shows spanning the UK, France, Turkey, Hungary and Romania at the moment, before I head off to the USA / Mexico later in the year for a long overdue tour! Then with everything crossed I’m heading to Australia later in the year for a good couple of months to play and to see my family + friends!

Finally tell us all about your mix for us, what did you have in mind when you were putting it together?

I really enjoyed putting this mix together and it filled me with energy. Listening back, I like the flow and groove, it could definitely be a great soundtrack for many of life’s activities as well as in the rave. There is a nice mix of some older and new tracks, I really like to see how the two can work together given the different styles and techniques used in creating them.

Any tracks or mix segments we should look out for?

I’ve snuck in two of my unreleased tracks in the mix so see if you can spot them! I also included a track by both K-Hand and Paul Johnson after this week’s sad news. Their music is really inspirational and sets the tone across multiple genres.

 

Interview by  Stu Todd