Catching Up with Soon-To-Be-Legends, Atay & Jax
Atay & JAX are a duo on the rise.quickly developed a reputation for their gritty, high energy, punk-esque live performances. Footage from these shows created major “FOMO” and on social media. People from all around were showing up in surprising numbers to these campy church hall concerts, whilst screaming the lyrics along with high accuracy. This year Atay & JAX released their debut album as a duo. To Date ‘Last Night’ has been streamed over 80,000 times. We had the chance to catch up with the dynamic duo for an exclusive interview below.
What is the inspiration behind your new release “Last Night?”
Atay – While finishing and releasing Honey, Jaxon and I spent a lot of time driving back and forth
from Halifax and Lunenburg, recording music, shooting videos, partying, and playing shows. For
me, that whole three-month span served as the inspiration for Last Night. It wasn’t that we really
tried to make the album sound like a party, I think we were just so influenced by how amazing the
summer was that we ended up with a project that sounded like it.
JAX – After Atay helped me produce my first album, the reception was crazy and very unexpected,
we decided it wouldn’t make much sense not to continue working together. We started piecing
together this album song by song until we had something that we were very proud of.
2.What made you discover your passion for creating an eclectic blend of your own sound? What places in
your mind do you channel to craft your songs?
Atay – I wish I had some sort of artistic answer for this, but honestly neither Jaxon or I really tried
to create any sound in particular. I think with our brains working so differently, everything we
created blended our styles naturally.
JAX – Creating our own style was not something that came easy, mine and Atays solo projects
have very different moods and sounds, so blending them together has created something very
unique and special. I personally talk in the past tense a lot in my music, so when I’m channeling
memories and experiences I’ve had I feel like I’m making my best music.
3. What is the meaning behind the album’s title and what does it hold for you in the context of the record?
Atay – Last Night references the idea of looking back at a party. We did our best to encapsulate all
of the emotions involved, from drinking too much, to making mistakes and being heartbroken.
Like I mentioned before, I think Last Night really is the musical form of last summer.
JAX – Me and Atay wanted to make an album that felt like the beginning, middle and end of a crazy
neighbourhood house party. Some of our best and worst memories have taken place during these
and I think expressing that is something everyone can relate to at some point in their lives.
4. What are your favorite venues to perform at? and if you had to choose, do you feel more comfortable in
the studio or onstage, and why?
Atay – The show we did at Sniggily Wiggily’s was the best as far as venue. It was our first genuine
bar show, and the atmosphere just felt so professional. I think we might have even made it look
like we were more prepared than we were, but honestly, we didn’t even know the set list when we
walked out on stage.
JAX – We really enjoy doing shows with large stages such as Moncton Lions Club and Sniggily
Wiggily’s, we’ve done a few shows with no stage and for us it’s always better when we can see
everybody that’s there and interact with everyone. As much as we love being on stage nothing
beats kicking it in the studio with your homies and spending the day making something you’re
proud of.
5. How do you create your songs? What is the process like? Does it take you days, weeks, even longer?
How does the perfect piece come together?
Atay – I don’t want to speak for all musicians, but personally I find the process usually varies for
everyone. Sometimes I can make a song from scratch in 25 minutes, and then other times it takes
days to just get a foundation in place. The only time things ever click consistently is when Jaxon
and I sit down together and write. We are usually pretty good at connecting the dots quickly.
JAX – This all really depends on the beat we have and what kind of vibe we’re going for, some of
our songs we wrote together in an hour and other songs we both independently spent weeks
working on them. The perfect piece is all subjective to the variables at hand, we do enjoy writing
together though as some of our best songs were done that way.
6. How did you create a sound throughout time that is so uniquely your own? What defines your sound to
you?
Atay – I’m honestly not sure if we have really found our sound yet. I think another big purpose of
Last Night was to experiment with some different production styles and ideas to see what
direction we can take it in. I think with the next couple of projects we will be able to really focus on
specific influences and start to innovate. With a surprising amount of attention being given to our
final track on the album, And I’ll Wait for You Tonight, I would almost guarantee we will continue to
make songs that utilize that punk-rock aesthetic.
JAX – I think what helps defines us as artists and keep us original and unique is not sticking to
one genre, we have songs varying from ballads to hyphy to even punk rock. This kind of diversity
helps us push ourselves and grow as songwriters.
7.What do you hope you accomplish musically as we head further into 2020?
Atay – This is cliché, but wow do I want a hit. I don’t really care about fully blowing up yet, I just
want a song or music video to push us into the limelight a bit. We certainly aren’t impatient, but I
really want to see how the general population reacts to our stuff. Plus, if we don’t start generating
a national audience we’re never going to be able to tour, ahah.
JAX – Fingers crossed that we will be able to be back on stage and start touring Canada. We can’t
say too much about our upcoming music but if all goes well the rest of 2020 will be an incredible
year.
