Jess Bays: Live Set & Interview

Seeing out the final Egg Presents... of 2016 on Friday night, Jess Bays returns to the club after her most successful year to date. With a role as A&R at Divine Sounds helping her to secure a USB constantly packed with exclusive tunes, and a weekly residency at Sneak honing her ability to read a crowd, the SubBass graduate has had a jam-packed twelves months.

Finishing it here alongside Casey Spillman and Ben Murphy on December 30th (get tickets and full info here), we cast your mind back to the last time she played here in October with a live recording of her set below.

Before that though, catch up with a review of her 2016 and a look forward to what 2017 holds...

You're headlining Egg on New Year's Eve Eve, also known as New Year's Adam. What have been the highlights of 2016?

I'm super excited to have my final gig of the year at Egg! It's always a pleasure. My highlights of 2016 would definitely have to be playing for The Social at Dickens World and also playing Bugged Out In Dreamland sharing the decks with Richy Ahmed, Solardo and The Martinez Brothers!

Can you tell us about your route into DJing. You went to DJ school, right? Why did you decide to get this kind of training and how did it lay the foundations for your current success?

SubBass taught me all the behind-the-scenes skills to DJing, things that I never even knew existed, like phrasing and beats and bars, for example. As a complete newbie you just assume that it’s easy to beat match, but it really isn't, it is a total art form in itself. They also gave me my first ever set in The Loft at the world famous Ministry of Sound, which is seriously special and a moment I will never forget, so a big shout out to Graeme and John for kick starting my career! I thought it would be easy to just step out and play in a club, but it totally isn't, everything is different, even the sounds! So thanks to them I got the opportunity to get a feel for it.

Can you tell us your role at D-Vine Sounds. What does being an A&R involve in this day and age?

As A&R it’s my job to hunt the new talent and go through all the demos that we get sent on a regular basis. Nothing is a better feeling that when we sign something and it goes to No.1 on Traxsource! It's about spotting the next breakthrough artist and giving them a helping hand to achieving their dreams. It's ridiculously rewarding watching some of our new artists get bookings for big gigs and sign to other huge labels!

How are your own productions coming along?

Really well! I have around nice tracks locked off and ready for mastering. I'm teaming up with Radio 1XTRA's DJ Cameo and Belgium based Myles, and we're creating some tracks that are really special, one in particular with Sankeys Ibiza's own Maxine Hardcastle on the vocals. She's insane. I can't wait for everyone to hear it!

You are a resident for SNEAK at XOYO, which is on a Tuesday night. How does it compare to your weekend gigs? Do you have to play a different kind of set?

Every month, I get excited when I know it's SNEAK week! It's pretty much a sell out event every week so to play a full capacity XOYO is a real honour. It's one of my favourite clubs in London and always will be. I also get to go a lot more harder with my track selection as the crowd down there love their tech house! I just love it! We're announcing something seriously huge next week so keep your eyes peeled.

Reviewing 2016...

What are the tracks that stand out as Jess Bays anthems?

It's gotta be something from Armand Van Helden's back catalogue or a funky house track, Crazy Couzins in particular. I've always been a huge fan! I guess something old school is likely to pop up in my sets! I like to switch it up, to keep the crowd engaged.

Which gigs come to mind as the best of the year and why?

The last time I played at Egg was probably my favourite of the year. I opened the Main Room 11pm-1am warming up for Dennis Cruz and Martin Ikin. The vibe was perfect in there and the crowd were just ready to party, so it was really fun getting to do a proper solid warm up set!

What lessons have you learnt?

This year I've learnt the real meaning of team. I have my D-Vine Sounds ladies and my manager James around every step of the way of my DJ career. We are a unit, and you can achieve so much more working together. D-Vine Sounds has gone from strength to strength this year in ways we couldn't have ever imagined. So it really is true: team work makes the dream work!

What would you have done differently?

If I'd have done anything differently it would of been to start production earlier on in the year. I was nervous to take the jump. But timing is everything, right? So I took the leap when I was supposed to!

Do you have any goals or resolutions for 2017?

I do! I have some huge things to announce for next year so I'm trying to keep a lid on my excitement at the moment otherwise I'll burst, haha! There are a few labels in particular that I'd like to sign music to, so I'll be concentrating on that for the majority of the year. I'll also be touring more with Sam Divine ad she takes the next step up the ladder in her career! So yeah, bring on 2017!