Russh Magazine

Jacques Renault was the kid in art school who “was always that person that wanted to play everything”. From post-punk Washington DC to Chicago to NYC, Renault has never been one to shy from the pursuit of a dream. If that pursuit involves crossing borders to master the viola, becoming a buyer for Gramaphone Records, or being voted NYC’s best DJ, then so be it. After nearly a decade of residencies and studio time, he has since become one of the Manahattan and Brooklyn borough’s finest exports. On the brink of a third return trip to Australia, Renault speaks with RUSSH on growing up as a Fugazi-loving DC kid, and his natural progression into club land.

So ... you were once a carpenter? Is that a true story?
It is a true story. I went to art school in Chicago, and being at an undergrounded art school, you tend to do many different things. My focus was graphic design, but I did some carpentry and that kind of opened that door to me to do a lot of what I was planning to do in New York. I did a lot of, like, window design, some loft building, and a lot of record shelf buildings with friends and such. So I liked my carpentry stuff more utilitarian than anything, and it was great. I did tons of different projects, with tons of different people and I got to get a taste of everything within the art world, the film world, photography, magazines, fashion. So it was a good thing to do, to get started here in New York.

So how did you go from being a carpenter to what you are now?
Music was always a part of my life. I kind of grew up with music. I started playing the violin very early on. Eventually, I picked up instruments, you know, the trumpet, the guitar, anything I could get my hands in to. Initially, I wanted to go to music school, because I wanted to learn the studio. That’s kind of one of the things I did in art school, was set up the studio. I was always that person that wanted to play everything. I was recording in high school, you know playing the drums, tracking down everything on my own, it was a lot of fun. And so that part was always a part of me. I just kept on doing it, and especially in New York, there’s so much music. I’d just go to record stores everyday after work, or DJ-ing here and there with friends and kind of getting started. I stopped working at this one shop, and started working on music with a friend. And I kind of had this choice with really trying to push it and hustle a little bit with music and I did. And lucky for me, I just kept doing it and doing it, and started producing more, and touring more, and that’s kind of where I am now.

You’re very prolific. What motivates you? You know, what gets you out of bed in the morning?
Well I live right on the water in Brooklyn. I’m pretty proud of my view. I love to travel, I’m really excited about this trip to Australia. I travel, I come home; I love coming home. It’s a big inspiration for me, and a lot of my friends here in the city, who are all kind of creating, are a huge influence on me and it really pushes you to contribute and keep doing stuff.

You say the people around you motivate you. Who was the first person, or artist who you heard who made you think 'Yeah, I want to do that?'
I’d say for current artists, one of my biggest influences and, before I moved to New York, what really turned me on to what was happening in New York was Metro Area actually, what Morgan and Darshan were doing. Because at the time you know in the 90s, what was happening actually, it was funny, we joke about it, back in some of the articles ten years ago, electro-clash was really big. I wasn’t a huge fan, but what was kind of hitting were people like Metro Area and Danny Wang, and you can kind of hear that in disco. And that was really inspiring and cool, because it was about the music, it was about the theme, the timeless sound of disco and people contributing and that kind of turned me on to New York in general. I was living in Chicago at the time, and buying the records and learning more about disco, so when I got here I was really excited about the theme and what was happening and electro-clash was kind of fading away. The sound of disco and disco-house and New York was really growing, and now even more and more friends are touring and producing, so really its an amazing’ scene right now, and I like what New York is doing and what it has to offer.

What is that one track you always return to? I guess your playlist would be huge, but there is always that one track that you’re always happy listening to. That you can put on any time, any day.
I really like this Tamiko Jones song, Can’t Live Without Your Love. It’s a classic disco tune that really makes me excited, and I guess that would be somebody that is a big influence and never really leaves.

You, obviously, are very firmly entrenched in disco. But when I say that word disco, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? It could be a memory, a tune, whatever...
I was kind of a punk rock kid in DC, growing up on DC hardcore. One of my biggest influences was what was happening in the hardcore scene. You know, seeing Fugazi shows, and early Teen, that was probably the biggest influence in creating music for me, because fair enough playing classical music or jazz, you are playing other people's music; you’re not really improving, you’re not really witnessing what’s happening. There’s a scene like DC, where there’s groups like Fugazi or Nation of Ulysses, that was really my first exposure in being interested in the scene or something that was happening now. That’s kind of exciting about music, witnessing something growing and happening. That’s a big influence on me.

Catch Renault as he tours Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney from 19 - 27 August. 

READ THE RUSSH INTERVIEW WITH CITY AND COLOUR