Hello : JAWRS

No one followed our Mixmas guidelines quite as closely as London-based Jawrs.

We asked for a story. He literally told did that (both musically and in the Soundcloud description)

We said keep it lively and he threw us in so many directions we didn’t know if we were coming or going. At one point he even mixes Rihanna with Prodigy.

We hinted massively at not staying at one tempo – he starts at 135 and closes at 175.

And not to make it sound like a box ticking trip – the mix absolutely belted us silly. You didn’t know what was going to hit you next. A sped up electro house anthem, hard style or a greasy old bassline. Yeah, Jawrs got his teeth right into the Mixmas vibe with lockjaw level tenacity.  Check it yourself if you haven’t already.

It’s a pleasure to declare him a winner and make plans with him for 2026. For added serendipity, just like his co-winner Neon Pumps, Jawrs mixes with a sound and selection that belies his tenure. He’s only been playing out since March 2025!

Like Neon Pumps, though, Jawrs – real name Jonny – is no overnight sensation. He comes from a very reputable musical lineage and even goes to gigs like Thunder Cat and Fever Ray with his mum. This is such a cool story and it comes with an inspiring twist. After years of nerves and harsh self critique, he’s overcome some big barriers to step up and perform but he’s so glad he has.

Get to know, get inspired and get ready to see Jawrs at a future 1 More Thing show soon. But first, get your ears around this brand new mix he’s done for our 1 More Mix series…

 

Congratulations on winning! It was pretty much a month ago, take us back. How did you feel?

I was actually at my partner’s parents. We were staying there for a few days over Christmas. I went upstairs because I just needed to lie down and I saw that you posted a video. I was like, “Okay, I’ll just give this a watch.” I wasn’t sure because you didn’t tag me.

My bad. I was trying to juggle too much over Christmas and I had this email going out to everyone saying ‘sorry for mass mailout but I need to take my kids out so please watch this video and I’ll be in touch. Sorry to be baity.’ Sadly that email never left the draft folder! Sorry! So you saw the video. You didn’t have any idea.

I really didn’t! Then I was watching you announce the runners up and I recognised Preet. We’ve actually played together before.

Oh that’s mad

Yeah! So I just had this feeling as it went on. Of course I was skipping through a little bit just to see but then I got to the winners and my heart was racing. And then you said my name. I barely listened to five seconds of it before I ran downstairs to show everyone.

Oh, brilliant. So did you have no idea? Me and Max were listening to the mix quite a lot, and you can see who’s listening to your mix. So I didn’t know if you’d have seen that?

I did actually. It’s funny, when I sent you the mix it was on a toilet break at work and then whenever I took a break I would check on SoundCloud. I was really proud of that mix and I was just curious if you’d listened to it. I saw that you had. I thought, “Oh, cool.” And then maybe a few days later, you’d listen to it again, and then Fireworks Factory had. That felt good but I had no idea if you’d listened to all the mixes that amount. I was really excited though.

Lush. And then you showed the announcement to your partner’s family?

Yeah, I went down and showed everyone! I couldn’t believe you were talking about it with such detail and high regard. You picked up on all these things that I’d put in there. It was nice to hear my mix being spoken about like that.

I meant every word. You literally followed the brief to the letter. I said, “Tell us a story.” And that was what you did. Do you see DJing as storytelling in a way?

I didn’t come in with a story. I figured it out as I was making it. I re-did the intro so many times and then I found this remix of Radiohead’s Fitter, Happier and I knew that was the intro I needed. I played it out and my partner was like, “That’s how you start a mix!” It all came together before I knew it. I even did the artwork. Just to go that little extra mile.

That’s wicked. What were your thoughts on it being a double win as well?

I thought it was great! Why have just one winner? Why not share it? And selfishly I was buzzing because it means probably going to meet her and I’m going to learn from her as well. She’s a lot more experienced than I am and that mix was so good. So polished and fun and experimental. It kind of reminded me of DJs like Fatboy Slim who take the nostalgic tunes but present them in a new way. I was proud to be a double winner with Neon Pumps for sure.

Yeah you’re both very similar in some ways with your journeys. I can’t wait for you both to meet. Let’s get a little bit more of your backstory. Did you always feel that music would play such a strong role in your life?

For sure. I didn’t know in what form, but my parents were very musical. My dad on the rock side and my mum on the experimental side. She is where I got my taste for electronic music and Dad is where I got my taste for heavy music. As a teenager I got into classic metal, like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, that kind of good stuff. Then I got into death metal and I’d listen to bands like Death or Opeth. Also progressive stuff like Dream Theater. All of these bands fueled by my love of playing guitar, which I did from the age of eight.

Oh, wow, brilliant.

Yeah so that fuelled my interest in all forms of music. Then my parents divorced and I lived mostly with my mum. So I was exposed to interesting music through her which has always kept me very open minded. I honestly feel there’s something in every genre that’s going to appeal to somebody. If you’ve got the patience to dig deep enough.

YES! That’s so true! So how far did you take the guitar? Were you in bands?

No not really. I never really took it to playing in a band properly. I’m not sure why. I think I was pretty scared of performing. I practiced loads but suffered bad stage fright. I have performed guitar a few times now though and I’m a lot more comfortable with it all. I’d actually like to incorporate the guitar into what I do now.

Sick!

I’m not sure how it would work yet, but playing guitar, sampling it while I’m going along or maybe soloing over a bit of the music. I don’t know yet, but it’s something I’m working out.

That’s really cool. How did you take to DJing?

My friend at uni showed me and I thought it was black magic! I literally couldn’t make sense of the waveforms. It looked like they were going opposite directions. But then a week later he showed me what to do, we’d figured it out and we set it up in the basement of our uni house. We barely left the basement for the entire time. The pizza boxes piled up was ridiculous.

Brilliant. What genre?

Dnb. I feel like learning how to DJ with drum and bass has set me up really well because I can mix fast if I need to. Doing double drops or chops as well or interesting blends. We got really creative with the kind of weird stuff that we were playing.

Wicked. So how long ago was this? You’re in your late 20s now aren’t you?

Yeah. This would have been 10 years ago.

I’m trying to think of the tunes that were around about that kind of time. Big Noisia time wasn’t it!

Oh Noisia for sure! Also Gydra. Really mind blowing, super fast stuff. And along with that we also played a lot of classics like Ed Rush and Optical and Moving Fusion. So we’d mix the old stuff in with the new. It was brilliant.

Go on. That’s wicked. Where was that?

Exeter.

Home of the famous Lakeway!

We met him around the time. He came to an afters!

Sounds like Lakeway.

He’d been playing in Move, which was an amazing little club. Proper stinking sweaty club.  We went to a lot of shit nightclubs in Exeter and we were so lucky that we found this place because it was like proper dark kind of grimy that played great music. And it got so sweaty in there.

My favourite type of club. So what happened after uni? There’s a bit of gap here. Did you give up DJing after uni?

Kinda. I mean not intentionally but things did slow down. My friend gave me his controller which was cool. It was a really really small one with only one audio output. To record a mix I had to use a splitter to route it into my speakers and also back into the computer to record it again.

Long!

Yeah. I enjoyed that but it all tailed off during Covid, then I split with my partner at the time and moved to London. There was a lot of life stuff going. Then one day, in my newly single era I walked past a CEX and saw some secondhand decks. £150. I thought, ‘Yeah, go on then!’ There were some speakers there as well and they threw them in for £50 and before I knew it, I was walking home with some decks and speakers.

No intention of buying decks that day?

No, I just saw them and knew it was the right thing to do.

Spontaneity. Brilliant. I love that!

And then, yeah, I just played on and off for a bit. Very much being  a bedroom DJ. But every time I showed someone a mix, they really loved it. I think a couple of years go by at this point and then I meet Saffy, my partner now. She told me my mixes were really good and asked if I’d ever played out before. All these excuses came out like, ‘I don’t know, I’d be too nervous.’ I still had this kind of stage fright thing. But she said, ‘Just go!’ and found an open decks night nearby and told me I’m going next week. That was Faded Society. An open decks in March.

Brilliant. I know Faded Society and Cat. So was this, this time last year or the year before?

Yeah, this time last year.

 

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Wow. That’s amazing. So obviously you’ve been mixing for some time but DJing is different isn’t it?  How was that? Was it really nerve-wracking?

Oh, I can’t tell you how nervous I was before! And Cat is really lovely. She was going round the room, having a little chat with everyone and then saying, ‘Ready to go?’ Then she came to me and I don’t even remember anything she said because I was just thinking, ‘Oh my God, oh my God,  I’m next, I’m next.’ I’d practiced but my decks were different to the club’s set up, I was worried my USB wouldn’t work. All these things!

Classic!

Five minutes go by and I’m still kind of figuring stuff out and like, ‘Oh God. What am I doing?’ Then it just clicks. And then the last 15 minutes of that is just brilliant. It flies by. I don’t even think I look up because I’m so focused on the mix. Then it’s over, I step away and Cat says something like, ‘Uh, apparently that’s your first time?’

Oh, brilliant. Literal life changer. And from that, you just literally dived straight in there. How did you find the community?

So friendly! That’s been the biggest revelation and made it so much fun. It did seem at first like everyone knew each other but I like making new friends and it’s that realisation that you can just go up to people and ask them, “what kind of music do you play? How long have you been playing for?” And you kick off from there. Then going to more and more of these you meet more people or see familiar faces. It is a super friendly community of us here in London.

That’s so cool. And it hasn’t always been that way. It gives me faith in the next generations. So what’s been the maddest thing that you’ve kind of done since that first gig? Haven’t you already run your own night?

That one really stands out! I’ll never forget the message. From Cat Faded Society. She was really vibing with what I was playing. I put a video out a couple of days after an open decks and she messages me saying she had a venue for a night and could I host it? It was another one of those ‘Oh my God!’ moments!

Another stand out moment was my first paid gig. It Halloween for a brand who were coming back called Skint.  And again, it’s not about the money, it was the fact that someone was   actually willing to pay me for playing.

Yeah that’s a nice feeling

It was funny. In the run up to it I was at this other open decks and my friend Leeloo was there. I told him, “Oh, mate! I’ve got some amazing news. I just managed to book my first paid gig.” He said, “No way! Shut up. I’ve booked my first paid gig too!” It turns out it was for the same event.

That’s wicked. So you’ve been on this amazing journey so far. What have been the three biggest things that you’ve learned so far about yourself or about DJing?

Well the first thing is start NOW. Don’t wait till next week. Start now. Because I did spend ages not being sure if I could even play out, let alone like everything else that’s happened since then. Life’s too short. So start now.

Definitely!

For the second one I’d say support people! Go to all of your friends and peers’ things. Go to parties. Buy a ticket. Don’t just show up to your gig and play and then leave. Bring your friends, get there early, stay the whole night. Go to the front and dance. All those things make such a difference. If you see a brand that you’re interested in, or want to work with, find where they’re next doing a thing, go to it and say hi. People remember that you actually showed up. I know I do. Whenever someone shows up to a gig of mine I will remember that. And, like I said, you make loads of friends by doing that. It’s win, win, win.

Couldn’t agree more. What’s your final lesson?

Make space for yourself. Don’t feel like you have to be at 100 all the time. Take breaks, prioritize your sleep. Because it’s a lot of late nights and you’ll just end up drained and tired and you’ll make mistakes and your brain won’t work as well as it should. I learned that the hard way. So prioritize your mental health.

Massively important advice there. Thank you! What’s next on the agenda for you? And where are you at with production?

I’m dabbling and getting into production but need to actually properly learn because I’m too eager and excited. I just want to mess around with stuff and make songs. But I think I actually need some formal tuition. I have actually made a couple of songs which I want to show you.

 

 

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Cool!

I don’t think they’re ready yet. But it’s one of those ones where it’s like when is a tune ready? I’m sure I’ll make a lot of shit but hopefully some good ones along the way.

I think you’ve got to make those shit ones. You’ve got to go through all of that process and all of the tracks that you know you’ll cringe at, even six months down the line. The best advice that I’ve always found from people is actually finish the tunes. Like even if you know it’s rubbish, get it to a point where it’s finished and you can play it to someone, even your mum. The psychology of finishing a track is important.

I agree. It’s funny you say that. I always send stuff that I make to my mum before anyone.

Awwww.

She’s just got a knack for it. She doesn’t make music or anything, but she’s listened to so much that she just knows. And she’s got an exceptional taste. So I always value her advice.

That’s so cool. I hope my kids see me in the same way in years to come! Did you get taken to festivals and stuff when you were younger?

Actually, yeah! Her favorite band back then was Super Fairy Animals. And I remember we were at one gig and she really wanted to see them, but I was like quite young and fell asleep by her feet!

This is too cute!

But yeah, we’ve been to stuff and we go to gigs as well together.

What was the last gig you went to together?

I don’t think it was the last one, but we went to see one that really stands out was Fever Ray. I discovered them through her. We also saw Thundercat the night before that. We went to two gigs in a row.

Your mum’s got really cool tastes. That’s awesome. Thanks for sharing your story. Just one final question – what else does a Jawrs like to sink his teeth into?

I like making art. So painting and ink drawings. I love playing with black and white, a bit kinda water coloury but with a lot more contrast. And I also do some analog photography. I bought this old like Canon A1 a while ago and I love it. It really helps me unwind. I’ll have it around my neck and go for a long walk through London and it forces you to kind of take everything in and you notice things that you wouldn’t have noticed before. You start looking at things a bit differently and it helps you to be really mindful and present.

 

Totally hear that. And with analogue you’re not constant re-doing the pic because there’s no preview screen. You take the picture and it’s a treat for the future if it comes out or not.

Yeah! And some of these mistakes that happen end up being some of the best pictures I’ve taken. So yeah that’s where I’m at with everything creative. I’m really inspired by so many things right now and I’m excited to see how things go this year.

 

So are we! Watch out for Jawrs on a 1 More Thing line-up very soon. In the meantime, follow him.