Dynamic Producer Jay Wud defies expectations with Dark Cinema album
Multi-talented Lebanese producer, Jay Wud has released his new album, Dark Cinema on the 30th November via his own independent label. The producer is known for his wide range of diverse styles, with a particular passion for hard rock and metal, which has seen him endorsed by major names such as Red Bull, ESP Guitars, EMG pickups, Orange amps and Dean Markley and his music was used in the Ford Mustang campaign by Ford Middle East, where the producer is currently based. His latest album is heavily influenced by these styles, while at the same time marking a step into the experimental side of electronic music.
Over the years, Jay Wud has been influenced by the diverse sounds of Flying Lotus, Flume, Bjork and Nine Inch Nails. As he has matured, his own style has changed significantly over the years with his latest release stepping into the realms of IDM territory with the likes of Arca, Oneohtrix Point Never, Forest Swords and Mono/Poly coming to mind.
While he has shared stage major rock legends such as Guns’n’Roses, Motley Crue, Skunk Anansie and The Scorpions, Jay Wud has also toured the UK and Ireland with Sons of Apollo. The diverse producer crowdfunded his third record, Transitions and worked with award-winning producer Howard Benson (Creed, My Chemical Romance and P.O.D) to infuse his unique flavour and experimenting with new styles. Born in Lebanon and currently residing in Dubai, the producer started playing the guitar at the young age of 13, at which point he quickly found a love for the gritty and raw side of music, embracing metal and rock with ease before he would discover a more recent interest in the experimental.
Taking a raw and unconventional approach to electronic music Jay Wud manages to bring all of the year’s erraticism and combines it into a smorgasbord of sounds that take you on a journey, accompanied by the rebellious spirit of metal to guide the way. ‘I Can’t Breathe’ is the sonic embodiment of anxiety, with the heavy breathing and scattered electronic stylings that highlight the industrial IDM production style. Overall, Dark Cinema can be seen as a musical time capsule that will highlight the strangeness of 2020 while including a bit of humour and light embellishments to show that not all hope is lost.
Speaking of the album, Jay Wud tells us: “Dark Cinema is an emotionally driven record inspired by our current world events in 2020. Every track narrates a period during lockdown and was my way of summarizing this chaos in sound.”
