Local musician Jesse Ogle’s new project, (DJ)-Calvin, finds the musician stepping into new roles.
Known locally and regionally as the bass player in J Calvin and Hello Dollface, Ogle’s new band (DJ)-Calvin has him playing bass while also dropping samples, programming drum beats and handling vocals. A musical endeavor that began as a solo effort so Ogle could continue to play during social restrictions brought on by the pandemic, it quickly morphed into a duo, a best-of-both-worlds band that features the live instrumentation of Ogle on bass and Guillaume Metz on guitar. Ogle also sings while being a club DJ, laying down preprogrammed rhythms the two play over – it’s part club set, part live set and all groove.
“We call it funky beats as the genre,” Ogle said. “It’s definitely a little bit more vibier in the sense that it might appeal to people who would like that funky lounge kind of vibe. And I’m pulling from hip-hop roots; I guess I want to say it’s lo-fi in a lot of ways – there’s a lot of lo-fi sense to it. That’s what I’m aiming for.”
There’s a diverse angle Ogle is also going for, as this is a project that could be booked onto a stage in a theater or club, or they could tuck into the corner of an art gallery or other nontraditional spaces where they’d provide a low-key and ambient soundtrack.
“It’s easy to control sonically,” he said. “If you bring a drum set somewhere, the drums are as loud as a drum set is, but if you have rhythms pre-recorded or samples, you can adjust the volume, so you can find yourself in spaces where you can lower your volume, or crank it. I think the project is intended to be dynamic. A lot of our shows will be limited to minimum person shows for a while, so we won’t be throwing down with large crowds, so right now, the music is tailored to fitting into rooms. You have to chameleon yourself into whatever spot is available.”
This is something that fits Ogle’s experimental nature; he digs on the electronic and lo-fi, remix jazz scene of Europe, a below-the-radar genre that is influential to (DJ)-Calvin. It can be club music, while also influenced and in line with jazz, soul and funk.
“A lot of times when I go see DJs and stuff, it’s what we call four on the floor – 1, 2, 3, 4 – and this constant bass drum all the time. I get why they do it because it keeps people dancing, but that’s never been my interest,” Ogle said. “I’ve always had an interest in what Europe has been producing. I’ve been known for producing R&B, soul and funk groups, but I’ve had multiple influences. Before I moved here, I was in a Middle Eastern band for six years, Brazilian band for three years, I was in a hip-hop band, so I have so many influences I’m really trying to bring all those in. Some of the music I produce has a lot of African influences, Indian influences, Middle Eastern. I’ll use samples from instruments or vocals, so I’ll kind of take a journey, so there’s this world element to it as well.”
Metz, who also plays alongside Ogle in the funk and soul band J Calvin, digs on the duo’s improvisational nature; pre-recorded tracks lay a solid groundwork where the tempo will never change, allowing the musicians more room and chance to dictate where they want to take the music with their own instruments.
“The fact of having a constant groove also gives a lot of freedom. You’re constantly thinking, ‘what could I play to add to this groove?’” Metz said. “It also gives me a lot of freedom to explore ideas when it comes to soloing.”
(DJ)-Calvin will perform Sunday at Club Congress in Tucson, Arizona.
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
