Having just returned from my tour of various dance music podcasts and radio shows in early February I’m very happy to say I’m able to publish an interview with one of the hosts who was kind enough to let me come and spin beats with him on his personal Twitch stream. I’m talking of course about JOMARI. If you’ve been listening to any of my radio sets you’ll likely have heard sick dubs of his such as “Cannon”, “After School” as well as the track “Watermelon” which was the very first review here on the NCF blog. Last year also saw him and other friend of NCF, Kelmo release a track on Atlantic Connection’s Flight Pattern “Bring Up”.

On February 9th, Jomari invited me to his home studio for dinner and to spin some beats. Unfortunately our set didn’t record, so the show was a “live-only” experience, but I think we will probably have another stream at some point in the future.

Being invited to Jomari’s home, I felt like I wanted to get a background on my friend, since to be honest we mostly just yell “YEAH” at each other in crowded and dark rooms. I wanted to get to know Jomari the person and he patiently obliged me with this interview.

Jordan: What was your first experience with rave music in general?

Jomari: Sometime around 1997, I started listening to Toronto jungle tape packs my brother would bring home from record stores, specifically the Kenny Ken w/ Stevie Hyper D tape, and this other one by Swan-E.

Jordan: How did you get into drum and bass specifically?

Jomari: Being Joe Crilla’s younger brother.

Jordan: What led you to start DJing and producing?

Jomari: My older brother started spinning jungle and DNB when I was about 9 years old, so naturally I followed in his footsteps. My brother is also good friends with Terence Lo (T-Lo), who influenced me greatly to get into battling and spinning more hip hop. There were days when I’d come home from school, and the future Canadian DMC champion would be scratching and juggling in my basement.

I started producing in my 20s as a way to try and get more DJ bookings.

Jordan: Could you describe your style or approach when it comes to planning for your gigs?

Jomari: Not a lot of planning to be honest. I try to update my rekordbox library every 1-2 months, and sort songs by vibe and by key, and then set the necessary cue points. I’ll maybe practice once, or listen to my new music once before the gig to prepare, and that’s about it.

Drinking coffee through the whole process helps tremendously.

Jordan: What long-term goals do you have with respect to your music career overall?

Jomari: I hope my music career can win the battle against boredom for the next couple years. Anything on top of that would be a bonus.

Jordan: What’s the accomplishment that you’re most proud of so far in your career?

Jomari: Winning a walk-in DJ battle back when I was 12 years old in the back room of DJ Depot. I beat a bunch of older guys and won some battle records and slip mats. I’ll never forget that one.

Jordan: What’s your favourite venue? You don’t have to have played there.

Jomari: It’s a tie between the Guvernment main room and the Last Planet Warehouse. Tiebreaker goes to the warehouse cause they don’t use CO2 cannons.

Jordan: If you could pick three separate producers, vocalists or instrumentalists to work with, who would you pick, and why?

Jomari: Brandy, cause she has the best voice for DNB and jungle.

Second, the person who made the intro for Showcase (the bit before an episode of Trailer Park Boys) cause they chopped up those breaks pretty nicely,

Third, Quincy Jones, cause I’d probably make a tonne of money doing that.

Jordan: What’s your life look like outside of DNB? What are your hobbies?

Jomari: I live with my girlfriend in Guelph, and we enjoy the company of living with our 3 cats Maggie, Chowder and Shaq. I’ve become very obsessed with my cats

I watch a lot of movies, basketball and footy in my spare time, and I’m a hardcore Raptors fanatic. 2019 champions baby!!

Jordan: Who do you consider to be your biggest influences musically?

Jomari: Michael Jackson, Sublime, Andy C, Marcus Intalex, DJ Premier, Jack Johnson

Jordan: Out of the tracks you’ve released, which is your favourite?

Jomari: No favourites! Maybe one day in the future I’ll have one, but none today

Jordan: How is the state of DNB in Ontario in your opinion?

Jomari: From a party perspective, it’s seemed to be as lively as it’s been since the start of the pandemic. Last Planet are at the centre of a lot of Toronto’s best parties, and they still bring in jungle and DNB heavyweights for the benefit of the culture. Masterlab and Roost have been doing God’s work by throwing a lot of events over the last little bit, and Drumcraft are still fairly active and blessing us with quality jungle at BSMT254. Keith and his team over at the Kinetic parties deserve a big shout out too for including DNB and jungle DJs regularly in their weekly Wednesday night parties at The Painted Lady. Empire is also back throwing parties across Ontario, and those parties look hype!

Music-wise, Gremlinz and Jesta are about to release their LP on Metalheadz, which is probably the biggest jungle release since Let Me Know to come out of Canada, let alone Ontario. There’s also a lot of quality music being curated and released over at Inner City Dance (shout out Lush and Marcus), and the stuff I’ve heard from Shark With Laser On Head and The Lee Garden Historical Preservation Society is top quality. As always with music, it takes a bit of time and effort to sift through the corny stuff, but the quality is there for all of us to find.

Jordan: Is there anything new in DNB right now that’s holding your interest?

Jomari: I’m liking the stuff I’ve heard from Skeptical’s new label Rubi Records, and I’m looking forward to Halogenix new album on his own label Gemini Gemini.

Jordan: Who are some of your favourite musicians or artists outside of DNB?

Jomari: Mach Hommy, Nas, Arctic Monkeys, Sublime, Streetlight Manifesto, Tame Impala, De La Soul, Chet Baker, Michael Jackson, Slightly Stoopid, The Flatliners.

Jordan: What does 2024 look like for Jomari?

Jomari: Just chillin’ with my cats and starting a jungle/DNB label.

Jordan: Thanks for your time!

You’ll be able to catch Jomari on February 14th, 2024 at the Painted Lady on Ossington in Toronto. Follow Jomari on Instagram and Twitter. Jomari live-streams on Twitch and past episodes are uploaded to Youtube. You can buy his releases on Deviant Audio and Influenza Media on Bandcamp.