Hailing from Naarm, Melbourne, Joe Swan performs under the moniker Ju’Suan who has recently delivered his debut album ‘a better me/amphetamine’. A combination of years of Ableton experience and playing in bands since the age of 12; Ju’Suan’s music is at once organic and raw and equally sampled and chopped into a highly layered and textural sound.
Primarily a drummer, Ju’Suan combines 90s boom bap drums with electronica sensibilities to create a sound that navigates various modes of trip-hop, house, jazz and funk. Ju’Suan takes his songs to his friends to get improvised recordings which he then morphs and filters into alien sounds.
From the first track on the debut album willocks walk in the pasture the listener is drawn in by Ju’Suan’s ambient pads that swirl and brief echoes from a saxophone. From there till the end track where, once it was different the listener is lead through a journey of downtempo, laidback instrumentals that have a warm, crackly vinyl quality of texture to them.
A perfect album to listen to on the bus home and take a moment to pause and bathe in soft but measured sounds Ju’Suan has been able to concoct.
Words by Milo Thompson