Son Of Sound: Your label Underground Quality has quite a few established names on it. How did you get producers like Nina Kraviz, Levon Vincent, DJ QU and Fred P involved so early on in their careers?
Jus-Ed: I met Nina online on Myspace. She had a track called Voices on her page and I fell in love with it. I played it like 50 times. It became her first release on Underground Quality in 2009 with remixes by Jenifa Mayanja, Levon Vincent, Fred P, DJ QU and myself. Regarding Fred P, he did a remix for a Jenifa Mayanja track called Time Waits For No-one. When I heard Fred's remix I was like woooot, I told him... you actually know a lot more than me about production! I was grateful to Fred because his mix helped Jenifa in a time when she really needed it - it gave her a spark!
What about DJ QU?
I met him through Joey Anderson at the House Dance Conference. They would play my tracks at their dancer's parties. I always wanted to DeeJay those parties and they showed me love when I did - QU had some records he pressed but he had distribution problems. I suggested we trade tracks to establish some value to his label and his distribution problems went away after that.
The sound of Jus-Ed: A Little Deeper (Underground Quality)
And Levon?
Levon Vincent's first release was The Minimal Soul EP on Underground Quality, but I knew him prior to that from 2001 when he used to work at the record shop Halcyon. In fact he was there the day I met you when we played at the old Halcyon on Smith street...
I remember that (laughs). Tells us about your Underground Quality nights in Berlin.
It started in 2008 at Tape in Berlin and featured myself DJ QU and Fred P. In 2009 I put a UQ Label night together at Fabric with six artists that included Nina, Levon, QU, Anton, Fred P, and myself. The last label night was in 2012 at Tape with 12 artists and 1 live performance just before they tore the club down. We made history once again! UQ Label night goes down in people's hearts as one of the best events for 2012 in Berlin.
DJ Jus-Ed I'm Coming (Levon Vincent remix)
For those that may have never heard you play, what can people expect from you?
Nothing. Don't expect nothing and you'll be satisfied.
How long does it take you to wash your dreads?
About two hours. Otherwise I go to the salon and get them twisted-ed (laughs).
