In Session: Jackmaster

When it comes to Jackmaster, the name really does fit the bill. He’s a master of his craft and he certainly knows how to get a party jackin’. When we followed him for a week in June he was a force unto himself. Living up to the party animal tag he’s cultivated but still smashing out sets left, right and centre. Up close and personal we saw his knack for transforming a dancefloor from hard work to hands-in-the-air on a night-in, night-out basis.

While many DJs are quick to talk about the grind, the long flights and the time spent away from family and friends, Jack Revill’s love for his craft is all conquering. “As soon as I get behind the decks, everything just disappears. I forget everything and become Zen,” the self-confessed DJ addict told us this summer. Whether it’s propping up a bar in Glasgow or blowing away DC10’s terrace, Revill is in the zone.

Growing up on a steady diet of Prince, Otis Redding and Average White Band along with crucial British bands like Oasis and The Verve, Jackmaster discovered house music at the age of 14 after the death of his mother. Music was his only solace following the tragedy. Sinking all his money into turntables and “shit trance” records, it wasn’t until a short stint at legendary Glasgow store Rubadub that he discovered the likes of Juan Atkins and Underground Resistance.

Nowadays he doesn’t see music in terms of genre or follow ‘cool’ trends. Instead it’s all about energy levels. His sets can range from down the line techno, to big beat disco, to fun as fuck house, all styles cater for all crowds. One constant is his quick-fire of mixing, a style he finessed on the Glasgow club circuit trying to beat the city’s 3am curfew and gained a reputation for following the release of his fabriclive mix four years ago.

Revill’s selection skills have also filtered down to his label. Having never released any of his own productions, he started Numbers as a club night with best friend Spencer 10 years ago. Eventually it evolved into a label, catering to a variety of electronic music including Jamie XX, Rustie and Jessie Ware. In recent years there four-to-the-floor material has been on point, tapping up Adesse Versions, Denis Sulta and Kornél Kovács for killer releases.

You never know what you’re going to get with Jackmaster is a phrase heard so often. His ability to create a third plane of music by blending two tracks is up with the best. Our tagline for his cover issue was “jack of all trades, master of one”.

The way he switches it up between deep chunky house, lofi drum machine workouts, piano stab anthems and pumping filter house over the course of an hour in this mix certainly validates that.