Patrick McDevitt, better known as Jaenga, has priorities that differ from most electronic artists. The Brooklyn-based product has taken an unorthodox approach to sharing his music with fans. After transforming a school bus into a mobile venue in 2016, he began touring music festivals with the studio-equipped vehicle. The Jaenga bus made after-hours noise at popular festivals such as Camp Bisco, BeachGlow, and Dancefestopia this past summer. It was the absolute highlight of Bisco 2016, and caught the attention of what seemed like every attendee and artist at the legendary multi-genre event. Jaenga got to share his decks with popular names such as 12th Planet, Protohype, Griz, Crywolf, and Slushii during the bus' maiden voyage. The vibe of these sets was more like an underground after hours than a music festival; the frills and fireworks exchanged for improv mixing and an intimate atmosphere. In a time where industry success is oft measured by crowd size and SoundCloud plays, it was refreshing to see an up and coming artist literally bringing his sound to fans.
Jaenga is part of a growing movement to break down the walls between artists, fans, and genres within the electronic music industry. Coming from a live music background as a guitarist, he has an appreciation not only for good music, but a proper setting to enjoy it in. Part of that setting, according to McDevitt, is a level of freedom artists are not allotted in the bright lights of the main stage. There are no set times, genres, or themes. For Jaenga, the bus represents the ability to completely fall off the grid and away from industry pressures.
It is these exact pressures that Jaenga critiques in the video for his latest release, Got Them Movin (ft. Born I). We sat down with Jaenga at The Brewery Recording Studio in Brooklyn to discuss the tour bus, recording the music video, and taking creative freedom back from the industry.
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