Known for creating ethereal, synth-based instrumental hip-hop albums such as Drift, Home, Fated and Parallels, Jason Chung (aka Nosaj Thing) has slowly moved towards a singer-songwriter aesthetic, reflected in both his own releases and vocal-based production sessions with other artists.
Going full steam ahead with that theme for his fifth Nosaj Thing album, Continua, Chung began collating vocal ideas from a stellar ensemble of guests, including Toro y Moi, Kazu Makino (Blonde Redhead), Julianna Barwick, Slauson Malone, Panda Bear, and Eyedress, amongst others.
Overwhelmed by the range of possibilities, Chung felt he needed help to cross the finish line. Having long collaborated with Sunny Levine – son of Stewart Levine and grandson of the legendary Quincy Jones – the in-demand producer was enlisted to help Chung fully define his creative vision.
Jason, do you typically work with a producer or is this the first time?
Jason Chung: “It’s the first time. From being a bedroom producer who primarily started making instrumental music, I’ve naturally progressed towards working with other artists and vocalists and that’s something I’ve had to learn, but this time it got to a point where it became a bit overwhelming because I was dealing with ten songs that all had vocals.”
How did you get in touch with Sunny?
“I met Sunny over ten years ago and we’ve been working on music together for at least five of those so I’ve always trusted his tastes. Most of the record was made remotely with other collaborators either prior to or throughout the
