Sinjin Hawke & Zora Jones: ‘The Crowd in India Was Freakishly Receptive’

Zora Jones. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

The penultimate performance at Boiler Room x Budweiser ”˜Discover What’s Brewing’ in Bengaluru ”“ the second edition of the music showcase in India ”“ took things to an intense new level. Behind the decks at the center of The Humming Tree were Sinjin Hawke and Zora Jones, delivering intelligent yet baffling tunes for just more than an hour.

The crowd, of course, were entirely into it. Hawke says over email about their set, “We weren’t expecting it but the crowd in India was freakishly receptive to everything we played, they hit pretty much every curveball we threw at them.”

Never settled in one spot, Hawke ”“ born in New Jersey ”“ and Austrian-born Jones could be called a Canadian duo, but they’re ace producers in their own right, which explains why they’re very comfortable being called to stay or play anywhere in the world, just to spread the music. In an interview with Rolling Stone India, Jones and Hawke field questions about their Bengaluru set, future plans and more.

It’s a long way from home, but I’m guessing you’re used to playing one-off shows in countries? Or does it feel a bit odd when you can play just one show and have to head back?

Zora: I personally don’t mind at all. It can be a bit frustrating to go somewhere as interesting as Bangalore and not get a chance to explore”¦ but we’re quite used to it at this point.

Sinjin: That’s partially why we decided to sell all our stuff and live out of suitcases– now whenever we like a city, we can move there for a few months and get to know it.

Is there a reason the visuals of your sets include this sort of 3D graph/matrix? How much of that is to have a signature visual identifier for when you play?

Sinjin: The grid projection is something we’ve been doing since the first Boomclap parties in 2010 – Martyn Bootyspoon initially came up with the idea and it kind of stuck with us.

Sinjin Hawke. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

When you play a b2b set together, what usually goes into planning it?

Zora: We usually just compile a folder of approximately 200 tracks, mainly our own productions and edits, and just play out of that. For this particular set we wanted to end around 160 BPM to set the mood for Jlin and Avril.

What else is coming up for you both later this year? Any more b2b sets and perhaps festival appearances that you’re looking forward to? Any plans to perhaps come back to India?

Zora: We’re planning on coming back to India in December to spend some time with Jlin and Avril and get to know the country a bit better– doing an Asia tour in August and Sinjin’s debut album (First Opus, released on May 10th) is imminent so look out for that.

Lastly, what’s your favorite Boiler Room memory? Have you seen Boiler Room Knows What You Did Last Night?
Sinjin: The Canblaster b2b Asma Boiler Room is absolutely wild, also really love L-Vis 1990 & Mista Silva’s latest one ”“ looking forward to see more sets like that from them.

Zora: Hadn’t seen the tumblr before but it’s amazing – the faded front row is one of my favorite things about Boiler Room.