KTRL - Jinzo EP Interview

KTRL // Jinzo EP // Interviewed by Neil Miller Jr.

NM: Who or what is Jinzo and how did the origin story for this release come about?

KTRL: Jinzo is inspired from a character I loved in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world when I was a kid. I wanted to make my own version of the weird entity for this EP & showcase my love for anime and culture in the process. A lot of my song titles have inspiration from anime I’ve watched growing up and even now.

NM: How do you feel this release holds up against your previous work?

KTRL: This release is my favorite project to date for sure. I think I was exactly where I needed to be in the exact moment I was writing the EP & it honestly gave me more confidence to keep writing things that weren’t as natural to me, which then created a sound I’ll continue to push forward.

NM: What inspired the art direction and overall look and tone that you wanted to go with for Jinzo?

KTRL: We wanted to do an illustration style cover for this & the team over at Towr Media just put it together. The overall idea for the EP cover was our character Jinzo ‘controlling’ the listener which is the wooden figure that’s portrayed in a lot of my art. So we figured we’d have the hand holding the figure & continue that theme to get you to the full EP cover which is coming soon!

NM: You’ve been an underground legend for some time now with some heavyweight collabs under your belt to boot. Where do you see the KTRL project at in the next few years and which artists are you still hoping to collab with?

KTRL: Legend makes me feel old hahaha! I feel like I haven’t even reached the peak of where I want to be with this shit to be honest. I’m not completely sure where we’ll be but I do know that I’ll continue to be making music that I love and the more that happens, the more we get to have these talks and travel and do what we want to do. Would love do a tour with my brothers sfam at some point in life as well - that would be sick!

NM: You have a skullcrushing collab with Quackson on Jinzo, who some of us know as a longtime Cult of Rezz member from the earliest days. What was it like to work with someone who’s also harbored a longtime interest in the midtempo scene?

KTRL: Quackson is my brother! We’ve known each other for some years now because of midtempo. He’s a great artist and I was so excited to have him on the project. The song is called ‘Unreality’ and yes you heard it here first. ALOT of the midtempo artists still talk & they’re still some of my favorite artists today. It’s crazy what a genre can do, I think I’ve definitely incorporated that style into my more bass heavy stuff nowadays & it’s helped create the sound I have today which I’m forever grateful for.

NM: You’ve long been affiliated with the midtempo scene since the early days and since then, we’ve seen a lot of the artists who were once a part of that sound move onto different paths. We’re certainly not hearing midtempo on the dance floor as much as say, UK garage or drum n bass. Do you think there’s still hope for midtempo to become more mainstream or will it forever exist in the hands of the select few champions who’ve been doing it all this time?

KTRL: It is more of a niche genre nowadays but it has its core fan base always & it’s forever going to be on the map I feel. The sounds & tempo really brought me in & it will evolve more as well over time! I’m excited to see where it goes and I’m excited to make some LOL.

NM: You’re in the business of doing track breakdowns as you’re about to share one for the Jinzo title track – do you think tutorials are crucial to our scene and is this something you intend to dive further into as KTRL becomes more of a household name?

KTRL: I wouldn’t say crucial at all honestly. Depends on what type of fan base you’re looking for. I do think showing the people how you create every once in a while is a great thing though and it could potentially inspire others to pick up production which is ALWAYS what we want :).

NM: What music do you listen to on a regular basis that might surprise those of us who’ve been following you for a minute?

KTRL: I’m a big “my parents music” guy. Earth Wind & Fire, Sade, The Bee Gees, Santana. But I’ll also listen to a ton of house music, grime, & 140 dubstep stuff!

NM: Jinzo as a Hypnovizion release is a momentous chapter in the KTRL story, something that some would say has been a long time coming. Any comments on how it feels to be a part of the Hypnovizion fam?

KTRL: This feels insane to me that this is happening honestly. It’s everything I’ve worked towards as far as a project and the label and the team and the vibes!! So grateful for everyone involved. I think 2025 is going to be a stepping stone in this KTRL thing.

NM: What are your tour plans for 2025 and where can we hope to see you?

KTRL: I’ll be at Radius / Cermak Hall with Levity in Chicago on 1/31. But we’re still booking for 2025. Hit your local promoters up please!