RESPECT. Interview: Dru Barnes Talks New Album, JOYGO and More

Musician, conceptual artist and jack of all creative trades, Dru Barnes (formerly of the duo JOGYO) is known for his eclectic sound and style that can only be described as innovative. So when he initially dropped his solo debut “Jean-Michel” with an accompanied lyrical video, fans received a glimpse into the inspiration behind his music.

His freshly released album Silent Light, which dropped on May 6 Dither Down Records, was created after g a brutal and senseless attack that resulted in the loss of his left eye and nearly took his life. After an extensive road to recovery, Barnes began working with producer Taavi Haapala, creating illustrious sounds that arose from the void which embrace his art, influence the creative pulse and drive his heart to always push the limit.

RESPECT. got a chance to talk with the Jamaican born and Brooklyn bred artist to discuss his career, influences and living outside the box.

RESPECT.: First things first, let’s talk about going from your duo JOGYO to dropping a solo album under your own name, how did that come about?

Dru Barnes: When I started JOGYO, it came from an inspired space, and it was the same when I ended it. There’s no logical reason other than it felt like the right thing to do. My work has its own legs and I do my best to follow.

RESPECT.: When it comes to music in general, where does your inspiration come from, because your music is so different.

My music experience comes from a very organic place, as a multimedia artist who also did a lot of poetry and interactive work with musicians via spoken word; it became my inspiration which then evolved into my musical space. When I was young, I started to connect with people in the industry and people began to suggest that I record something and of course how do you say no to that?

RESPECT.: One thing interesting about your sound is that it’s all over the place but it’s beautiful and can’t be contained. Is that something you purposefully set out to do?

I think that my music is a higher level of consciousness that people get to experience through me in my work, it’s not that I think that I am God as much as it is me giving them a very real piece of me. Everything I do is authentic and natural when it comes to my music because I want my fans to go to that place with me, almost like I am giving them a glimpse into my world while allowing them to create their own. That’s also another reason why I bring performance art pieces into my work because it’s another way for them to transcend to another place.

RESPECT.: That’s interesting, because when I first heard your music you immediately put me in the mind of Jean-Michel Basquiat just in audio form and then when I saw you released a visual paying homage, it was seemingly a perfect interpretation of your style.

Wow, thank you so much because he is definitely an inspiration for me. One thing that most people like myself and artists like him for is the ability to not care about labels and boxes. It’s the ability to live outside of the norm, same with artists like Lenny Kravitz and Prince. People love Prince because he was unapologetic about being himself and seeing that even if it’s in someone else is still somewhat freeing. The only thing that bothers me is that people think that people like myself, Basquiat and Prince are these rare breed of black men or people but it’s not true. There are more people out there who just as creative and who don’t care about rules and I believe that we will begin to see it more and more.

RESPECT.: How was it working with Taavi Haapala on your first album Silent Light?

At first we didn’t connect musically. We met in a Buddist center and eventually we began chanting together, which allowed things to happen on a kinetic level. When I decided to co-produce with Taavi, I knew that he could follow the vibration I was experiencing after my accident. Because it was scary for me at first and there wasn’t a lot of people that I could explain what was happening to and they really understand-but he was able to get it somehow. We’d chant for an hour then start working, the music was channeled, at times the energy in the studio was thick, other times disorienting, but it worked for us we both felt totally free to create.

RESPECT.: Being such a vocal person, what is your stance on the political message that artists are using their voices for because it is refreshing to hear artists standing up for what they believe in as well as creating art..

I’m not into noise protest, but I am into being an example. I believe that we create things out of two places; fear and love. I think that if we are creating activism type of music out of fear, then it turns into noise. If we want to be heard we have to do whatever we do out of love. I just came from a trip where we had to lay a friend of mine named Valerie to rest. The trip was in the desert in Texas and it was me and some cowboys. The crew couldn’t be any different, but looking around the one thing that connected us all was the love for my friend and that’s what I mean by doing things out of love. Love is what people are looking for in the world and people like Martin Luther King and Gandhi didn’t just wake up one day and say, ‘Hey I’m going to try this message thing’, they were led. So if you aren’t led to give a message, then you need to have several seats.

RESPECT.: How would you describe your solo work, versus your work in JOGYO?

JOGYO is a direct extension of my work as a sound artist. My intention with that was to bridge conceptual art and dance music. My friend and I were from different areas. She is from Africa and I am of Jamaican descent, so it was bridging that sound and incorporating the sounds we heard all over the world to create wonderful music and art. With my project, I’m not as focused on dance music or on genre or labels when it comes to my music or art. I think there’s been a shift in culture where that’s allowed.

RESPECT.: After surviving such a devastating attack, was music a part of your path of healing and transcendence?

To be honest the way it happened, it seems like it was, but it wasn’t because music is such a part of my life. My album cover is a picture that I took of myself in the hospital because I knew it was going to be some form of art for my life. As far as healing, the amount of love and support I received from people all around the world really humbled me. Any enlightenment I found was rooted in a deep understanding that love was the only reality. I became hyper-conscious of my mission to bring that to the world through my music. It’s been said where there’s love, fear can not exist and in that way, I definitely left my body and a part of me never returned.

RESPECT.: How do you feel about people trying to classify your music by trying to in essence make you choose a genre?

To me that’s like making a painter choose between paint and watercolor. To say that I have to choose a specific genre is like trying to tell me I have to fit inside of a box to make everyone else understand my art. When people ask me about what genre I am, I like to say it’s Dru Barnes music because it’s how God in me is working to create music. It’s the brand, it’s the music, it’s the flavor and it’s the sound and there’s nothing else out there like it.

Silent Light is available now, check out the lyrical video for “Jean Michel” below.