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Get Familiar: Jerrau

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Get Familiar: Jerrau

Interview by Passion Dzenga | Photography by Liesje Verhave and Pebbles Bazur

Over the past few years, Jerrau has quietly but confidently carved out his place as one of Amsterdam’s most versatile and forward-thinking DJs. Effortlessly moving between breakbeats, bass-heavy club sounds, alternative electronic hip-hop and soulful house, the Surinamese-Dutch selector has built a reputation for sets that are hard to categorise but impossible to ignore. Whether he’s closing at Lowlands, holding it down in the club at De School, performing at Down The Rabbit Hole with Erykah Badu on the mic or showing us the way during his Patta x Keep Hush session, Jerrau’s approach has always been rooted in curiosity, culture and an instinctive understanding of the dancefloor.

Now, after years of refining his voice behind the decks, he steps into a new chapter with his debut EP, It All Starts With This, released on Who’s Susan. A project shaped by discipline, mentorship and a deep love for bass lineage — from Amsterdam to the UK and beyond — the record marks a deliberate beginning. Inspired as much by Sonic soundtracks as by sound system pressure, Jerrau’s move into production feels less like a pivot and more like a natural extension of the world he’s been building all along.

We caught up with him to talk about finally committing to the studio, learning to let go during a month-long residency in Nicaragua, his unexpected place within the Black British music ecosystem, and why, whether DJing or producing, the room always comes first.

Jerrau is wearing the Patta 3M Reflective Waterproof Rain Jacket

This will be your first release after years behind the decks and you have mentioned that you have “flirted” with producing for years, what shifted for you to take it more seriously now?

I’ve always been curious about producing and I’ve picked it up a few times over the years, but it never really stuck. I’d dive in, get excited, then I would feel overwhelmed by how many possibilities there are and then life or DJing would pull me back out of it. It was always there in the background though.

What really shifted things was when Tsepo, offered to teach me. That felt different. There’s this “each one, teach one” mentality — almost like that Black Panther ethos — and when he reached out, it felt like a moment I wasn’t supposed to ignore. We only had a couple of sessions together but it was really a turning point for me. I took that as a sign that it was time to stop flirting with the idea and actually commit. So when starting this journey, next to the few sessions I had with Tsepo. My friend Tijn also just started making music and for the first few months we went to the studio together all the time just to try to get better and learn from each other.

I sometimes think I should have started during the pandemic when there was more time and space to focus, but I’ve realised you don’t find time — you make it. Over the past 18 months, I’ve really treated it seriously: I got access to a studio here in Amsterdam, put in the hours, and approached it with the same discipline I’ve brought to DJing. That consistency is what’s made the difference.

The title, It All Starts With This sounds very intentional. What does “this” represent in your musical journey right now?

The title actually comes from one of my favourite games, Sonic Adventure 2. I basically have all the dialogue from that game burned into my head. I’m honestly not the best at naming things — even my DJ name is just my actual name — so titling tracks and projects has always been a bit of a challenge for me.

When we were finalising the selection, the artwork and the sequencing for the record, that dialogue just kept coming back to me. It felt simple but loaded. It didn’t feel forced or overly conceptual — it just felt right.

For me now, “this” represents the starting point. It’s the first proper step into producing, into putting something out that’s fully mine. It’s not necessarily about having all the answers — it’s more about committing to the beginning.

Jerrau is wearing the Patta Track Top Cardigan

How has your journey as a DJ influenced your approach to producing — and has producing changed the way you DJ?

DJing has definitely influenced the production more than the other way around. Years of being on the dancefloor and in the booth teach you what actually works in a room — how tension builds, how long a groove needs to breathe, when to strip things back, when to push. That experience naturally informs how I approach making a track. I’m always thinking about how something will translate physically, not just how it sounds in the studio.

Producing has influenced my DJing in a more subtle way. I’ve had to think more carefully about how my own tracks fit into my sets — where they make sense, what they sit next to. But I’m never going to brute-force my own music into a set just because it’s mine. DJing and producing are different practices, and they should be treated that way. For me, the room always comes first. If one of my tracks serves that moment, great. If not, that’s fine too.

At the same time, I still feel like I’m learning, and there is a lot to learn. One area I really want to deepen my understanding of is mixing and mastering. I want to understand that final stage of the process properly — not just creatively, but technically — so I can have even more control over how the music translates, both in the club and beyond.

Why did you choose to work with Who’s Susan?

Who’s Susan is just a really dope label. Over the past few years, I’ve bought pretty much everything they’ve released. I’ve always respected their curation and the world they’ve built around the music.

It actually happened quite organically. I was promoting one of my own nights and used one of my demos as the audio for a post. Willem from the label heard it and reached out to ask if I had more material. He connected with the direction I was exploring and felt it aligned with what Who’s Susan was doing. That meant a lot, because it didn’t feel forced — it felt like a natural fit on both sides.

That alignment made the decision easy. And it feels full circle in a way — the one feature on the EP is from one of their legacy artists, DJ OSX, formerly known as DJ Windows XP. So to go from being a supporter of the label to releasing on it, and collaborating within that family, feels really special.

The artwork for your debut EP aesthetically reminds me of one of your big inspirations, Sonic, was this intentional?

Interestingly, the artwork was actually made before we fully put the record together. So it wasn’t a case of me saying, “Let’s make this look like Sonic.” It was more organic than that. Sjon de Baron, who does all the artwork for Who’s Susan, really understands me and what I’m about. He was able to translate the feeling of the music visually, while still keeping it consistent with the label’s wider art direction. I think that’s why it resonates in that way — it reflects my influences without being literal. There’s definitely a shared visual language there, but it came from mutual understanding rather than a direct reference.

You traded Amsterdam for a month in Nicaragua at Popoyo’s Secret. What pulled you there, and how did a residency format change your approach compared to festivals or single-night gigs?

What really appealed to me about Nicaragua was the idea of stepping outside my usual rhythm. Amsterdam can be intense — fast-paced, scene-driven, and very plugged in. Spending a month somewhere more remote, surrounded by nature and a different energy, felt like a chance to reset.

I ended up loving it. I’d go back in a heartbeat. There was something really refreshing about being there — it stripped things back in a good way. The residency format was also very different from a festival or a one-off club set. I tend to approach DJing almost like programming — thinking carefully about structure, context, and what makes sense for a specific slot. During the residency, I played at different times of day, so each set required a different mindset. You can’t approach a sunset set the same way you approach a late-night peak-time slot.

What I really enjoyed, though, was the freedom. Being in the same place for a month allowed me to build a relationship with the space and the people. I felt less pressure to prove something and more space to just have fun. I think I let go of a slightly more “pretentious” side of DJing — that idea of only playing very specific records to signal something. It became more about what felt good in the moment. That shift was probably the biggest takeaway.

Being a devoted Chelsea supporter, do you feel your connection to the UK through football has influenced your relationship with UK music? And where are you hoping to head next?

I was actually living in the UK for my first few years on this earth, Surrey to be exact. It’s funny — the last time I was in the UK for a show, I visited a museum exhibition about the history of Black British music. I was watching one of the video installations and saw this quick flash that looked like me. I kept watching and realised it actually was me — they had included footage from my Patta x Keep Hush set in the exhibition.

That was a surreal moment. It made me realise that my connection to the UK scene isn’t just from a distance — in some small way and it was cool to be included in the Black British music ecosystem. I’ve always felt drawn to the UK, not just because I’m a Chelsea fan, but because of the depth of its bass music culture. There’s such a strong lineage of sound system energy and low-end pressure that really resonates with me. That influence definitely shapes how I think about rhythm and space in my own sets. I’d love to spend more time in places like London, Bristol and Manchester — cities with deep bass traditions and strong musical identities. And of course, making it to Stamford Bridge for a Chelsea game is still on the list too!

Ready to hear the next step? is out now via Who’s Susan — press play and start the journey with Jerrau.

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