From humble beginnings as a high school disco DJ, Sebjak (Sebastian Jak) is now entering a very promising career in the US after taking Europe and the UK by storm.
The house DJ has just finished making a track with Kryder, has collaborated with his hero Steve Angello, played some of the coolest clubs in the States and he’s only 27 years old. Although he’s now rubbing shoulders with the cool and gorgeous, Sebjak spoke to Glam Adelaide from Sweden, remembering his journey fondly and feeling overwhelmed by where he’s at now.
“When I was about 15, I played for high school discos. I didn’t know anything but it was fun to choose tracks for people to dance to,” he said. “Then I met other DJs and we became good friends. I’m from an island one hour out of Stockholm; only 30 thousand people live there so we came together as a kind of DJ club.” When he turned 18, he received offers to play at nightclubs where he discovered House music and his thirst for DJ success.
“We went to cooler clubs where Steve Angello and Eric Prydz played. I wanted to be like them. They played cool music and had a great crowd, so I had to work out how to make my own music,” he said. “I had to use our lovely internet to search my way through Google and that’s how it started. I bought Program Logic and started playing around. From there it took three years to release my first track.”
Having travelled back and forth to America over the summer, Sebjak declares he is in love with the USA and is looking forward to living there and enjoying a career. “Since I got my American visa, I want to be in the States. Many of my friends have moved over there and they’re producing music, the weather is always great, they play in night clubs and that sounds fantastic. I am in love with New York. It’s very, very special,” he said.
Playing in the States is a different scene to the clubs in Europe and England but the young DJ enjoys the hard work and effort it takes to work the crowd.
“The good thing about being in America is that the scene is really big right now. People really appreciate music and listen to it with a new kind of ear because they are not as used to electronic music as we are in Europe,” he said.
“ In America you have to stay on the safe side because they can get unsure of your music. You have to trick them to make them dance but I like to work, read and understand the crowd as much as possible.”
Amongst his successes, Sebjak is playing the renowned Creamfields Festival in the UK this year and has collaborated with Steve Angello.
“To work with Steve Angello is unreal. I still don’t believe I’ve done a track with my biggest influence. I wonder how did I get here? I can die happy!” he laughed.
“And I play Creamfields this year. That will be my biggest gig experience up to date. It’s my first major festival outside Sweden. It’s in a few weeks. Time to get hyped!”
And while he is getting hyped, we can check out his tracks with Steve Angello (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hijffkxhWgk) and the collaboration with Jaz Von D out 29 August (https://soundcloud.com/ultrarecords/sebjak-jaz-von-d-into-the-wild-preview-out-august-29th) and watch the rapidly growing career of this talented young DJ.
Interviewed by Libby Parker
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