How was 2018 for you?
Jethro Heston: Great. It’s been non-stop, but I’ve achieved a lot of the things I wanted to.
Highlights?
There have been loads. The first was waking up one morning in early January and getting a few messages on my socials telling me my track “Desire” had been played on BBC Radio 1. That was a total surprise and was actually one of my New Year’s resolutions, so for it to happen on one of the first days of the year was pretty cool. Working with Alex Mills and Adam Engle were also great experiences, as these are guys that have featured on, or made, some of my favorite tunes.
Having premieres on Selected and SubSoul have also been two highlights as these are two of my favorite YouTube channels and getting my music on them was something I set out to do at the beginning of the year.
My videos have also been particularly successful this year. One was posted on Street Art Globe and it got something like two million views but was then taken down because it was a just a little explicit [smirk]. Check it out – it’s called Jethro Heston Feel Good Banned Video on YouTube, but you’ll only be able to watch it if you’re over 18! Another one of a sweaty guy dancing like a crazy man ended up having about 25 million views. It only took me about 30 minutes to make so it’s pretty crazy knowing you can sit for 30 minutes working on a short video and a month later 25 million people have seen it. The videos got a huge amount of exposure for my track “Feel Good,” which was released in May.
Starting mixing again and getting my sets out there has also been a huge highlight and something I’m enjoying. I’ve been so busy with the production that it’s taken me more than a year to do this but now that I’m DJing again after a few years out I’m hoping to start playing out very soon.
Lowlights?
I always concentrate on the positives!
Song of the year?
I’m going to have to go with “Stay” by Pascal Junior. It was actually released in late December 2017, but I’m only a few days out. It reminds me of a few of the old MJ Cole garage tracks from the late ‘90s/early 2000s because of the reverse voice effect. However, it’s totally unique and it’s just crisp and deep with an amazing vocal and there’s not really much I can fault about it. Looking forward to hearing more from Pascal in 2019.
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
My main resolution is to start playing out. Me and my manager are organizing a few dates, so keep a lookout. There are also a few record labels who have been watching me for a while and I’m hoping to get some tracks out on a few different ones. Things have definitely been taken to the next level in 2018 and I’m looking to push things further in 2019.