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New York City’s John Barera makes his Fortune Signal debut with a joyous celebration of life and love on his latest EP, the “Queens House.” Over four original tracks of euphoric piano-driven house, the veteran producer/DJ expresses the elation he’s experienced at his recent entry into fatherhood and creating a home for his family in Queens, New York.
We had the pleasure of interviewing them and this was the result.
You’ve been a DJ and producer for over 15 years, with a sound rooted in classic techno and house. How has your style evolved over time, and what keeps you inspired after all these years?
I started out playing in the band when I was about 12 years old. I was really interested in playing guitar and was the guitar player in a band, playing around New England with my friends. As I got a little older, I got interested in house and techno music. By the time I was about 21, I was an art student living in Europe, fully immersed in the techno scene. I have been musically focused pretty much within that space and the deep house space ever since. I had already been well into the deep house scene in America but growing up in Boston there was no techno scene at the time. Later, I had a really interesting musical diversion around the time of the pandemic in 2020. I made a fairly psychedelic album called Wild Going Forward that was a really interesting musical turning point for me. It was a moment in time that I left there for people to discover later. I have since let that kind of loose, guitar-oriented, soulful, psychedelic sound out in my music.
I am still really inspired by music that’s coming out – music of all sorts. At the end of the day, I’m a music fan first, before I am even an artist. I am a dancer before I am a DJ, and I really still have that same approach and hunger since day one. It sounds kind of silly, but I feel really blessed that I can still make honest and sincere music that means something to me. Not feeling watered down, directed by labels, and feeling free. Over 20 years after I started, I am releasing music without feeling jaded or burnt out by the music scene. I have always been and still am a person who just turns up at the party to listen to the DJ.
Resident Advisor described you as one of the hardest-working DJs in New York. How do you manage the balance between running multiple labels, producing music, and touring internationally?
I feel like I have worked hard for sure and made my presence known slowly over time through many parties, sets, and events in the city. I am fortunate to be involved in an incredible music scene that has given me so much. For me, finding the balance is just about developing a way to devote just a little bit of time every day to all these pursuits – just enough to make sure you keep the engine running on all of them.
As the co-founder of JACK DEPT with Volvox and Supply Records, what vision did you have when creating these labels, and how do you see their impact on the techno and acid scene?
Supply Records is my first label and is still active today, releasing records since 2011. Our new 12-inch is coming soon! I founded the label with Soren Jahan and still run it with him. It really started by wanting to release our own music, believing in it, not finding any likeminded labels, and feeling like we needed to start our own thing to get our tunes out there.
With JACK DEPT., it was also a really simple and natural-like supply. Ari (Volvox) and I just played a party together at a new club and it went well. We decided to do it again, and we just kept doing it again and again, it really just happened organically. The name didn’t even come in the beginning; it took us several parties before we settled on a permanent name for what we were doing. Thinking about the legacy and impact of both these brands, we gave a shot to a lot of up and coming people and that makes me really happy. I am very proud of the musical catalogs.
Honestly I didnt even think they would have as much of an impact as they have. We are still here talking about these things a decade later and all of the people involved are still doing really great things musically, so that feels really special. I feel very lucky to see people supporting my music after all these years.
Your collaborative albums with Will Martin, ‘Graceless’ and ‘Proceed to the Root,’ have been well-received. What makes your partnership with Will so special, and can we expect more collaborations in the future?
I really hope so, that also just happened organically. We simply realized we can make a lot of great music together. We released the track “SF is Underwater” earlier this year. I’m really proud of it, our first new material in several years. We have been working on an EP together. It’s really a matter of us getting back in the studio to patch everything up and create some new ideas, but it can be hard because he lives in California and I’m in New York.
You’ve performed at some iconic venues like Fabric, Panorama Bar, and Tresor Berlin. How do these legendary spaces influence the energy and vibe of your sets compared to other venues?
It’s funny but I’ve found that the name brand of the club does not necessarily correlate to anything when you get out there. In other words, I’ve had great sets at famous clubs in Europe, but it is the most random places that have surprised me the most. There is nothing like clubs and parties in America. For me personally, hot mass is the best club in the world. I’m not seeking out the biggest clubs, but the best ones.
Your productions have been praised by platforms like Pitchfork and Resident Advisor. How do you approach the production process when working on new music, and what influences you the most creatively?
What inspires me the most creatively honestly is just watching videos of really good musicians. All diverse kinds of music, like watching videos of concerts and getting musically inspired in the studio before making tracks. There are three main musical modes that I operate in. Number one would be just writing and performing my own electronic music on keyboards and drum machines. Number two would be sample based where I am incorporating some kind of sample loop but filtering out some of the frequencies on certain instruments, replacing them with my own. I have a third approach that I started opening up on some tracks and, of course, these approaches get combined as well. The third approach is about me trying to play every instrument in a live band type setup: drum set, even doing vocals, back up vocals, bass guitar, guitar, Rhodes piano, keyboards and percussion. Sampling myself!
In 2022, you scored your first film, Marc17 in the House. How was the experience of transitioning from producing club tracks to scoring a film, and how did it influence your creative approach?
Coming out of the transition period from Covid and being able to interpret all these new guitar sounds into my music from all the guitar practicing I’d been doing when things were in lockdown was really important to this project. Also, just being able to get back in the room with other musicians and feel the energy. I’m really proud of the music I did with Brian Abelson around this, our releases on Toucan Sounds and Sorry records contain music from the film.
With your album “Forever Anyway” released on Planet 9 Records in 2024, how did it feel to have remixes from artists like Panooc, True Yorker, and Black Cadmium? Did their interpretations of your work surprise or inspire you in any way?
All three of them inspired me heavily, actually surprisingly heavily. Panooc, for example – I think they took the original track to the next level. I really think they made the definitive version of the track. True Yorker really put the track in a different space, hearing it on BBC – that remix – was a really special moment for me. Meeting up with Black Cadmium was a real pleasure as well, I know they put a real personal touch into the remix and are really nice people. These remix artists simply all went above and beyond for this project.
As someone deeply connected to the New York techno scene, how do you see the city’s electronic music landscape evolving, and what role do you see yourself playing in its future?
I’ve always wanted to help new artists and labels and encourage people to come to me if they have any questions along the way if I can help in any way. I see myself playing that kind of a mentorship role where need be and also staying involved as a DJ over the years. I recently started a new party called high seas at Earthly Delights in Ridgewood, we just did the first one and it was really fun!
Looking ahead, are there any upcoming projects or collaborations you’re excited about that you can share with us?
Malik Hendricks and I have a record together I am really excited about that will be coming out next year. Really looking forward to that one.
