We’ve been trying to keep our musical output somewhat steady, and after releasing our collaborative effort with SCDD back in December of 2020, we decided to keep things going with a homegrown EP.

Today, we’re proud to announce another record on our little musical imprint, Jenkem Recordings: Console Mentality by No_4mat.

You may already be familiar with No_4mat and not even know it. His most prominent track, “1992”, is a YouTube algorithm favorite and has broken 13+ million plays, with a couple of his other tracks gaining steam right behind it.

Like AceMoMA, No_4mat is a bit of an NYC nightlife staple, and can probably be found lurking around the city’s nightclubs and dancefloors on any given weekend. But he’s also a bit of a tech nerd, drawing inspiration from nostalgia for the early internet era. His music for this release references video games and childhood memories that will bring you back to a time when you were burning CDs and sharing USBs.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, you can officially download / stream the full EP on April 15 via Apple Music, Spotify, and anywhere else where digital music is available.

We’ll also be pressing some limited vinyl of the release, which will be shipping ~May 1st if you Pre-order now and if you’re hesitant preview the 1st track off the EP here.

Thanks (as always) for being down to explore more shit than just skating with us. Only so many kickflips you can talk about until you want to punch someone in the face.

— Jenkem

—>PREORDER THE DIGITAL OR VINYL HERE<—

Q&A W/ NO_4MAT

Do you regret spelling your name like an AIM screen name from 1999?
Ya got me!! Nah, I love it though. I think it’s awesome to call other people by their alias or screen name.

What’s the idea behind this EP? There’s a video game theme throughout it?
Yup, the themes and naming of this project reference video games. Gaming has definitely been a huge part of my childhood and still is to this day. Growing up just outside the city, staying home, and playing games has been my most ideal escape.

The first thing I ever bought off eBay was a Gameshark which I used exclusively for Pokemon to get infinite rare candy. I wish I used it for other games and tapped into it more but I was cool as fuck around my friends with infinite rare candy.

Do you think you could complete all the goals in the hangar of THPS in one run?
100%. Give me a couple of tries and I can nail all of the challenges in a run.

Are there any games that you think have incredibly good soundtracks?
Literally, any game made for the first Playstation has an incredible score but some that need mentioning are Wipeout XL, Tekken 3, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Wild Arms.

photo: jorge balarezo

What other inspirations do you draw from? What do you strive to create with your sounds?
I usually ask myself if I like a certain sound at least 70%. I can work with it and massage it into something I relate to even more, or else I will be wasting so much time finding the perfect samples or synth. Every track I write is a different story, but I do want the listeners to feel a sense of freedom and a moment to escape whatever negativity they have going on. I believe that dance music gives anyone an opportunity to just let go of stress, even if it’s for a couple of minutes.

There are so many artists that I really look up to when it comes to influencing my sound work, but musicians like DJ Richard, Actress, Bicep, Palms Trax, Skream, and Baltra are just a few.

I work mostly in Ableton but I sample from some synths and drums machines I have. My current setup is a Korg Minilogue, a Yamaha DX7 and an Elektron Digitakt.

Have you ever tried to focus your synth if a track won’t pan out?
Yes, but I would always stop myself at the last second and then apologize. You gotta show your gear love if you want to write good tunes.

Is your family from Manila originally?
Yes, I am a Filipino-American born in the outskirts of NYC. I was in Manila, Philippines when I wrote “Manilla” and I wanted to show the sentimental value that carried over to me as I went to see my family I hadn’t seen since I was 10 years old. I always like to reach feelings of nostalgia in my music and I hope that reflects in “Manilla”.

Where does skating play in with your music history or appreciation?
Growing up in the suburbs there’s not much to do other than video games and movies, so I tried skateboarding because I thought it would be as easy as pressing X to ollie in THPS. But skating definitely taps into my younger days of trying new things and trying to fit in. It always amazed me how satisfying it is to land a kickflip. The nostalgia here is very useful for the feels in the music. Skate videos are basically DJ sets with amazing skateboarding and I definitely kept tracks that I have found through them.

What’s easier, doing an ollie or making a banging tune?
Tune on a good day!

Some people reading this may have already heard your music and not know it. “1992” has 1.4 million views and counting on YouTube. When did you first start to notice the uptick?
The original fan-made video for “1992” reached 13 million views not too long ago but was taken down because of copyright issues. I first noticed the uptick in 2017 after a year of it being on YouTube. Over time, places I never thought I would reach started finding my music and reaching out to me for gigs. It was definitely a surreal experience as I got to travel all over the world and play in places I would have never thought I could, all the way from big clubs in Berlin to an abandoned house in Serbia.

I got to meet so many interesting people that love club music just as I do and experience how they live. It’s crazy, as more people found my music through that video, I saw my crowds grow when I played, and it felt like I was kind of recreating that video in real life with people just listening to my music and losing themselves on the dancefloor.

One of your tracks was used in a Deep Dish video. Skaters seem to like dance music but may not always know where to find it. What are tools you’d recommend for people who want to dig deeper?
When I first started uploading tracks, I’d upload one a day without a care on my Soundcloud. There is a very comfy community of leftfield/lo-fi house producers on Soundcloud that have tracks up that aren’t anywhere else. Other than that, I would just go to your local record shop and try to dig in places you wouldn’t originally think to look. That is always a nice surprise!

Photo & Design: Jorge Balarezo
Special thanks: Mike Bloom, Adrian Michna & Rubadub Glasgow.
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