FUSE TV - Jai Wolf Talks Glowing 'Kindred Spirits' EP & Being An Immigrant in Donald Trump's America

Jai Wolf's Kindred Spirits EP begins with a hum. A lone, tenor, E flat that's almost inaudible at first, but grows louder with each millisecond, buzzing underneath as a top melody floats something victorious overhead. The intro to the New York electronic magician's debut EP (out on Mom+Pop) only lasts a minute, but it sets you up for what's to come: something with soul that's ever-present, that low vibration you feel in your gut when you're embarking on something new.

The hum builds into "Indian Summer," which was released on Odesza's Foreign Family Collective in 2015, racking up 11.8 million listens on Soundcloud since then. It was Sajeeb Saha's crown jewel in his Jai Wolf project upon release, which had only started a year before. In 2014, he was merely putting out remixes, switching up songs by Melanie Martinez, Dirty South, Alesso and ODESZA. His remix of Skrillex's "Ease My Mind" got the attention of Skrillex himself, who spun it at Glastonbury Festival and then released it on his OWSLA label.

Born in Bangladesh, Saha's family eventually settled in New York, where he continued following his love of music. Brought up on Bengali and classical music and making it to All-State Orchestra on violin, he ventured into EDM in 2011 under his No Pets Allowed moniker, opening him up to the world of bootlegs and remixes. But Saha knew he hadn't found a sound yet. He needed more heart.

That's how Jai Wolf came about. And that's why the intro to the EP is so important.

"I just found dance music to be sort of very saturated," Saha told us over the phone while prepping for his show in Seattle the next day. "I didn’t feel like I wanted to write EDM music for 10 years, especially because it’s a very saturated genre and people are quick to jump from one EDM artist to the next. They’re easily forgotten. I just wanted to write songs that I felt would last a little longer. Like I still love EDM music, I still listen to it. I have a lot of respect for it. But I didn’t feel satisfied writing it. It didn’t really reflect, as corny as it sounds, my soul, you know? I just wanted to take a step back and try to write music that I felt more connected to."