Remixers/producers The Jump Smokers first gained recognition when their ‘Chris Brown should get his ass kicked’ track went viral online and invaded the club scene last Spring. The Chicago-based foursome (aka Roman, Reydeon, V-Skratch and Johnny Digital) have parlayed that initial interest into a successful remix operation, churning out pop-friendly chart-topping dance remixes for some of the top names in the Biz – Rihanna, Beyonce, Pitbull, Mariah Carey and more.

Now the men behind the mix step out in front, as their electro-infused debut album ‘Kings of the Dancefloor’ drops today. (It is now available in iTunes.)
The guys were kind enough to take some time to talk up their whirlwind journey with SoundCheck.

VSC: ‘Kings of the Dancefloor’: This is a pretty big deal, your debut album…what can we expect?

JS: It’s a huge deal for us! We’ve definitely been working hard in the studio for the past year and are very proud of this project. This album has a little something for everybody, but every single song is an official electro-pop club banger!

VSC: You have collaborated with some of the biggest names in the Biz…any guest performances on the album?

JS: Yeah, we’ve been blessed to work with & remix for some of the biggest stars in the game right now! Thankfully, we were able to bring some star power to our debut album as well…we have Pitbull on 3 tracks plus Baby Bash, Frankie J, Twista, Honorebel and a few more.

*****

VSC: Island/Def Jam had commissioned you to do the official dance remix album for Mariah Carey’s ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.’ Even though you completed the entire album, it was never released. Know why?

JS: We worked so hard on the ‘Mariah Carey vs. Jump Smokers’ remix album. It was supposed to come out in March…then May…then June…now we have no idea. We’re still optimistic that it will see the light of day.

VSC: Virtually every remix you’ve done for artists like Rihanna, MC, Beyonce and more ends up topping the club/dance charts. What was it like for you the very first time that happened?

JS: I think we had like 5 remixes in a row top the Billboard Club / Dance Charts…still can’t believe that!  But we’re also not dumb, we know we’ve been quite fortunate to land huge remixes on some killer songs…so that automatically gives us a head start to make a great remix.

VSC: Considering how dismal music sales have gotten over the last few years and seeing major artists debut with less than 50,000 copies of an album sold in their first week, what type of challenge do newer artists such as yourself face, and how do you deal with it?

JS: It’s definitely a tough game…we don’t expect to sell what Drake or Eminem did in the first week! Our project is gonna be a long haul…we’ll just keep droppin’ singles & performing all across the country and world to try to win over one fan at a time.

VSC: Out of the collaborations you’ve done, is there a specific artist whose voice works best with your beats?

JS: I don’t think anybody can deny how perfect Pitbull sounds over our beats…it’s a very natural fit!

VSC: Your musical inspirations?

JS: From a group standpoint, it’s hard to deny what LMFAO & David Guetta have been able to do for dance music.

VSC: What’s next for the Jump Smokers?

JS: The most important thing on our agenda right now is promoting the ‘Kings of the Dancefloor’ album. We’ve got so many release parties/performances planned…from Vegas to Boston to Canada…you can find all our dates over at our official Website. 

Bottom line is we’ve had a great year, but we are in no way even close to being satisfied! We’re just gonna keep working hard until people aren’t feelin’ that Jump Smokers sound anymore…hopefully that won’t be for a long time.

Read more: http://www.varietysoundcheck.com/2010/07/jump-smokers-from-underground-to-mainstream-kings.html#ixzz0uzRiZpqw
Visit Variety.com to become a Variety subscriber.

Check out Roman’s interview with Chicago Verse United about the show!