Interview: J.E.F.F II

J.E.F.F. II is a French guitar player, composer and music producer based in Los Angeles, California.
Born in Paris in a family of music lovers he started playing the guitar at the age of 13 after listening to Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Axis Bold as Love’ and Guns n’ Roses ‘Appetite for Destruction’

After graduating from High School he started playing live with several french rock bands performing in some of the biggest venues in Paris such as ‘L’Olympia’ and The ‘Bataclan Theater’.
Growing up listening to Amercian rock and pop music, he decided to relocate to the US in 2016. He’s now working full time as a session and touring guitar player in Los Angeles.

While playing for various bands and projects he began to work on his own original music.

J.E.F.F II  released his debut single ‘Sleepless’ in July 2018. The song comes with a music video filmed in Hollywood.

Often described as a blend of ‘EDM, Californian Hard Rock and lead guitar’ the track is a perfect opener for J.E.F.F.II’s debut album ‘Until the morning light’ which will be released by the end of 2018. Check out ‘Sleepless’ below!

We caught up with J.E.F.F II as he talked about his latest release and more!

So how has your latest album/EP gone so far with fans then?

Pretty good, people were a bit surprised by the genre of my new EP. It’s very electronic music oriented and I’ve been playing rock n’ roll only for many years. But I like new challenges, this time I was really focus on the production and the mixing part.

Tell us something about the release no one knows?

I’ve recorded almost everything at night. I’m working with bands and doing sessions during the day so I don’t have much time to focus on my own music. I felt like a zombie doing this record. I was feeling exhausted 24/7 but it was worth it!

If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?

I would love to collab with Josh Homme from QOTSA. He’s so creative, it really inspires me. ‘Song for the deaf’ was one the first rock album I listened to.

How has your latest single been received?

There’s people liking it some others hating it. It’s a new chapter for me. I use to release albums with a lot of guitar parts and just some drums and bass behind it. Now my sound is very produced with a lot of effects and samples. So I will reach a new audience but probably disappoint some people at the same time.

Can you tell us about the meaning behind the track?

Well it’s all about making a high energy track that people can go crazy to. I like to say that my music is about hedonism, escapism really. I’m not into sending a specific message or political stuff, I just want the people to have fun.

What tours do you have coming up, and what can you tell us about them?

I’m planning on doing a tour around California at the beggining of 2019. I’ve been playing a lot in Los Angeles but I wanna go out of the city. Then, why not trying to book a full US tour it will be cool! But I need to write a few more songs before

What venue are you most looking forward to playing the most, and why?

Well I would love to perform at some outdoor festivals, the atmosphere and crowd is great in general. Plus it’s always sunny here in Cali.

What else can we expect from you in 2018?

I’m working on a new single and a new music video. I try to make as many videos as I can when my budget allows me to. I work a lot on the visual aspect of my music and it’s always fun to shoot a video!