8th October 2020: “Take this time to really be an artist” – Jure Pukl: On Lockdown & Beyond – a catchup with the saxophonist, producer and composer from Velenje, Slovenia

Jure Pukl’s Broken Circles is something of a change of tack for the Slovenian saxophonist. Previous Whirlwind releases Doubtless and Hybrid have focused respectively on chordless quartet and saxophone and rhythm sections. The immediate change is in personnel, bringing in the understated vibraphone tones of Joel Ross, and Charles Altura’s fluid yet spacious guitar playing. Drummer Kweku Sumbry and Matt Brewer on bass complete the lineup on what many in the international press have alreaded stated is Jure’s most personal and rewarding album to date. Currently spending time in his native Velenje, Slovenia, we caught up with Jure to find out what he’s been up to in lockdown, and, excitedly, he was able to send us some video footage of some of the things he mentions below.

WWR: You’ve been living in New York City for years, but you’ve decided to spend lockdown back in Slovenia?

JP: No! I got stuck back here on tour, and have spent all my time in my beautiful and quiet hometown of Velenje, Slovenia’s 6th largest city.  In the last few weeks I’ve been able to start playing live again and it’s brought a lot of joy back into my life.

WWR: What have you been up to during lockdown to replace all the time spent touring; you’re a prolific performer, with well over 150 dates a year across the US/Europe/South America…

JP: Other than catching up with family, I’ve gone deep into working on many things that I haven’t had the chance to do for years due to my hectic schedule. One of those is just re-connecting with the saxophone on a more personal level, and in particular spending time playing solo sax:  working on cadences, timing, phrasing, letting the harmony resolve in its own time — it’s not like I have a rhythm section to keep strict time! It’s also allowed me to think more freely while playing a solo, because I don’t get or have to rely on anyone else, so I can really stretch.

WWR: Your socials have been showcasing a lot of quick videos of productions you’ve been making, is this a new development?

JP: I’ve always been into hip hop, RnB and beats (with J Dilla a huge influence), and when I was stuck in Velenje I had to quickly set up a home studio to continue to work on my music.  Finally during the pandemic I’ve been able to work on my own producing for the first time, and it’s because I’ve had the time that I’ve been able to get it together and have been making electronic music for dancers, other musicians and some of my own new releases.

WWR: Anything in particular you want to mention?

JP: I’ve done a new collaboration with a friend from here named Stane Spegel who is a great producer and I’ve layered sax over his productions and we’ve released an album called ’30 Vaccines’ on Loop Surgery as a duo. We plan to do more in the future.

WWR:  Another thing you post quite often on your instagram page is your playing drums… Are you switching instruments?!

JP: Ha… no chance! Drums for me is a personal enjoyment: I connect with rhythms most when I play with drummers on tour, and so for me I’m drawn heavily to play them myself.  The rhythmic elements of my compositions are what drive a lot of the other components, such as the melody, etc, and so the more drums I can actually play myself, and rhythms, the better I am as a musician.  I recommend anyone who doesn’t play drums to learn how to play them even at a basic level, the coordination itself does wonders for your overal musicianship.  During the pandemic I’ve had time now to practice whenever I want in my studio… Sometimes I’ll go at midnight and play for 2 hours. It’s great to have the time to explore and I can feel the work I’m doing on drums helping my own saxophone playing.

WWR:  You’re slowly starting to play live again as Slovenia and surrounding countries have relaxed its lockdown measures… any advice to musicians still largely in lockdown to keep themselves sane until they are able to perform again?

JP: Take this time to really be an artist; work on things you really want to do, things you believe in.  I know full well the financial issues artists are dealing with and that is very stressful, but if at all possible, work on the things you have put off for years because you’ve been so busy, because once everything opens up again, you’re not going to have that time available.

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Jure’s latest album Broken Circles is available on 12″ LP 180g Limited Edition Purple Vinyl / CD / DL: here

Keep up with Jure’s developments on his Instagram

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