Back in the day, when I used DI.FM for my EDM fix, I was hooked on non-vocal trance. Over the years I dabbled in other genres and eventually settled on house music. Specifically deep house. The kind of stuff you could listen to for hours on end and not even realize it. Earlier this month I stumbled across DEEP & DOPE, JaBig’s radio show.
About halfway through, I tagged him on Twitter showing my gratitude for his efforts. It didn’t take long and he responded thanking me for my kind words. A few days later I saw him in a YouTube video titled “Escape.” The short video was produced to promote his Guinness World Record for “The longest journey by bicycle in a single country” on a fixed gear bicycle (fixie). He didn’t stop there… He is preparing for the first ever world tour by bicycle! Before I went to bed that night, I found his email address and requested an interview.
This was a really fun interview for me, and it was a pleasure getting to know Jean. I love his music, can’t stop listening to his podcast, and can’t wait to follow along as he rides his bike around the globe. Hopefully we can connect during his journey somewhere in the world. Without further adieu, it is my pleasure to introduce you to JaBig.
Where did the name JaBig come from?
My legal name is Jean-Aimé Bigirimana, a mouthful for a DJ name. I will let everyone figure out how I concocted the JaBig alias.
Tell me more about your DEEP & DOPE DJ mixes.
I am a professional DJ and in 2003, I started spinning using a laptop. That was an opportunity to record my live sets and share them on my website.
In 2011, I was running out of bandwidth because they were becoming way too popular and I started posting them on YouTube. They took off like wildfire.
I decide to give them a series name. DEEP & DOPE means music with depth that raises dopamine levels aka the happiness hormones. It’s kinda corny but it stuck.
I love house music. I could literally put you on and listen for hours at a time… I’m curious where you find inspiration for new mixes and new sounds. Do you just sit down and start producing or what?
I first need to clarify that I am not a producer. I am a DJ which means that I play pre-recorded music. Differently put, I take other people’s music and put it together into a long enjoyable session.
Most of my mixes on YouTube are live recordings from actual nightclubs, lounges and bars. The end product is actually the result of what was going on at the venue as I adapted to the vibe.
When I record a studio DJ set, I usually figure out what mood I want to convey and I take it from there. Or, it can be that I got a bunch of new music and I want to present them as a new mix. Sometimes, I will also hear a song or track that I love and I build a set around it.
In certain instances it can simply be a challenge. For instance, I will decide to create a compilation with records that contain violin sounds or playlists from artists of a given city. The ideas are endless!
You are originally from Rwanda. Now you live in Canada. Why did you originally leave Rwanda and what brought you to North America?
Those who know the history of my country of birth, or who know how to use a search engine, will figure out why I live in Canada now.
How many different languages do you speak? Also, you don’t use a lot of vocals in your music. I like that. This is the style of music that really got me into electronic dance music.
I speak French and English fluently but with foreign accents, Kinyarwanda at 80% and I understand 60% of Kiswahili but I cannot speak it.
Some of my mixes actually feature a lot of vocals. I just separate them because there is a time and a place for the human voice and a time for instruments to take centre stage.
Tell me more about “Escape.” I’ve watched that several times and really enjoy this story.
In 2016, in the middle of winter, I hopped onto my fixed gear bike, a bicycle with one gear and without any coasting options – the pedals keep on spinning, to cycle across Canada, coast to coast to coast.
This 15-month adventure saw me see the country in ways that not many people ever have and I am grateful for this privilege and I am thankful to the hundreds of Canadians who hosted me, my music fans who supported me financially and the Creator who protected me.
As I was getting close to the Arctic Ocean, where my ride would end, I got a message from Mountain Equipment Co-operative (MEC), Canada’s largest outdoor gear retailer, telling me that they had been following my ride in total disbelief and that they wanted to share the story with everyone.
They were drawn to the story because everything about it was out of the ordinary. The ride was mostly in winter and on a fixed gear bicycle which was mind-boggling because Canada has extreme cold weather (I rode up to -40 degrees Celsius) and snow and it has quite a few mountain ranges. I was cycling in the wrong weather and with the worst tool.
The protagonist (me) also caught their interest. I was not your average adventurer. This was their polite way of saying that there was a black man with no cycling experience who hails from a hot country doing something that not one Canadian had ever done. And to top it off, he was a DJ who knew nothing about the outdoors or winter living.
Anjali Nayar, the film director actually saw the whole story in the right angle as she wondered why someone would rather be out there in Canada’s brutal winter than in the comfort of their home. Was it really adventure or was it an “escape,” hence the title of the eight-minute film.
What is the importance of riding a on a fixed gear bicycle?
The simple honest answer is that people said that I could not do it since it could not be done.
Six months prior to my ride, I had walked into a shop and purchased a bicycle. They were fixed gear bike specialists (they hate it when the mainstream calls the fixies). I rode it everywhere and was going far and wide to the amazement of social media fans into cycling because the distances were rather extreme for a fixie.
So when I got hooked and I said that I wanted to cross Canada, the bike shop and cycling acquaintances said that it could not be done and since I do not like to be challenged… The journey took you 15 months.
Got another bike trip planned or are you done riding long distances for a while?
As a matter of fact, I am currently readying for a bicycle ride around the world to raise funds for two charities that fight child poverty by providing bicycles and meals to pupils so that they can get to and stay in school.
I also should mention that I rode across Canada because I was too chicken to pedal the planet. But now I am mentally ready.
Tell me more about The Jitterist.
It’s a blog where I share personal thoughts on life especially coming from a person who belongs nowhere but belongs everywhere at the same time.
I use Bose noise cancelling headphones I’m always curious what headphones DJs use. What is around your neck?
I use Sennheiser HD 25 Light. I had the pro ones but they got stolen with my bicycle when I was riding across Canada. They are not as loud but I manage just fine with them.
Basically DJ headphones need to be loud yet crisp enough for music to be heard over a thumping sound system. Mainstream ones cannot handle the high volume and they hurt the ears. They also need to be more rugged to withstand years of abuse.
What are you doing to end child hunger and what do organizations like World Food Programme mean to you? Good for you on trying to raise money for such an important cause.
My role is to raise funds for them by giving them free visibility on my YouTube content. Since 2011, World Food Programme has been able to feed thousands of hungry people on the planet thanks to the generosity of listeners of DEEP & DOPE mixes.
Soon, I will take it further by riding around the world to raise more funds for them as well as World Bicycle Relief and to visit the schools and communities where they serve all those meals.
You met Felix Belmont last year. Tell me more about that encounter and what it was like meeting someone that had been on the radio as long as you’ve been alive!
The encounter was pretty magical as it’s an Oscar-nominated film director who is a big fan of both of us who introduced us.
We actually talked shop for a bit and I was charmed by him. I asked him for a photo of us together and he graciously agreed.
Of course that meeting was a personal message from God because that same week I was saying to myself that I was getting close to 40 and perhaps I should leave DJing and become a proper adult. And then in a hotel lobby, I met one of the world’s oldest DJs!
What is your tour schedule like? Do you perform a lot in Montréal?
“Nul n’est prophète en son pays,” goes the saying. In English, it comes out as, “No one is a prophet in his country,” which is a way of saying that I am more established abroad than in Montréal or even Canada.
I had a modest 16-year career playing locally but internationally it’s where I find more recognition and fulfillment.
It is going to take you between 3 and 5 years to ride your bicycle around the world. Will you be in the Bay Area at all? Besides social media, how do you plan to share your experience with the world?
I assume Bay Area means somewhere in California? Yes. I plan on riding there because the scenery is amazing, I have a huge fan base all over the state and I have made some really good personal friends over the years. Plus, the weather is fantastic!
Social media is the most powerful way to share one’s adventure outside a reality TV show which is wishful thinking. So stay tuned for my trip on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube (if I get a video budget) and whatever social media site will suddenly become popular in the next five years.
I like guys like Markus Schulz, Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Gabriel & Dresden and Tiësto. Who are some of your favorite DJs and what do you like listening to when you are not producing a record?
My DJ idols are from my late teens. Most of them don’t play the same music that I do but I like their technical styles, their ability to program a heck of a set and to command a crowd.
Sasha & John Digweed, Danny Tenaglia, Little Louie Vega, jojoflores and Vinny Da Vinci to name a few.
Besides riding your bike around the world, what’s next for JaBig?
Before I get to asking myself that question, I need to start my ride around the world.
Whatever is next though, I hope that I will be out there making the world a better place thanks to my God-given talents and privileges.
Thank you for doing this. I can’t wait to learn more about you and hear more of your stuff. Like I said, I can’t stop listening. In all of the interviews I do, I always give the artist the last word. Go.
The above answer was a good enough last word.
Connect with JaBig:
Website: http://www.jabig.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jabig
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JaBig
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jabig
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jabig
