“Everything Can be Put into House Music”: An Interview With Compton House Producer, AshTreJinkins – Passion of the Weiss

When you think about your average techno or house music fan it’s easy to imagine a tall, lanky white guy dressed in all black, and not think of the originators from the American Midwest – who were all black. The vibrant spirit of both styles has been kept alive in the underground music scenes and dance clubs around the country, especially its ancestral roots in Chicago and Detroit. Since the beginning, house music has touched the mainstream, but its popularity first explored in Europe, causing a lot of the originators of house and techno to make it a second home.
Recently house music has been slipped back into the American mainstream. Even DJ Mustard has been flipping Robin S like she was the first one to show him love. As for L.A. producer AshTreJinkins, he’s trying to make sure people don’t forget about the hands that made that original house and techno music. I talked with Ashtre about his most recent album, Zone of Enders, how he got into house and techno music, the Low End Theory scene, and Compton, at FingerPrints record shop in Long Beach. —Sam Ribakoff

When I was about 14 or 15, my family moved from Carmel to LA, or to Santa Clara specifically, and down here I heard about Beat Cypher going down in Leimert Park. I met Dibiase through there, saw Ras G there, Pudge, and I just kind of linked up with those three. I met a lot of people who would eventually start the Low End at the Beat Cypher.

The first tracks I started making on Fruity Loops were closer to the Low End Theory sound. At that time, I didn’t see many kids my age doing that, so I thought I should definitely be that kid. And that’s the sound I stuck with for like eight years, hard, but then I just got reality checked one day at a show, and that’s what made me move into house and techno.

Like, there’s a lot going on in LA with techno and house music. I live in Compton, and I rep Compton, and I’m surprised there aren’t more kids that look like me, black kids, making house and techno music. I think I might be the only one.

I feel like I almost get a taste of Detroit, but Detroit is on a whole ‘nother level than Compton. But you know what’s funny? I just recently found out that there’s a strong punk and screamo scene in Compton, and there’s a lot more of that scene than any other scene. But yeah, the house and techno scene is in downtown LA. I wish it was more in Compton though. It would be great to throw a techno party and just throw people off. People still think Compton’s stuck in the 90’s, but it isn’t. It’s more mature now for sure. It’s very business now, not wild west. But Long Beach is getting wild west-y.

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