Having already established themselves with a flurry of impactful releases over the last decade, Denver-based outfit Justus And The Limits are back to their vibrant best once again with their breezy new single 'Hard In The City'.
Bringing back more of that rich and woozy reggae-inspired aesthetic they are known for, 'Hard In The City' makes for an incredibly inviting listen. Oozing with tender textures, a sweeping atmosphere, and groove-filled hooks throughout, they continue their ascent as one of the more captivating names doing the rounds right now.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with them to find out more about their origins and what has been inspiring them most over the years.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
The saxophone was the first instrument that really grabbed my attention. I was born in 1986 and that was a huge era for “the cool sax man in the suit”. It just looked so impossibly cool when it was being played…it was also a giant shiny piece of brass and had a sound like no other.
I remember being in kindergarten and they told us to pretend to play an instrument and dance around on the stage in our grade school cafeteria and I panomined a saxophone because that was about the coolest thing I could think of. Later on in school the tenor saxophone became my first instrument and I absolutely loved playing the bass lines of all the soul and rock songs. Some of my favourites were Gimme Some Lovin’, Mission Impossible, Louie Louie and Secret Agent man.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
When you’re a little child you listen to mostly what your parents have in the rotation. For me this was CDs of Tommy by The Who, Workingman’s Dead by the Grateful Dead and Paul Simon’s Live In Central Park album. I also went through a 2-3 year Beach Boys phase as a child. They were the first band I really went down the deep dive on. I had two older siblings and my brother Dylan was always jamming Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam from his room. I really enjoyed Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun and Fell on Black Days. Thinking back it was a fairly in depth and diverse exposure to quite a bit of music. We didn’t have television in our household so music and reading was about all there was to do.
When I got to my teenage years and started to hone my own tastes a bit I became obsessed with Pop Punk and Ska. If it was on Fat Wreck Chords or Kung Fu Records then I was listening. Bands like NOFX, No Use For A Name and Lagwagon were particularly appealing. I also really dug Sublime. My sister gave me the self titled Sublime album when it came out and I became absolutely obsessed. Most people in the American reggae scene have a very similar origin story with Sublime. We all might not listen to it much now but it was crucial in pushing us further into reggae and in a way is the common thread that bonds most of us together.
What was the first album you remember owning?
My sister Onawa gave me Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt. That CD was the absolute gospel and I positively wore it out. I jokingly credit this to being the reason why I grew up to write reggae songs.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
Oh man, there are so many songs I wish I could have written myself! The songs that are carefully crafted complete stories like Duncan by Paul Simon, My Old School by Steely Dan or Hotel California by The Eagles are the nut I still haven't been able to crack. There is something purely literary about them and they all tie back into each other thematically. I wish I could write in that style more.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
Honestly, the less pressure I put on the act of writing music the more music I write. If I sit there in the room with the guitar on my lap and a pen on the paper I will never write very much and if I do it will be strained and clunky. However, if I let the songs emerge organically then they are much more sincere and fluid. This in turn makes the process much smoother and fulfilling which makes the songs that come out of the writing more natural and your relationship with them is more wholesome and positive.
I’ve found songs come to me in two ways. One is when the chorus or verse pops into my head and I realise I have been singing the melody all day to myself and I sit down and write it out. This is the most common way my songs come. The second is that I find some really sweet sounding chords while I am playing guitar or I write a riff that becomes something and then I put words and melody to that. I usually hear a fleshed out composition version in my head that I modify slowly or work on parts as they come up. I’ve found the easiest mindset mentally is that if you have at least two verses and a chorus you have a song. Bridges, intros, outros, etc can come later but if you can get those two verses and a chorus written then that song is on its way.
I do find if I listen to a certain type of music it will help me write in a similar style so I try to use my brain like a sponge and fill it with different things so they come out in my writing.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
I have been on a serious Stephen Stills kick for about a year. What absolutely gorgeous melodies and raw talent that man has. I also intermittently get into old soul and RnB every couple months and listen to that incessantly. Another album I really got into last year was Smokin’ by Humble Pie. Steve Marriott was a force of nature.
Of course, once the sun comes out in the summer it’s time to listen to some Grateful Dead live shows. We all listen to a ton of Dead in the band and I really enjoy a hammond organ so the Brent Mydland years are usually where you will find me.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
The Exile On Main Street era Rolling Stones. What a complete raucous party that would have been. Just pure rock and roll; not too tight and not too loose but swagger for days and they owned every bit of it. The music was also incredible!
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
When someone comes up to you that has really been LISTENING and tells you that you are on the right track and to never give up.
You might not reach everyone but if you can deeply reach just a few people it is worth every bit of toil and strain you have invested and is vindicating in a way that refills your muse and pushes new music out of you.
And what is the most frustrating part?
Not to be callous but sometimes it can feel like no one is really paying attention to the music anymore in the modern era and there are folks that are just listening to what is packaged to them as “music”. I suppose this has always been the case but you have to get right with this and get over it within yourself and make the music for the sake of it being your art. I always tell myself, in the history of time anytime anyone has ever tried to forcibly act cool or popular they usually miss the mark. You have to stick to what you want to see your art become and forget about the rest. At the end of the day I want to truly be proud of my art, not listen back to a song and realise I pandered and then cringe every time I hear it for the rest of my life.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
I was on stage playing one of my first open mic gigs in college. I felt I had messed a few chords up because I was nervous and apologised openly on stage saying some sort of, “Oh, I really messed that one up, sorry”. When I got off stage my friend Ian Beiersdorf who had been playing in bands at that point came up and put a finger right in my sternum and said, “When you are up there you are the Wizard of Oz man, if you messed up you meant to do it, you never apologise for it!” That has stuck with me ever since and I am eternally thankful to Ian for stepping up giving me the hard love.
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Justus And The Limits' new single 'Hard In The City' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.