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BassInside Magazine caught up with JMJ on his way to the Fujirock Fest in Japan:
BassInside Magazine

"Justin Meldal Johnsen
Sometimes You Just Have To Go It Alone

Justin is in the final stages of releasing his new CD from his own band, Ima Robot. He quite literally answered these questions via email from the jet on his flight to Japan. Technology, eh? Last year around this time we spoke to him about his work with Beck, Tori Amos and many others and at that time he warned us that he was hard at work on a band of his own as well. We received an advance copy of the new one and frankly, it is very good. He will likely make some serious waves with this one.

Here is an update on Justin, his band Ima Robot and the perpetual schedule juggling he participates in with the multiple projects he works upon. Dubbed 'Showboat' by the boys in his work with BECK, due mostly to his over-the-top on-stage antics, Justin is just one of those guys you gotta like! You just can't seem to help it. The hair helps!

Bass Inside: So why the trip to Japan?

Justin: My band Ima Robot is off to Japan to play the Fujirock Festival. As far as outdoor summer rock festivals go, it's pretty special. Very picturesque, right on the slopes of Mt. Fuji! Some good bands on the bill, too.

Bass Inside: Is taking a break from Beck something that works out fine for all concerned? He understands why you HAVE to do it then? When and if you want back in, is that still something he would be open to ? And with Joey Waronker (drummer, also from BECK) in IMA ROBOT, things are cool there as well?

Justin: I don't want to get into too much detail concerning my arrangement with Beck, but suffice it to say, he's moved on and so have I. And that's the way it is for now. He just completed a big American tour, with Steve McDonald on bass. Steve is an old buddy of mine, and Joey Waronker and I recommended him for the bass chair. He is the former bassist in Redd Kross. Anyway, Beck and I are very close personally, and there is no doubt that there will be more work in the future, it's just a matter of when and what type. I have the utmost love and respect for him, and ImaRobot is something that just started snowballing without much predetermined effort on my part. If it wasn't as promising, I would have stayed right there as Beck's sideman, because it is an undeniably great and rewarding gig.

The last time we talked you were one busy person, working with and for Beck of course, Jessy Moss, a straight-up R&B project with someone by the name of Calvin and also Mandy Kane. This, if I recall correct, all happened over about one week. Have things slowed down in that front, if even just a bit?

It's hectic. I do tons of stuff all the time, and love it. I just finished a record with Courtney Love, and also did some work with Nelly Furtado recently, amongst many other projects short and long. A little vacation would be amazing! But Ima Robot is getting to be very exciting and active, so there won't be much time to lay low at least until Christmas.

Do you expect more recording our touring work to show up with Tori (Amos) as well at some point?

I sure hope so. Those were very influential, memorable records to make for me. And I would love to do more, so hopefully she'll ask for me when the next record comes around. She is without a doubt the finest musician I've ever played with. Her musical communication is so pure, it's almost as if she has nothing stopping her from rendering any mental concept of any music, as complex as one may be.

You told me the last time that from the women you know that would like to play a musical instrument, most would say bass interests them the most. I wonder why then I have such a hard time finding woman bassists to interview. Hmmmm...

Good question. Don't know how to answer that, really! The women I know who love bass never seem to get around to actually learning it, unfortunately.

You also mentioned you felt that at that time you had a knack for figuring out what an artist wants and giving it to them when it comes to music or performance. Would you call that an intuition thing or something that it took a few hard life's lessons to figure out?

I would call it part intuition, and part the results of my own anthropological study and interaction of working with people, which I hope doesn't sound too pompous. What I mean to say is, it's simply a matter of communicating deeply....without entering my own personality into the communication - just being very comfortable in the prescence of others and doing my best to be an empty vessel for their needs.

Since the last time we talked have there been any new outstanding additions to your rather large bass collection?

I got a really sick '75 P bass that is Mocca Brown - great tone. Also, a Fender Custom Shop '75 Jazz Bass reissue that just sounds amazing. Let's see, the last thing I got was an Electra MPC bass - crazy Japanese thing from the late '70's that sounds really huge.

We've talked about the fact that humor is a thing you treasure, that it is a medicant for long days on the road, tense band situations, general day to day life situations. Has it still stood by you and kept you out of some tough spots?

Without question. One person I work with often calls me the 'ultimate diffuser'. A big compliment. Anyway, it's all about keeping this light - this is rock and roll! And I'm only doing this for fun! This is not a 'serious' endeavor, like being a stock broker or something.

Do you see yourself doing any further work with Air (the band, not the gas) at some point?

I'd love to work more with my boys in Air, but our schedules haven't lined up for a while. They just finished an album themselves, which is almost wholly electronic. I can't wait to hear it, because it was also mixed by my man Nigel Godrich, who I worked with intimately on the Beck album Mutations and Sea Change.

You expressed an interest in doing movie soundtracks if they present themselves, anything on that horizon that you can see?

I've done a few tidbits for some unreleased stuff, but nothing worth mentioning yet. We'll see - it all depends on what kind of breaks I get.

Alright, Ima Robot has been a long time coming. It meant a lot to you back when we last spoke. Aside from signing with Virgin, what else has been happening? Any interviews, radio promo, videos, the usual business dance that is needed these days?

Tons of interviews, photo shoots, and now we're getting played on the radio in the UK and the US. Lots of touring seems to be coming into play as well, starting with two weeks of European festivals in August, as well as a West Coast US tour with the White Stripes in September. So, it's all good! The album comes out on September 16th, so it's lining up nicely.

The CD is just what I thought it would be, unique and gutsy enough to be different. It also sounds like the humour thing is in there and a lot of joy as well. Strong song writing as well. Are others in the band as light-hearted as yourself and if so, how do you get anything done?

Yeah - it's a light-hearted crew. Very fun bunch....we happen to get the most done when we goof around.

Where do the songwriting credits lay, is it a group effort or do individuals submit songs and when the laughing is over, do you make choices as to what to do?

We do both. Lots of jamming occurs, which we distill down to song forms. The best songs came REALLY quickly - within an hour. We're still enjoying songs that live in the 180 bpm range, so most of the material we come up with for now sounds very 'urgent', to say the least.

When do you see the album actually being ready for release? Has any of the artwork been sorted out, photos, graphics, that sort of thing?

The artwork is done - very groovy. It comes out later in the UK...like January, because we have an EP that's out there now, which Virgin UK would like to promote more fully for a while.

Is it too soon to give us an idea as to a tour itinerary at this point? Any preferneces as to where you would like to tour, if it becomes a possibility?

We would love to be in Japan! That would be great, because I know the Japanese music fans - I feel they would have an emotional connection with this music. But I see that we're going to have a lot of stuff in Sept/October in Europe, which is really fabulous as well for us - we'll take anything we can get and be very grateful! More info will start to appear on the imarobot.com website, which I would encourage anyone who might be interested to have a look at.

I know you are just at the beginning of your journey with this band, so you are totally 'in the moment' and rightfully so! But are there people waiting in the sidelines for the tour to wind down at some point so they can volunteer you into their new project or album? If so, can you give us a hint as to who it might be?

Don't actually have anything that hush-hush. We'll see what comes. I hope something exciting. For now, I'm just in the mode of making my band happen. This is from the heart, and has the angular energy that I love to be a part of on stage and in recordings. Frankly, it's kind of a natural extension of my work with Beck since 1996, and prior to that, the band Medicine from 1994. The running theme is the same: the music has the heart of classic songwriting, but the edges are tattered and the whole thing is died bright pink. That's the way I like my music! Relentless, renegade, and irreverant, with lots of twists and turns. But still, just good songs and melody. Once that is there, music cannot be obscured by the other stuff - it always shines through, regardless of how art-damaged you make it, in my opinion. "