Jason Ross

First making an impact on the club scene with his brand of anthemic trance and progressive house, American DJ/producer Jason Ross’ sound has constantly evolved, incorporating dubstep rhythms and pop vocals. He first gained major exposure during the mid-2010s, when popular trance group Above & Beyond began playing his tracks, then releasing his material through their Anjunabeats label. By the end of the decade, Ross began producing sharper, more bass-heavy material, and his 2020 full-length debut 1000 Faces consisted of big room house and melodic dubstep tracks featuring a variety of guest singers. He has collaborated with melodic house producer Gryffin (as on 2021′s “After You”) and multi-genre artist Seven Lions (2022′s See You Again), among others.
Originally Ross hailed from Minnesota, where he was trained in jazz and classical music for most of his childhood. It wasn’t until he was 12 years old that he heard tracks such as ATB’s “’Til I Come” and Darude’s “Sandstorm,” forever changing his taste in music; Ross was so inspired that by the end of the year he had produced his first album, even though it never saw a proper release. Ross eventually left Minnesota to study at San Diego State University; it was during his studies that Ross began building up a name on the local club circuit, including a residency at Fluxx. His first fully realized release came in 2013, “Nightfall” on Mondo Records, although it wasn’t until early 2014 that he had his big break with the release of “Burma” on Monster Tunes; the track was featured three weeks in a row on Above & Beyond’s globally popular podcast Group Therapy, an achievement if only because they rarely feature tracks that aren’t released on their own label, Anjunabeats. Soon after the A&R officer from Anjunabeats contacted Ross, asking him for more material. One thing led to another and Ross ended up joining the Anjunabeats family, becoming their first signing in over two years. He released numerous singles through the label, including “Elements,” “Cairo,” and “Valor,” and he mixed 2016′s Anjunabeats Worldwide 06.
“Higher Love,” a collaboration with Seven Lions, appeared on Anjunabeats in 2017. This was followed by 2018′s “Ocean,” on Seven Lions’ Ophelia label. Ross continued releasing trance-leaning material, such as 2019′s Rooms EP, on Anjunabeats, while his work on Ophelia tended to fuse dubstep and future bass with pop. 1000 Faces, his debut album, arrived on Ophelia in early 2020, with featured vocalists including Dia Frampton, Melanie Fontana, and Emilie Brandt. Ross mixed a volume of the 20 Years of Anjunabeats series later in the year. In 2021, Ross released the Convergence EP, as well as the Gryffin collaboration “After You,” which reached the Top 20 of Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. See You Again, a two-song EP with Seven Lions, appeared in early 2022. Ross released the singles “Hate This Kind of Love” (featuring HOLT) and “Take You Home” (with Dia Frampton) in advance of his second album for Ophelia. ~ Liam Martin & Paul Simpson