Welcome to the 21st interview in our series, ‘Stories About Records’ where we ask our members and some of our favourite Djs about their most cherished 45.
We want to know what the record is, what it sounds like and why it is so important to you.
If you’re interested in being apart of this series drop us an email or sign up for our Newsletter to be informed when these wonderful stories drop.
Now it is our pleasure to present Jawa Jones from the UK!
Firstly, tell us about yourself as a Dj and Collector of 45s, how long have you been playing and collecting, why 45s, what was the first 45 you were given and also the first 45 you bought? Do you still have them?
I’m Jawa Jones.
I am a vinyl DJ & radio host based in London, UK and the founder of Wanita.
Wanita means woman in Indonesian and the sole purpose of Wanita is to promote women in music and I do this by running a club night (pre pandemic) inviting female DJs to play female-fronted music on vinyl.
I also invite female DJs around the globe to make a Wanita mix of their favourite female artists which is uploaded on the mixcloud.com/Wanitamusic.
Twice a month I host the Wanita Music show at Barrelhouse radio and I invite women in the music biz to share stories and play records of their favourite female artists.
I started seriously collecting and playing 45s in 2017 so I’m a late starter.
Prior to 45s, I was buying CDs and shellac records for personal use to play on the windup gramophone an ex gave me for my birthday many years ago when I was a lindy hopper and into 1920s-30s jazz and rhythm & blues from the 1940s.
The first 45 I bought was Madonna’s Like A Prayer from a charity shop and the purchase spurred me into collecting many of her hits from the 80s which I am a massive fan of.
I still play that 45 in some of my sets as I love seeing the reaction from both the men & women in the room, and also singing along to the song (badly)!
I can’t remember the first 45 that was given to me but there is one that was gifted by the DJ & promoter Dr. Dr. Robert (Teenage Kicks – Munich, Germany), he was the person who encouraged me to started DJing.
I started clubbing when I was 15 and have always been an avid dancer, dancing for hours until my hair & clothes were covered in sweat.
When I’m on the dance floor I feel so happy and free – in that sense music is my escapism to just let go of my worries and the shit that’s happening in the world for a moment.
I also love the way DJs take you on a journey and educate you with music you’ve never heard before, as well as playing the classic bangers that puts a smile on your face.
I never dreamt of being on the other side of the decks because I love dancing so much but when I played my first public set with Robert, I was hooked.
The joy of playing music that gets people dancing & smiling was phenomenal!
The 45 Robert gave me was The Satelliters; a garage punk band from Germany and in my opinion is one of the best current garage bands in Europe.
They are brilliant to watch live and are super lovely guys.
‘Lost in Time’ is a song written by Neal Ford who was the lead singer of the American psychedelic rock band Neal Ford and The Fanatics. The song was written after Ford left the band and three decades later, in 2009 it was composed together by the Satelliters with Ford.
What is your most cherished 45? Why is it so important to you? What is it’s story (label, year, artist, musicians), where did it come from?
I have many cherished 45s but a special one that means a lot to me is Ervinna and The Stylers ‘Beautiful Sunday’ released in 1972 on the White Cloud label.
I bought it from DJ Honey who I greatly admire as a DJ and whom I’m fortunate to share a friendship with.
DJ Honey is a supporter of gender rights as well as female DJs and artists and listening to her Kiss Kiss Bang Bang radio show and Girls on the Groove for Soho Radio encouraged me to start Wanita in 2018.
Ervinna is an artist from Surabaya, Indonesia which is where my mum was born and her cover of Get Ready; a Motown hit song written by Smokey Robinson is one of the songs on this 45, is a song I always play in a Wanita set.
This 45 is special to me because it represents my friendship with DJ Honey, Wanita and my origin.
The B-side is a couple of cover songs; Crocodile Rock written by Elton John and ‘I Started By A Joke’ by Bee Gees are good.
Ervinna is a fantastic vocalist who has released over 200 albums and The Stylers is a popular garage band from Singapore who has recorded more than a thousand records in different languages is excellent.
I highly recommend checking out their music especially if you’re a fan of the instrumental band The Shadows.
Thanks Jawa for the interview and sharing these great tracks and your passion with our community!
Be sure to check out and support Jawa at the following links:
Check out Jawa Jones on Mixcloud
Check out the Wanita on Mixcloud