Jack Edwards Lozeron, better known as local DJ and producer JackEL, never had to sneak into any clubs as a teen. He played them.
By 14, the self-taught, Canadian-born DJ had already amassed enough of a following to nudge promoters in his hometown of Edmonton to find gigs for him at the Starlite Room and underground venues like the Chvrch of John.
“They were like, ‘We’d love to book you, but we know you’re 14, so you have to come into the club with your sister or parental guardian,’” says JackEL, who moved to Las Vegas 11 years ago. “I went in with my sister, and I hit the ground running so hard. … I started playing intense dance music, like dubstep and electro house, and I never looked back.”
The 26-year-old, who played Area15’s Neon Dream event earlier this year and regularly spins at Brett Rubin’s Terrace Afterhours, began playing guitar at age 8, “mainly to impress my father and to be able to jam with him,” but Lozeron soon transitioned to the turntables.
“Right when I got my turntables was when I was using Limewire. I would search up rave music and download all of this music,” he says. “I would go to the library and take all of the electronic albums I couldn’t go home with and download them. At that time, it was [artists] like Bassnectar [and]Deadmau5.”
Skrillex would eventually join that catalog, completing the trifecta of EDM artists the impressionable JackEL would study to develop his craft. “I really felt like I grew up in the golden era of electronic dance music, as it was truly just breaking into the scene,” he says. “It was so inspiring for my productions.”
Lozeron also briefly lived in New Orleans as a kid, soaking in the culture and customs of that city. He remembers strolls down Bourbon Street, where street performers crowded the heart of the French Quarter, enriching the atmosphere with rarefied blues and jazz. Those experiences also helped shape his diverse repertoire.
Shuffle it and you’ll hear satin-smooth jazz with accents of uptempo house, by way of his collaboration with former Kool & The Gang frontman Skip Martin. Then come the buzzing techno bangers (“I Don’t Understand”), thumping house cuts (“Deja Vu,” “Eyes”) and glorious glitch dubstep (the 2022 track “Feel Something, Anything at All”).
JackEL has worked with such notables as “This Is Why I’m Hot” star MiMS and Beenie Man, but he says Las Vegas’ breadth of talent inspires him most. “I’ve produced two records for [rapper] Dizzy Wright, and I’m very thankful for that,” he says. “He’s really put on for this city, and I’ve recently been in talks with him to work with him some more.”
“Sunshine,” a classically funky hit JackEL created with opera and reggae singer Trice Be Phantom Magnetiq (of the Downtown variety show at Cheapshot), also shines as a prolific example of what can happen when two worlds collide.
This artist has come a long way, in miles and experience. He’s currently writing more music for other artists, such as local Latin pop artist Yo Quiero Silla. The ambition he once displayed in Edmonton continues to grow.
“I really don’t want to slow down,” he says. “I just want to keep it going.”
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