Instruction
by Jax Jones (featuring Demi Lovato)

Album: Snacks (2017)
Charted: 13
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Jax Jones' follow-up to his hit single "You Don't Know Me," this is a samba-infused dance hall anthem with booming drums and Brazilian carnival rhythms.

    "My feel when I made the tune was it might be too bombastic for people, like too loud, but I'm hoping everyone from the 50-year-old guy riding through the highways on his Harley, down to the 16-year-old just grooving in her bedroom, can feel this," Jones admitted to Billboard magazine. "It's my take on what's going on out there on radio... You've got the dancehall influence everywhere, so I'm thinking, 'How can I explore that within dance music at my tempo?' which is a lot faster than what's on radio at the moment."

    "My job as a DJ and a producer is just to have a big encyclopaedia in my head," Jones added. "If I'm gonna make a dancehall record, I'm gonna reference the best dancehall that I know -- even if it might just be super underground, but I know it's quality. I see that a lot, across people like Drake and even Justin Bieber. I can hear the reference that they're doing, and it's insane, because it's always inspired. It means I can listen to something that's 30 years old and find something in it that I can maybe bring up to date, or just introduce to newer audiences."
  • Jones wrote the song with his fellow London producer MNEK whose other credits include Little Mix's "Wings", Duke Dumont's "Need U (100%)" and his own collaboration with Zara Larsson, "Never Forget You." "I knew it was going to be lit the minute I played it to him, and he was just like, 'Oh yeah, I know what to do,'" Jones recalled.
  • The track features guest appearances from American singer Demi Lovato and UK rapper Stefflon Don. "I'm just trying to push the listener's ears as much as possible," Jones said. "Demi Lovato being on a record with Stefflon Don is not something you can just make up. It sounds weird, and to me, that's exciting. I want to keep doing that. I look up to people like Disclosure and Diplo - if I could find myself at 50 percent of what they achieved, then I'll be happy."
  • The song was Demi Lovato's second featured vocal spot on a dance track in 2017, following her hook-up with the Los Angeles DJ trio Cheat Codes for the single "No Promises."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Album Cover Inspirations

Album Cover InspirationsSong Writing

Some album art was at least "inspired" by others. A look at some very similar covers.

Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes

Chris Robinson of The Black CrowesSongwriter Interviews

"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The Kingdom

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Art Alexakis of Everclear

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"