The Sargents are a duo bringing together a "love for uplifting, driving progressive house and techno". Jason Forte and Jefferson Sheppard met for the first time at Summadayze in Melbourne in 2007.

10 days later, The Sargents had their first gig.

Of late, you’ll find them in Miami popping over last year and back again for the Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival in March. From this, playing on the east coast of the US as well as South America in April. Add to this, a tour through Europe and a few tracks being released.

The Sargents have been doing their thing around Melbourne for tours including official Stereosonic and Tiesto: Elements of Life tour afterparties, supporting internationals such as Stonebridge (SWE), Martijn ten Velden (NL), Meck (UK), Steve Murano (DE), Utah Saints (UK) and of course, some of Melbourne’s best DJs such as TV Rock (Grant Smillie and Ivan Gough) and John Course.

What hooked the boys was a shared love for the music. It was as simple: “all these bells went off in my head” Jason said after a trip to London, “I finally got decks and things just went from there”. The tranisiton into production seemed only natural, combining a real talent of getting the sounds and melodies out of their heads to being able to expereince that “pretty special feeling” of the crowd going off to one of their tracks. Debating whether it seemed controversial, Jason believes that “you're not really a DJ until you start to produce. It makes you appreciate the music even more.”

For Jefferson, the muscial aspect direction of his life was obivous from an early age, word on the street suggests that as a kid, his mum caught him lipsinking to Bob Segars Old Time Rocking Roll with a yellow plastic cricket bat (Mind you which kid in the 80's didn't to this while watching Alf). Jason on the other hand still hopes that his original aspirations of becoming an astronaut will align with DJ'ing for Richard Branson on the Virgin Galactic Spaceship.

Forgiving the cricket bat affair, both families of the guys are supportive, almost. “One of my brothers is a DJ as well, so he loves it.” mentioned Jason, “We talk about music all the time. My other brother likes it for the free entry. And my mother thinks me giving up being a lawyer to be a DJ is stupid. I'll show her!” For Jefferson, they are right behind them, even if the concept of DJ'ing and it getting them to where they are now is beyond them.

Their sets are nothing short of perfomances. Occassionally performing live with an array of drum machines, synthesizers and controllers to go with their Ableton Live setup. Their performances include not only an array of remixes and edits, but much of their own original material. From time to time, these have been as outragoues as to include Native American Indian headdress. “We don't quite have robotic helmets or a mouse head,” Jason explained, although settling for custom designed shirts for their travels during 2010.

More information can be discovered about the guys through:
Facebook
MySpace


But what else is there to say about The Sargents...

You cannot perform without (not including headphones or CD's)?
Jason: Jefferson?
Jefferson: CDJ's? Ummm, yeah, what Jase said, would be pretty tough to perform without myself. But to be nice I'd have to say Jase, the sets definitely aren't as fun without him.

How many pick up attempts do you get after a 3 hour set?
Jason: Not as many as people think..
Jefferson: Not enough!

Are there more after a 4 hour set?
Jefferson: Any is more than 0.
Jason: No, kids these days don't have that long an attention span.

Current mobile phone ringtone? Jason: The CTU ringtone from 24. Jack Bauer representin'.
Jefferson: Will Ferrell - "Hey, Ma! Can we get some meatloaf? Hey, Mom! The meatloaf! We want it now! The meatloaf! What is she doing? I never know what she's doing back there. Ma, the meatloaf! Fuck!"
Jason: That whole thing is your ringtone? No wonder I can never get through.

Track you'd love to remix?
Jefferson: Freefall - Skydive
Jason: Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough

Track you never want to hear again and why?
Jason: Show Me Love and all its varients.
Jefferson: "This is 100% pure Colombian cocaine ladies and gentleman... disco shit". Never want to hear that PK edit of Fuzzy Hair - The Cat again. Faces of Meth as well. They are equally as bad as each other.

John Farnham – National treasure or scourge of humanity?
Jefferson: I wouldn't say scourge of humanity, so I'm going to go with national treasure.
Jason: National treasure. One of the first remixes I ever attempted (badly) was Take The Pressure Down.

Have you ever played in Albury?
Jefferson: Nope.
Jason: No? I've played in Wagga Wagga though.

Worst thing to happen while playing?
Jason: Hmm, so many. Getting my DJ bag stolen (yes, while I was playing). Power going out in whole venue. Someone vomiting directly onto the spinning CDJ.
Jefferson: Nothing too bad, but knocking the needle off the SAME record twice in a row at the Sunshine People after party a few years back wasn't a highlight.

Favourite Plugin?
Jason: Sylenth. Sounds so analog and doesn't take up much CPU. I just love Spectrasonics Omnisphere too, it's so lush.
Jefferson: I'll have to say Rob Papen's Albino 3, just because it was the first one I started playing around with.

Who was Australia's Second Prime Minister?
Jefferson: Alfred Deakin. Google is the best.
Jason: I only know this because my school house was named after him. Alfred Deakin (no Wikipedia required, I swear!)

Who is the current Prime Minister?
Jefferson: Tintin, otherwise known as K-Rudd.
Jason: Kevin "007" Rudd.

Country and / or event you'd love to headline?
Jason: Global Gathering in the UK, or the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Hopefully one of those will be happening soon!
Jefferson: Coachella.

Favourite Sport (and Team)
Jason: Basketball - LA Lakers.
Jefferson: Tie between Basketball and footy. Teams are: basketball - Michael Jordan (he doesn't need a team), footy - The Mighty Magpies.

Favourite quote?
Jefferson: "Music does bring people together. It allows us to experience the same emotions. People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit. No matter what language we speak, what color we are, the form of our politics or the expression of our love and our faith, music proves: We are the same." -- John Denver
Jason: "Fuck art, let's dance." -- punk t-shirt from the 1970's.

You would turn gay for?
Jefferson: Daniel Miller
Jason: Thomas Bangalter

5 people, dead or alive that you'd want front row, centre at a gig?
Jason: Pete Tong (for musical props), David Brent (for dancing style), Abraham Lincoln (so I could rest my beer on his hat), Kurt Cobain (can party) and Beyonce.
Jefferson: Stan Smith, Beethoven, Michael Jordan, Megan Fox, Tiger Woods to get the chicks!

Quick Questions:
Beatles or Stones? Jason: Beatles. Jefferson: Beatles.
Length or Width? Jefferson: Width Jason: Girth.
PC or Mac? Jason: Mac all the way - ooh shiny. Jefferson: PC, but turning to Mac, I think.
Pepsi or Coke? Jefferson: Coke. Jason: Coke. Have you ever gone into a KFC and you ask for a Coke, and they say "Is Pepsi OK?" NO IT IS NOT OK.
Cats or Dogs? Jefferson: Dogs. Jason: Dogs.
Blondes or Brunettes? Jefferson: Brunettes Jason: For fear of retribution, blondes.

Keep you eye out for The Sargents - Amphibian & La Lacuna available through Long Distance Recordings