Jesse Bru

Jesse Bru is the alias of Vancouver-born producer and MC Jesse Brow, a Canadian producer and DJ hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, who makes soul-tinged, sample-laden house music influenced by the raw sounds of the early 90s.

Taking his creative cues from early-90s sample-based hip hop, Bru's deep house treatment remains decidedly modern and mighty soulful. That foundation has been a constant across his career: he primarily works within house, but within his records a much broader perspective emerges, with a particular emphasis on vocal samples as part of melodic exchanges with pianos and synths.

His debut album "MidCity" appeared in 2012 on UK label Audio Parallax, its sample-strong grooves laced with hints of cut-up jazz, dubby acoustics and celestial vocals. He also records as one half of Vancouver duo Hot Keys, alongside Ryan Trann. Releases on Egoplanet, Piff Records and Inhale Exhale followed through the mid-to-late 2010s, with the 2017 Piff Records 12" "Heartless Love" drawing on deep house, dub techno and jungle.

Bru's "The Coast," released on Happiness Therapy in December 2020, was his first full-length in nearly a decade. In 2024 he delivered two EPs on Happiness Therapy under the "Chronicles of Bru" series, spanning house, breaks, deep house and garage house. His second album of 2024, "Sea to Sky" on Oath, was his first LP since "The Coast," shifting from simmering ambient to pumped-up electro and sparkling house cuts through to downtempo numbers, with 90s-style sampling running deep throughout, giving the patchwork of sounds a nostalgic glow alongside enough contemporary references to keep things current.