Artist Profile: jigitz Is Ready for Tour

Emerging producer jigitz resists easy categorization, embodying a spirit of constant evolution in his artistry. His works are dynamic and ever-changing, making for a discography that feels perpetually unfinished and invites transformation at every turn.

After a soundcheck ahead of his first headline show, which also marks the official kick-off date of his tour, jigitz leans back in a booth at The Grand Boston — the city’s sleek, tabled nightclub, known for its polished dance floor. He emphasized the essence of the tour, describing it as “a house party.”

“I want the fans up there with me,” he said in an interview with The Crimson.

Explaining that the venue’s size allows for flexibility, without the need to plan out lighting cues or fireworks, he said, “I think it’s going to evolve,” and “it is always different.”

The event featured support from the Swedish DJ Killen, adding to the night’s energy.

Listeners recognize jigitz thanks to his hit single “tell you straight,” which has amassed nearly 40 million streams on Spotify to date. The data from his Spotify for Artists reveals a dramatic rise in his daily streams since its release, with his numbers skyrocketing from 20,000 to a staggering 200,000 to 400,000 streams a day. This track’s remarkable success was no accident: jigitz first played the release for live audiences in January, road-testing and fine-tuning it himself before its release.

“I remember just knowing it was gonna be big,” jigitz said, “I did not know how big it was gonna be, but I just remember knowing like, ‘Okay, this is the one,’ especially when I started playing it at shows and people didn’t know it was out and the crowd’s reaction went crazy.”

jigitz’s instinct for reading the room plays a significant role in his journey; he said, “I’m going to test out [new singles] every night, and if the drops work, I can tweak it.”

jigitz’s surge in popularity can be attributed not only to the infectious music itself but also to intentional marketing strategies that have effectively amplified his presence in the industry.

“I started teasing [‘tell you straight’] on [TikTok], and then in the media it just took off, like a million views overnight,” he said.

jigitz describes creating a post to build hype for “tell you straight”: “I put clips from [the New York] show on TikTok. And then the caption was like, ‘I thought people weren’t going to come for the opener.’”

With anticipatory captions, such as “loading,” under partial mixes, he signals his confidence in his tracks, drawing audiences into an exclusive experience early on. These short-form videos combine a few drops of a bar, a vocal hook, or an instrumental overlay with a raving crowd surrounding the DJ booth to showcase his vibe at live shows.

Many EDM artists rely on a similar social media playbook: Artists fill their Instagram feeds with clips of themselves behind a DJ booth to tease their upcoming releases. For jigitz, this cycle is both necessary and exhausting. He admitted that striking the right balance between staying visible and avoiding content overload can be “hard.”

“There is never enough marketing; there is always too much marketing,” jigitz said, capturing a paradox other musical creators face.

The constant pressure to “post TikToks all day every day” leaves him conflicted. “You have to, unfortunately,” he said; however, he worries about contributing to the noise he calls “digital slop,” the flood of low-quality, mass-produced content that clogs feeds and fuels his concerns about “dead internet theory.”

“I feel like I’m contributing to this low-effort content, which I don’t like,” he said. “But it does work.”

jigitz stands out among others in the space with a unique artistic vision. His album covers burst with imagery featuring ballerinas and wacky inflatable tube men, a distinct, trend-making aesthetic. These visuals, choreographed through YouTube links, showcase dance blended into digital culture. jigitz enhances his performances by incorporating ballet dancers into live sets and music videos.

“It’s so beautiful, like it’s so impressive,” he said.

jigitz commits to the collaboration: he has a “network.”

“Our other manager, Lauren, just has like 50 ballerinas on deck everywhere. Every ballerina is a friend of a friend,” he said.

After the February release of “tell you straight,” jigitz recalls the pivotal moment he signed his March publishing deal that allowed him to leave his job at an agency. jigitz casually asked his manager about his plans for the deal’s profits. Realizing neither of them had been to Yellowstone, they decided to make it happen.

This creative escape was in preparation for the album “all my exes live in brooklyn.” By the breathtaking beauty of Yellowstone, “the most beautiful place,” jigitz felt inspired to create with total focus, not having been “afforded that opportunity with a job” or the time constraints of regular studio sessions. jigitz and his friends, including collaborator Aire Atlantica, ventured into the unincorporated community of Emigrant, Montana, where they built a makeshift studio in an Airbnb out of some speakers purchased from Best Buy. In the endless horizons and natural splendor of the Great Plains, they found a much-needed calm, a stillness that connected them to the heart of the project, over the late nights that defined their creative grind.

“We worked on the songs until, like, 4 a.m., 5 a.m., and would look outside, look at the stars, and come back.”

The Big Sky Country became part of the creative process.

jigitz said, “To me, the album sounds like Montana.”

After all, this newest EP title references George Strait’s 1987 country song “All My Ex’s Live In Texas.”

jigitz has an exciting future as his career continues on the rise. These tracks are only the beginning.

“I have a debut in me. I feel like [there are] steps to get there, my first project — all DIY in my spare time — and I think this one got better. But I think there’s gonna be a debut album. I don’t think this is it,” he said.

He has performed in Germany and Austria.

“I was the most nervous I’ve ever been before a show in Vienna,” jigitz reflects, “It was my first international show, and I didn’t know what to expect at all.”

After five minutes on stage and “people sang every word,” he could feel assured, thinking, “This is actually working.”

Last week, he dropped “s.o.s,” his “biggest dream since ‘tell you straight,’” an intimate single that rapidly captured attention across platforms. Currently, jigitz has an upcoming international tour with 26 scheduled dates. He expressed the importance of these shows: “I’m dialed right now.”

jigitz is gearing up for his first headline shows, which allow him to carve out authentic sets, as opposed to supporting another DJ’s performance.

“When [I open], I can’t play my deeper, weirder cuts. I feel like because I have less time, I’m trying to win over the crowd, but people coming [to the tour] want to hear that stuff. I can truly make an authentic set like I’m not compromising at all,” he said.

That same authenticity has created viral moments for jigitz to launch his career and catch the attention of the music industry.