Introduction

This ethnography is an attempt to illuminate the personal circumstances that have

shaped Jules Ahoi as a musician, nomad, surfer and citizen of the world. A highly
stressed point is going to be the reflective perception of him being on his path of life
regarding his intentions for the future and current achievements. That leads to
fundamental questioning of life in general, cultural affections and the impact of
understanding oneself in an international environment. The perception of home, nature
and conventions of the western world regarding social media might also play a significant
role.
The ethnography is structured in different chapters attempting to tell small stories that
reflect on Jules Mindset, his musical background, surfing and creativity, expectations he
has to deal with and the significance of social media.

1
Mindset

It seems as if there is always something to discover. I hear the doorbell ringing. I

am taking ambitious steps to open up. It is 7am. It is 26- years old Jules. With a surfboard
under his arm and a small bag he carries on his back. “Let´s hit it mate!” he shouts out
loud. Of course he is not Australian, but he seems to keep up the spirit since he was
staying there for almost a year. Even though that is years away, it feels as if he does not
want to lose the Aussie spirit. We take a ride to the airport. As always, our board-bag is
too heavy, but we are lucky and the young lady at the counter does not seem to care. In
our luggage are just the essential necessities: Two Surfboards, one guitar, harmonicas,
two wetsuits and two sleeping bags. As we sit in the plane, Jules shows me some tracks
of the record they made up for their potential label. But since the previous night was very
short, both of us fall asleep. We didn´t really plan much for the trip. Our goals were to pick
up a van we were going to trip with in Ericeira. To hopefully catch some waves, see the
sun and play a little music. The winter in cologne was long for the two of us. It seemed like
time to make a move. We just felt being ready for the salty water of the ocean washing
away the remaining cold dust of the winter. As a destination we chose Portugal. In
February, one can get lucky with the weather, even though it can get really damn cold. As
the plane sets its wheels on the airstrip, we cannot wait to hop off and hit the road.
Without a car, it is not that easy to get from Porto to Ericeira, we realized. It is a
pretty long way considering that Ericeira has no train station. And no direct connection
from Porto. Nonetheless, there is a good connection between Porto and Lisbon. The
unfortunate fact is that Ericeira lies in between Porto and Lisbon. For us it meant that we
had to pass Ericeira but could not get off the bus! Actually, we did not care too much
about it. We were happy to enjoy the bus ride and that at least the bus driver was not
happy but willing to take us considering our huge board-bag. When we were at the
counter to buy a train ticket, the official at the counter refused to take us. After three hours
in the bus, we finally arrived in Lisbon. But that was only half way. So we decided to stay
over in Lisbon for one night and hook up with a couple of friends that were also randomly
in Lisbon. We were washed out but happy to be in Portugal and didn´t give up the idea to
hit the ocean that very day. It seemed as if Jules was full of energy and more than curious
to see the water again. It felt like a footrace with the sunset, because the light was already
fading away when we reached the tram station to take the metro to a little district called
Estoril. It is located just on the edge to the city of Lisbon. Once we were on the tram we
realized that the metro was just riding along the ocean. As we got off the train, the sun

2
already set itself to sleep in order to welcome us for the next day. Jules let´s me know,
how happy he is to be back on the shore. Since he is back from France, there were only
few opportunities. When we talked about where we would like to go once we will have
picked up the van, Jules is more than laid back and easy going. “I am open to anything, I
just wanna calm down from the city life and have a great time” he tells me and I am more
than happy with his suggestion. We are lucky that we have similar definitions of having a
good time. It implicates to surf wherever the conditions deliver a proper combination of
wind and swell. Have coffee in the sun. Play guitar and talk about essential things. And
once again we are lucky that our definition of essentials is very similar as well. It feels as if
Jules mind is set around playing music and writing songs day in and day out. And that not
for commercial reasons in the first place, but for the sake of enjoying that. He admits
unabashed that he does not consider himself as guitar player and that he only uses the
guitar because it helps him writing new lyrics.
After a little dinner with our friends Lennart and Jonas in a tiny local restaurant, we
hit the hay and cannot wait for the next day to come. The next morning, Jules was horny
to catch some waves in the sunrise. We just strolled along the promenade of Estoril. He
seemed to have seen lines I could not really identify as waves. When I let him know, it
does not really demotivate him. With a long-board, so he tells me, anything is possible.
And then he starts to tell me about his previous times at that very same spot. “Man, when
the tide pushes in, you can catch really sweet rights just over there close to the rocks.
Let´s just hop in there. I am sure it is nice. And it sure will feel good to feel the water”. I am
not convinced, and so we take a ride with our friends just a little up north to Carcavelos
beach. And that does not seem to bother him. With a huge smile on his face he jumps in
his wetsuit and tightens up his leash on the right ankle.
After the session, our friends Lennart and Jonas gave us a ride to Ericeira. We met
Louis just in a seemingly random street to get the van. He showed us a few things and
let´s us know that the waves are on in Coxos. When we rolled into the parking lot, we
could see huge lines peeling in the bay of Coxos. I could not wait to jump in the water. As
I take a look at Jules, he does not appear to be as happy as I am. I ask him whether he
was joining me. He hesitates. And he slowly shakes his head. It seemed hard for him to
explain how he could miss out on such surfing conditions. “You know, it is pretty busy out
there. And I just feel like relaxing and work on some of my songs. But you go ahead!” His
answer did not really satisfy me and I am trying to unlock some more words from him. He
starts to explain that he rather enjoys surfing only with a bunch of people and not with
thirty people in the line up. And that he would like to stay close to his feelings, and his
inner voice would tell him in that moment to just enjoy the view of the ocean, play guitar
and work on songs. He also explained, that his perception of surfing changed while living

3
very close to the shore, when the beach was literally his backyard. He would only surf
when he feels like it and when it feels like being an adjustment to playing music and being
creative.
The next day, we met Louis in the supermarket. He invited us to see a workshop
where he is allowed to shape a surfboard. We were into it straight away. As I listened to
Jules talking to Louis about surfing and shaping boards, I get to know that the surfboard
Jules took for the trip is handmade by himself. Jules does not seem to be proud about it at
all. For him, it is just what it is and he enjoys using it. He seems aware of the fact, that he
could never shape a board as solid as the huge factories do, but he feels the soul of it.
And made it up with his own two hands.
After our experience in the workshop, the wind had changed and the clouds
dropped their tears while mixing with a misty fog. We decided to leave Ericeira and felt like
checking out what Lisbon had to offer for us. Our friends Lennart and Jonas were still with
us, in a separate car though. We came back to the little restaurant where we had dinner in
the first night and started to drink beer. Jules seemed happy with the fact that we would
discover Lisbon once again with different eyes. Because people change and cities as well.
Both of us have been there before. We took the tram riding along the ocean to hit the city
from the bottom. Jules seems interested in the architecture of Lisbon. Interested in the bar
culture and wants to check some Portuguese wineries. We are happy to follow him and all
of us try to keep an open mind for anything that would pop up. As we stroll through the
streets of the historic district, we hear a woman singing and playing guitar. There were no
words needed. We all sat down on old stairs keeping the history of thousands of people
that have walked on them before. And we listen to her music.

Musical Background

It is cold outside. Inside it is more than cozy. It has been a really long day for the
two of us, even though we did not talk about what each of us did specifically. Nonetheless,
Jules is more than happy to give me that interview. In the background an old record of
Mumford and Sons is playing. We are both lounging in our armchairs. Our cups filled with
a nice drink. Jules does not hesitate to answer my first question. It seems necessary to
me, to start asking a question about his initial conscious contact with music. He leans
back and it looks as if he is scanning his mind. After a little while, he starts to explain. He
throws the information right at me and his memories seem to unfold. He has realized that
his parents were into music since he started to think. He remembers coming home from
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school and that he could hear Whitney Houston´s voice already on the street, because his
mother turned it up so loud. For most of the time, she was cleaning the house and was
dancing to her favorite musician´s music. His father, so he tells me, was the biggest
Genesis fan Jules has ever seen. Therefore, he was digging that music as well. His
parents intended to make him play the piano, but he was never into the piano as much as
into the sound of the drums. As Jules presented it, there was no doubt for him that rhythm
was going to catch his attention. Nonetheless, that seems to have emotional reasons as
well. Since Phil Collins appears to be his idol of the band Genesis, he tried to dress up like
him when he was a kid. With a huge smile on his face, he shares with me that there are
still old pictures of him and as well a video showing him with sunglasses, a hat and a
leather jacket behind a Mickey Mouse drum-set imagining to live Phil Collin´s spirit. For
him, that experience marks his first conscious contact with music.
Nonetheless, playing the drums should not stay his priority forever. Since his first
conscious contact with music appeared to be in his early childhood, Jules interest in music
seems to underlie a constant and steady movement. Knowing that he is trying to make it
as a singer songwriter, I cannot wait to ask him when he started to recognize his love for
using the voice. He smiles when I ask him and warns me that I am about to hear a funny
story. The long haired bleached and tinned from the sun young gun tells me in a bleak
manner that he used to rap when he was a teenager and even produced three records. In
his hometown, he has even been close to be well known. But interests seem to differ
when digging deeper into the intentions for starting to do German rap music. Now the love
for rhythm comes back into play. The storytelling through lyrics did not catch his attention
in the first place. No. He shares that it was simply the rhythm and that the voice could
eventually be used as a rhythmic instrument. To rap in double and triple time might have
been what made his perception of his own voice so interesting for the sake of exploring
his voice in connection to rhythm. As well, developing might be closely connected to
exploring and because of that, Jules was not entirely engaged to the idea of becoming a
rapper. Visiting a flea market, he gets his first guitar intending to start writing songs,
because he just felt like it. As the time passed, Jules decided to not fulfill the conventional
expectations of the German society in that he snaps off his studies at the university. There
must be more out there, he thought to himself. He packed his van and left for the Atlantic
coast of France.

5
 Creativity and Surfing

It's 5 am and the wind whispers a fairy tale into my ears. It's about forgotten
ancient stories from the other side of the ocean. Nobody remembers, but the wind does.
Also the pine trees - by dropping its fruits on mother earth - give a rhythm to natures
sound.
I wax my board, jump in my wetsuit and start walking through the dawn. The sun
rises behind the curtain of various trees and turns the morning into mellow light.
The sand between my toes is a steady companion.
I touch the water and my restlessness seems to vanish immediately. Left, right,
left, right- I am trying to give my paddling a slow but strong rhythm.
Diving deep under waves feels like peeking in another space.
Finally, I make it out to the line up waiting for the first mountain of water to approach.
There it is, I start paddling, drop in get up on my feet and let the wave do the rest.
Later on, I take a walk back to my bungalow.
Along the way I catch some croissants and listen to the people waking up. After a nice
sunrise session, the coffee tastes better than at any times.
It 's another day in the sun.

The ocean feels far in this very moment. And in Jules flat reminds nothing much of
it. Except for the color of Jules long, blond and sun-bleached hair. It feels as if I need to
ask about forgotten times. A dream once so fresh, but now vanished in between the
concrete walls of cologne in the winter. And we are still lounging in our armchairs. Our
cups refilled with a nice drink. While the old Mumford and Sons record is still filling the
space in the background. When I ask Jules what surfing means for his development as a
musician, he doesn´t know what to answer straight away. He is pondering. And he finally
starts to explain. It turns out that surfing means a lot for his creativity. Event though he
considers music itself and surfing as separate parts of his life, he lets me know that it
influences his emotional life. When he used to be washed out from all the input he gave
himself through writing songs and making chords, he tells me surfing helps him to reset
his mind. There is an ease he finds within the ocean, so he claims. But it does not seem to
be the ocean only. It is also the people living close to the shore. The easiness of being
when living in a van while having nothing to worry about except for whether the waves are
on or not. But there is also another side of the coin. The days when the wind blows

6
onshore and the waves do not deliver the shape and size to be surfed. And also when it is
just raining and raining and everybody is hiding in cozy homes. People that are coming
and going and Jules is the guy that is always there. That appears to be the enemy. Or
maybe it is source of creativity when the mood is changing like the headlines of daily
newspapers. But for Jules, surfing does not necessarily entail music and music is not
inevitably accounting for surfing. It rather seems as if they live in symbiosis, without
depending on each other. It might be an occasional symbiosis like the symbiosis between
hermit crabs and sea anemones. Every now and then, sea anemones tend to feel at home
on the shell of hermit crabs. But they do pay their rent, in that they protect the crabs from
predators. In return, the crabs understand the anemones as steady companions. And so
the crabs take them to new feeding grounds and sometimes even share the food with the
anemones.

Expectations

Since Jules states that surfing is considerably not the one and only source for his
creativity he shares that it feels as if his followers recently started to have expectations he
might need to fulfill. And that leads to further questions. It seems essential to gain more
knowledge about what he thinks people expect from him. And how it affects the way he is
playing and writing music. Or if it even affects him at all. Whether those are subtle and
unconscious feelings he needs to deal with or whether he consciously tries to create his
music in a goal-orientated manner. I am trying to hold myself back with the aim to not
overstrain him by asking so many deep questions he might have not answered for himself
yet. In the way he talks, it feels as if an inception has started within him. An inception he
cannot stop, but only take as it comes for him. As if someone has planted a seed that
cannot be stopped from growing, until it became a shining flower. Small branches might
have grown already and Jules makes sure they keep growing.
When he starts talking about the responsibility he feels to have towards his
followers, he cannot hide his happiness. He came to understand that there are a lot of
people loving his music. As he explains it, he did not have any expectations about
becoming famous. He was only playing music because that was what made him happy.
He describes his fans as people sharing similar views of the world as he does. People
who love to drive around with a van to find new spots. People that love to connect with
nature and try to keep an open set of mind. And people that love travelling and surfing. He
seems to have consciously realized the potential of his music when they released their

7
last record “In between Lines” in 2016. As they pushed it online, more and more people of
his community felt like helping him, because they simply liked what they heard.
But the most unexpected thing that has changed a lot for Jules Ahoi and the
Deepsea Orchestra neither happened in France nor Germany. It was a lukewarm summer
night somewhere on the Atlantic coast of north Spain in between the Basque country and
Cantabria. The surf has been good that day. The coffee has tasted sweet and the sun
seemingly shined upon Jules ass. He randomly met a stranger in the parking lot. And it
turned out that he was also into playing music. So he invited Jules to have a beer and
some wine together in his van. They were just Jamming around. Maybe the guy was just
curious or he saw something Jules. All of a sudden he asks him to play a song he
considers his favorite. Jules didn´t expect nothing. And played his favorite. He realized
that his new friend called up someone and was holding his phone close while Jules was
singing his song. The people on the other side of the line seem to have liked what they
heard. And invited him to visit them in Cologne. The people listening to his song on the
telephone line were representatives of Sony. So Jules packed up his Van and took a ride
to Cologne to meet up.
And that has changed a lot for Jules and his band. They offered him a contract on
probation. That would go on for six month. Meaning that they will observe and guide them
through their development as a band. Excluding any kind of expenses. That means they
only push them by organizing concerts for them. Connect them with sponsors and brands.
And expect Jules and his band to create a new record as a reference sound. That record
is not meant for the public. Perhaps the opportunity Sony offered Jules can be seen as a
trigger for the expectations that started to influence him stronger than before. And those
expectations from outside might also presuppose his self-expectations. And lead to a
more targeted inner motivation. Including a higher responsibility towards his band
members and him. This happens within different levels and stages. First of all, it feels as if
Jules is aiming to keep producing more songs, has to talk to more venues and sponsors,
needs to create an online shop, has to hold the band together and keep rehearsing with
his band so their live performances work out just the way they want. That seems like a
challenge, because not all of them live in cologne plus their rehearsal room is in Münster.
That means that he has to drive back and forth at least twice a week. All the expenses he
has to pay himself, because they barely earn money with their music yet. And that leads
to further challenges. When treating a band project as a job, which is not really paid, one
has to live of something. So Jules tries to catch any opportunity to earn money. That is not
always easy, because his band project is eating up all his time, like waves are snacking
the sand off the coastlines. By sheer good fortune, I could help him find a job in a small
Music Merchandise Company named Lo-Fi-Merchandise, just located in the center of

8
Cologne-Ehrenfeld. That appears to be a sweet opportunity to earn money while staying
flexible, because the boss has an appreciation for Jules goals and it also helps him to get
more insight into the commercial market of the music business.

Social Media

The conversation develops as the old Mumford and Sons record comes to an end.
Jules and me adapted to the interview situation and feel more and more comfortable in
our conversation. We are friends and therefore I do not hesitate to ask uncomfortable
questions. Still, I try to cover them with nice words. Since it is hard to avoid seeing posts
on Facebook of his Band Jules Ahoi and the Deepsea Orchestra, the assumption that
Jules is using social media as a beneficial tool to create an image of himself but losing
authenticity while doing so grows within myself. But I am trying as hard as I can to
approach objectivity. Furthermore, I feel that it is more than important to stop the
unconscious influence his posts have on my person. I try to erase my assumption made
initially regarding his musical projects since I know him. It is not an easy thing to do
considering the jungle of posts presenting a lifestyle he lives, but attempts to share on
Facebook and Instagram with the entire world of the World Wide Web. I would like to
present an example.
In July 2015 I was coming back from a trip to Portugal with my friend Simon I also
play music with. On the way back we stopped in France to catch a little surfing session in
Seignosse á la plage Les Estagnots. As we stroll through the parking lot to have a peek
on the ocean and the waves we run into Jules arms. He was as happy as we were to
randomly meet. After a little talk, we hit the waves together and after the session we were
cooking coffee in the parking lot. A little jam session developed. He presented a few of his
new chords and songs as some of his friends also gathered around. Some of them started
taking pictures. Being back home in cologne, I logged into my Facebook account finding
me linked on more than a few of those pictures. They were tagged with labels
representing a seemingly “easy” lifestyle on the beach without having worries. The
question arises whether Jules wants to label his life through pictures on highly visited
platforms such as Facebook and Instagram for narcissistic reasons or is he attempting to
use it as a tool to find new followers? Or his intention could be the enjoyment to share with
his friends what he is actually doing in his everyday life in France, Seignosse. Or
respectively what he assumes his friends want to see.

9
 All those questions linger in my head while maneuvering myself through that
interview. I am smiling. And I am trying to formulate the question as harmless as I can. In
the most possible diplomatic manner, I let him know that I did not miss out on seeing his
active participation on social platforms regarding his musical project. And that I really want
to know how that feels for him regarding his authenticity. He takes a long break. It seems
as if he is digging deep into the shallows of his mind searching for an answer satisfying
him. Breast text. Real talk. He seems to see where I am going. And the temperature in the
room feels as if it is climbing up the thermometer. Than he leads himself back into self-
composure. And starts his monologue. He describes his perception of social media as a
curse and blessing at the same time. He reveals the fact that he does not want to spend
time in front of his computer setting up posts, answering e-mails and creating events
online. He feels that he is actually losing time while doing that which he could in fact use
for playing music instead of just talking about it. That´s also why he wishes himself to get
a booking agency handling all that kind of stuff for him.
Additionally, he finds it hard to talk about money, because he cannot play for free
all the time. But that seems to be a huge difficulty for him, because talking about money
might be aggravating with people one knows, but with strangers, so he says, it is even
harder for him. And also is tiring. Even though he is not actually cursing that, it seems to
be the curse for him.
Regarding the other side of the coin, it is a blessing for him in respect of getting
immediate feedback of his followers. He claims that there might be no other way to reach
as many people through different sources but social media platforms such as Facebook or
Instagram. He sets the scenario of a small, unknown band playing in a bar. There might
be twenty people attending. Ten of them love it. Five hate it. And the five remaining
people simply don´t care. That´s why he feels blessed to have the opportunity to share his
music on Facebook and Spotify. The potential of people that eventually like his music is
just bigger. With a shy smile he shares that he also uses spotify and loves it, because he
is able to explore all kinds of music. And also music he did not know before. And also
connect with other bands and tentatively create new collaborations for setting up events
and extend but also overcome the borders of the own horizon. For me, his answers make
perfect sense, even though it triggers more questions in that he didn´t answer the
question regarding his perception of authenticity. We refill our cups. Stretching us in our
armchairs. I am trying to keep pushing the interview with essential questions. I take a
small break. And then ask him whether social media is for him a concept to establish
means for the purpose. While answering that question he seems detached. Through
social-media, so he claims, he is able to create a community following his music. He also
describes it as a fun thing to do to represent individual interests and make them

10
accessible for the public, while pushing it through posts. Which seems a little contradictive
to what he said earlier in the interview. Namely that he would enjoy having a booking
agency that does such things for him. In consideration of my question, he admits social
media as means for the purpose to sell oneself. Keeping his words in mind, I try to make
him share deeper thoughts. I would like to know, whether he thinks that people play a role
on social media platforms, and whether he thinks that he knows what people would like to
see on his Facebook- Page or whether he only posts things that are actually on his mind
which he contemplates to be important to share. His reaction comes immediately. Jules
seems to have developed a strong opinion in regard of authenticity, social media and him
sitting in between the chairs. He claims to be more than convinced about the fact that
people presenting themselves on social platforms in a manner that is just not authentic
and aiming to sell things while having success will fall through their own facade. That, so
he says, strongly encourages his demand to only show parts of his true personality.
Respectively, to not share what he does not account for. Nonetheless, he is conscious
about the fact that this perception is always affected by subjectivity.

Conclusion

Jules seems to have several influences that are important to take into account
when portraying his personality and his approach to music and life.
First of all, his parental influence seems important to be mentioned. Since his early
childhood, he has been exposed to music. His father opened up his mind for the band
Genesis and Jules identified himself with Phil Collins who inspired him to start playing
drums against the will of his parents to play the piano. His mother on the other hand
introduced him to Whitney Houston. Those influences he received from his parents are of
contrarian nature, but might have had the effect to open up Jules minds for various
genres. Also that his parents encouraged him to learn instruments and supported him with
his plans appears to be a solid substance to stay encouraged in regard of playing music of
any kind. But it seems as if there had been a strong intrinsic motivation as well in regard
of his earlier musical projects. His approach seems to have always been to try out new
things within the practice of playing music. He was curious of his voice when he started to
open himself up for rap music and as well to start rapping himself. As a result, Jules kept
pushing him without any specific goals, but for the love he feels for music in general but
also for creating and playing music himself.
Furthermore, travelling appears to have had and still has a strong influence on his

11
creativity and inner processes. He can benefit from being out in the nature, the ocean, to
meet new people and from simply being on the road while discovering new areas, spots
and coastlines. As he told me that 90 percent of his lyrics are rooted in personal
experiences, it seems approachable to claim that new input is required to keep his source
of creativity springing. Whether it is the big city life, travelling in a van or staying in one
spot close to the ocean, Jules appears to keep writing down his experiences he makes in
everyday life and converts them into lyrics. When listening to his recent record, love
appears to be a strong topic, in that he keeps telling stories about the romances and
relationships he had. But also the concept of loss and the desire to just walk away and live
on a lonely island might mirror his inner feelings towards the instability of life and human
emotions.
Even though he claims to keep up his authenticity, it is perhaps an
unaccomplishable challenge in regard of the musical market he chose to participate in.
When we spend time in Portugal I kept wondering whether he can deeply connect with the
idea of selling oneself on social platforms and he admitted that he sees no other way than
creating a label mirroring a lifestyle people can identify with. He further admitted that only
then people would also identify with the music they listen to. Otherwise, without pushing
his music on social media and without creating a label people dream of, he could not
catch followers. That perception of the music market might reflect on the success of artists
who have already succeeded in making a living with their music, but also on an inner fear
of the unknown and the motivation to try anything possible to approach music as an
occupation.
In regard of surfing, it seems important to hold onto the idea that it is a source for
creativity, but also that it is not an essential, rather an external part of Jules life, that helps
to label himself on social media. In regard of its true meaning for Jules, surfing lives in
symbiosis with music, but they do not entail each other. Jules mindset and expectations
can be considered as complements in that Jules stays open to any challenges life has to
offer for him as a person, but also as a musician. As a basis, he tries to stay as connected
to himself and his feelings so that he can handle the expectations of the would-be label,
his followers, his band around him and also his own expectations with the best of
intentions.

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Web-Links

https://www.julesahoi.de

https://julesahoi.bandcamp.com

https://de-de.facebook.com/julesahoi/

https://www.instagram.com/julesahoi/?hl=de

https://play.spotify.com/artist/4cj63OKw2sbJbdivMhytEn?play=true&utm_source=open.sp
otify.com&utm_medium=open

http://www.saltwater-shop.com/jules-ahoi-between-lines.html

http://coldwatermag.com/auf-einen-kaffee-mit-jules-ahoi/

http://goodtimesmag.de/ein-interview-mit-surfer-und-musiker-jules-ahoi/

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