Feb 15, 2022
James Hype Celebrates Say Yeah
During the pandemic, there are few artists who were as consistent and productive as James Hype. Seeing a massive rise in his popularity with his YouTube live streams during lockdown, not only were Hype’s outrageous DJing skills on display, but he also had an audience that were really receptive to new music and inspired him to continue pushing in the studio. The results we see now are astonishing. Fresh off his first ever Beatport #1 in “Disconnected,” the STEREOHYPE boss is again turning heads with his debut Heldeep Records release. “Say Yeah” has already hit #1 Trending on 1001Tracklists as well as #3 Overall on Beatport! Read on to learn more about the release, James Hype’s growth in the past two years and more!
James, thanks so much for joining us to celebrate “Say Yeah”! You’ve been playing this tune heavy in your live streams from last summer, so what has the build-up to the release been through your eyes?
I have been playing the tune for a long time as you guys know, and the fans and a lot of other DJs have been super excited for this one to drop so I am glad it’s finally here!
As you mentioned on your socials you chose to send the tune to Oliver, and he ended up signing it to Heldeep. Why did you think of Oliver for the track and what made Heldeep a good home?
To be honest I originally sent it to Oliver Heldens as a collab as I thought it sounded like a good mix of my sound and his. While he didn’t want to collab on it, he signed it to his label, so still won!
Can you highlight your favourite elements in the production and why they stand out?
The rave stab sound is made using Ableton live granulator synth which is something people don’t use very often.
I loaded a sample of some crowd noise into the synth and played around on the keyboard and managed to create that sound. I actually made an Instagram video showing how I did it.
You’ve road tested the track quite a bit. How does it fit and work in your sets? Do you have a favourite memory dropping it live?
The track has been ‘heavily’ road tested and it sounds perfect in my sets and sounds like James Hype music.
I always used to try and do this one DJ routine with the acappella, “if you really like to rock the funky beat,” in the breakdown, but I could never quite get it right. I always had a joke at every gig with the videographer because I couldn’t ever get it to go quite how I wanted.
On the theme of shows, you’ve been touring again heavily in the US! What has it felt like to be back on the road consistently, and how would you compare the feeling pre vs. post pandemic?
Feels great to be touring again – all of the ups and downs as many people will know if they have watched my VLOGS. I think post pandemic there is a much deeper connection with the audience at shows because of how many hours we spent together on live streams and how well we connected online through the pandemic so feel like the audience is slightly different.
During Covid, we’d challenge that there was no artist who was as consistent and driven as you were with streaming and studio work – it was truly inspirational! Can you talk a little bit about how you adjusted during that period and managed to stay positive and motivated?
I don’t think I would have been able to stay positive and motivated had it not been for the thousands of people who tuned in every week to watch me DJ on YouTube.
I had a fairly big YouTube channel before the pandemic where I posted clips of my DJ sets, so it felt natural to attempt to go live on that YouTube channel at the start of the pandemic and the viewing figures were astonishing. I found that the live stream was so much fun and, in some ways, more fun than a real live gig. So, I ended up doing it purely for the love.
The live stream really inspired me to make new music because I had an audience that was super receptive that I could play it to.
From the outside looking in, it really feels like your profile has elevated in many ways since the pandemic. Not just the Beatport #1s, YouTube subscribers, and crazy engaged socials, but there is truly a hype about James Hype! How do you view your progress in the past two years?
I would say that my progress in the last two years is still doubted by many. That’s maybe because I grew in different ways compared to some other artists. I think maybe it’s the combination of growing on YouTube and also DJing at home as opposed to having an enormous record, playing a huge show or being affiliated with a really big artist. Because of that it takes some people in the music industry longer to believe the hype – no pun intended.
That said, the progress has been amazing and really fulfilling when I see people recognizing me as the artist that they didn’t previously.
Have any milestones or achievements been most meaningful to you?
Milestones this year… one of my goals was a Beatport #1 and I got that in the second week of the year! Completely unexpected, but super grateful for that. Another one of my goals this year is a Spotify record with 100 million streams. And I am also getting to play the Tomorrowland Mainstage which has been a long-term goal so that’s going to be amazing!
And as we look ahead, what has you excited as we head deeper into winter? Are there any plans for 2022 you can share with us?
It’s really exciting to see the calendar for summer 2022 getting more and more crazy. After experiencing two years of cancellations, I am imagining doing these crazy flight routings around the world and playing huge shows to loads of cool people that’s getting me really excited!
Other plans for 2022 – lots of music, lots of STEREOHYPE releases and “The Helicopter”!
James Hype - "Say Yeah" is available to download/stream on your platform of choice today! https://heldeep.lnk.to/Say-Yeah
short link 1001.tl/gz5wml
