Mar 14, 2022

Jose De Mara Celebrates 'Behind Me' & Big Year Of Music Ahead

Today we’re joined by Jose De Mara to celebrate his new release “Behind Me.” Out now on Kryteria Records, it’s an exciting collaboration with Brazilian talent DEADLINE, and the first in a big run of music for the Spanish DJ/producer in 2022. Read on to learn more about the track, his relationship with Kryder (who headlines Jose’s Arcadia Night in Madrid this May) as well as Jose’s remix of Binary Fission - “1998” which took home the award for Top Trance Track Of 2021 on 1001Tracklists! His Apple Mix features stand out cuts from David Guetta, LP Giobbi, Nora En Pure, Vintage Culture, and many more alongside signature Jose De Mara productions. Enjoy!

Jose, thanks so much for being with us today! How’s your year been going thus far?

Hey guys, it is always my pleasure to have a talk with you! Well this 2022 is definitely bringing me the pre-pandemic life vibes, all is going back step by step and I'm starting to be pretty busy again having plenty of new music opportunities so I'm feeling really happy right now. Last year was definitely one of my toughest years so far, even for some health reasons, so I've started this year with a lot of strength, positive vibes, and most importantly, excited to chase new goals again! I’m working on as many songs as possible, doing a lot of DJ shows again and having a lot of fun thanks to the music.

We’re here together to celebrate your big new release “Behind Me.” The track is done together with the up and coming Brazilian talent DEADLINE, so we’re curious to know how you guys connected. Do you remember when you first heard of DEADLINE or his music, and what was your impression?

I remember hearing about Thiago maybe last year thanks to Kryder and his releases on Sosumi or Black Hole Recordings. I'm a big fan of melodies and trance sounds and I remember his track “You & I” inspired me a lot – brought me back to those old trance days. We started to talk and think about a possible collaboration after that release, sending each other possible ideas until “Behind Me” was finally born. Brazil has a lot of great emerging artists right now and he is a super talented guy!

What makes the track the right fit for a collaboration?

I think we're on the same page, inspired by similar artists and we're both bringing some kind of melodic emotional vibe to our music but always keeping some energy for the dancefloor. We both love this brand new Future Rave thing, but honestly I'm always trying to do the trend in my own way, not just copy-paste, you know? So we thought it could be interesting to make this song sound slower tempo, a bit 'trancey' and emotional, but keep it sounding fresh and energetic. All these things combined are what makes the record sound strong to us.

Can you highlight some of the key elements in the track that are also signatures of your sound as a producer?

Groove of course! I've always been a fan of groove house and I think I really need it in my songs to make it playable and make people dance. It's part of my culture as a Latin guy, so you can find that kind of groove sound in almost all of my music. It's like a religion to me. But actually I've also really found myself music wise after this pandemic situation especially because I've realized I need to put melodies and emotions back into my music again. Of course I will keep doing more clubby stuff and even some tech house bangers, but I think the mix between groove and melodies are what defines me best.

You’ve also been cooking up loads of hot new IDs, and we understand that there are plenty more big releases upcoming including a remix for Charli XCX. What can you tell us about some of your other new music?

Actually this year is going awesome in this aspect because I've spent a lot of years trying to release more music than the year before. But for one or another reason I never find enough time to focus so every year ends with me complaining about not meeting that goal. That situation made me challenge myself to find a method to be faster in making music and I’ve done my best learning during these past two years. I started to cook a bunch of new ideas and some interesting stuff came from there!

Watch out for a brand new collaboration with my friend Crusy called “On My Mind” out really soon and a super unexpected cover that nobody has heard yet, which will be released this spring. It is the first cover I've done in my entire life and it sounds epic so I'm pretty excited with this release! Also as you mentioned I did a remix for Charli XCX’s latest single “Beg For Me” and now I'm working on a brand new solo single to be released on my own label Arcadia, so it seems like in 2022 there will be tons of JDM music out there!

“Behind Me” is out on Kyteria Records and Kryder has been a long time friend, collaborator and inspiration for you. Can you tell us some more about your relationship?

Chris is a friend to me. I will never forget that he was the first DJ to give Crusy and myself our biggest push ever. The release of our song “Bangkok” on his record label Sosumi got the attention of many of the top DJs out there like David Guetta and Steve Angello and this is something I won't forget, so obviously we've been working together for a while. He even introduced me to Steve Angello after my release on his label SIZE and he's the kind of guy who is always there to help you, which is definitely something hard to see in this industry. We're dropping each other a bunch of new demos/ideas so I obviously thought about him to release this brand new single on Kryteria.

On the subject of Kryder, he also will be headlining the return of the Arcadia Nights when you’re back on May 1st! How’s the excitement for that event?

Absolutely insane! Arcadia Night is like a big family and the people are going nuts thinking about the possibility of seeing a Kryder performance, especially because the show takes place in a really small and intimate club in my city, Madrid. We can't afford super big names, but we have one of the best crowds/fanbases in the world and they really deserve this night! Kryder was probably the number one option every time we asked our fans about which artists they would love to see performing at an Arcadia Night so we thought this year was the right time to make something special as we celebrate our Arcadia 10th anniversary! May 1st is gonna be a night for the books.

Reflecting for a minute on 2021, you had the #1 Trance Track of the Year on 1001Tracklists with your remix of Binary Finary - “1998.” What did that achievement mean to you and where does it rank amongst other career accomplishments?

I still can't believe it. It is definitely the biggest acomplishment I've ever had for sure and it has a special meaning to me because of how it happened. I come from trance music and the classic sound of Armin or Tiësto from 2000s, so I have those records in my veins. That record from Binary Finary suddenly came to my head listening to some old music during the 2020 Covid quarantine and I thought it would be fun to do a remix for my sets. I sent it to Armin and they started to support the song on every single show he had, eventually becoming an official release on his own imprint Armind. That was so much more than what I expected! The rest is history and I still can't believe that there are actually more than 200 DJs around the globe who supported the song making it the most played trance song... that's crazy. It's my most supported record so far and it makes me so happy especially considering I had a difficult 2021, so this feels like a reward to me. Honestly it has pushed me to keep doing what I love the most. I want to say thanks to every single DJ who supported the song and of course you guys for your amazing work on the website as usual to make this happen.

And as we look ahead, what's keeping you excited and motivated in the short term? Any plans for spring/summer that you’d like to share?

Well, tour dates are finally coming back so that's something that makes me feel super motivated again. I'm planning an US mini tour for the second part of the year and besides my regular summer shows in Spain and my own Arcadia Night events there are some other countries I really need to come back to like Japan, The Netherlands or UK. I'm pretty sure there will be many more dates coming soon so I'm feeling super excited this year! Music wise this will be one of my best years, releasing much more stuff than usual and I've been working hard to revamp my record label Arcadia so there will be some exciting news ahead very soon. Thanks for this interview and let's make some noise!

Jose De Mara & DEADLINE - "Behind Me" is available to download/stream on your platform of choice: https://kryteria.complete.me/behindme

Connect with Jose De Mara: Spotify | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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