The English DJ, who recently played at the one-day electronic dance music festival, ‘Road To Ultra’ was really excited to be in India for the first time. In an exclusive interview with Mid-day Online, he spoke about coming to Mumbai, dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and his upcoming music
James Hype was in Mumbai to perform at the Road To Ultra festival in April, along with Afrojack and KSHMR among others. Photo Courtesy: Road To Ultra Mumbai
English DJ James Edward Lee Marsland, more popularly known as James Hype has played in many cities around the world, but India seems to have eluded him till now. Hype was recently in Mumbai to play at the 'Road To Ultra' electronic dance music festival, which took place after almost five years in India. "I never thought that I would perform in India, so it feels really special to hear people say my name in the crowd. I never thought that this would happen in this amazing country so I'm really happy," he shares gleefully, as we meet him after his power-packed performance at the NESCO Centre in Mumbai.
Hype was joined by the likes of Afrojack and KSHMR, among other Indian and international DJs, who played a wide range of sounds on stage and took the audience into a hypnotic trance, one that they missed during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Mumbaikars didn’t disappoint, as they came in large numbers.
Mumbai and Indian sounds
Now that he has performed here, the 33-year-old, who is also a producer and remix artist, has fallen in love with Mumbai and even hopes to come back later this year. He shares, "I've been to only two Indian cities so far -- Mumbai and Pune but Mumbai is my favourite so far. I like big cities," he adds.
It is not only the country that he loves but is also keen to work with Indian DJs in time to come. So, it is no surprise when Hype shares admiration for Niles Hollowell-Dhar, popularly known as KSHMR, the American DJ, who has roots in Kashmir. "I am a big fan of KSHMR and I've liked his production for a really long time." Popularly known for ‘Who does this?’ and his latest single ‘Ferrari’, the English DJ has also used samples of a Bollywood song, which has unique sounds in a song called Whoopty, that steps up the tempo almost immediately when one listens to it.
Playing in a post-pandemic world
Clearly, the 'Road to Ultra' performance is one that Hype was looking forward to especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. Like many others, it was a difficult time for the DJ professionally because he wasn't able to earn much. "I did a lot of live streams and made music in the studio. I connected with fans online a lot. So, it is nice right now that we can connect in person," shares the DJ, thankful to be back touring and performing on stage.
So, what is he working on right now and what can fans expect? "I've got a track called ‘Drums’ which is coming out soon and I'm really excited about that. It's going to be a big one," shares Hype, who is also the founder of the label ‘Stereohype’, which he started in 2020, and has promoted other music producers since then.
Also Read: Exclusive: Afrojack on his love for chicken biryani and ‘project’ with Martin Garrix
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