Written by Bianca Tavitian​ & Kylie Vesey

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A few months ago, we began the hype train and tried to get the awareness around James Hype. Why? Because when you come across a DJ who plays on not 2, not 3, but 4 decks at one single time, you know that is some SERIOUSLY underestimated talent!!!

Having begun his DJ career before he was even legal to enter a nightclub, the north England mix-mastermind is well known for his iconic bootleg remixes, it wasn't until 2016 when his remix of Drake's "Hotline Bling" captured the attention of BBC Radio 1 presenter MistaJam, that Hype began to make serious waves in the industry.

Since his rise to the top, James had previous landed a weekly Thursday night residency with KISS FM, has slowly increased his 3-deck DJ work to 4 decks, becoming an ambassador for Pioneer DJ, oh, and he kind of loaded his decks onto the London Underground and did a mix for his YouTube while riding the train #nofgiven...

There mixing royalties in the DJ industry, and then there is James Hype; if you don't believe us, then we're sure the below will help sway your mind!

 

Come with us as we step Behind The Decks with James Hype.

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Having followed, and watched you play on YouTube for quite some time now, you really are one hell of a mastermind on the decks. Who taught you everything you know?

When I was younger there was a DJ called Kissy Sellout and he used to do a show on Radio 1 in the UK, he was one of the first people I ever saw using more than two decks and mixing records together really fast. He inspired me quite early. After him, there are DJs like DJ EZ who always pushed the boundaries of what was possible using conventional DJ equipment.

 

We are keen to know where you learnt your signature move you do with the faders, what do you call it!? 

This is an interesting one – I need to make up a really cool name for this. At the moment it has no name – so I will take name submissions for this – DM me on Instagram – the best name will be used!

 

Every time we watch you smash out your 4 deck videos on YouTube, we are mesmerized by the pure skill you show working those decks; a skill we think is unmatched today. Can you talk us through how you even began to prepare to play on 3, let alone 4 decks?

I used to be a laptop DJ – I used Serato and two decks, and then one day I decided I wanted to get rid of the laptop, and when I did get rid of it, I kind of missed having the features that were available on the laptop like the speed at which you could load songs - so I was like alright, I’ll use 3 decks and that will compensate for not having a laptop. I had been using 3 decks for a while, and then Pioneer DJ asked me to do the DJSounds show – and that was the first time I ever had the opportunity to use 4 decks. They lent me some decks for me to practice on, so I went away for a week, practised a big hour-long DJ sound show on 4 decks and the rest is history.

 

What made you want to branch out and play this way, as it is not something you typically see from other Dj’s? 

I think I have a short attention span, and I think a lot of audiences have one too - so when I’m playing music, I’m always looking in to bring in something else and my style is an evolution of that.

 

Following the last question, how much time does it take to prep for a mix like this, is it something you put together on the fly? 

For a YouTube video, I’ll do about one to two hours of prep. When we start filming, sometimes we get it on the first take, sometimes we get it on the second or third. There’s always bits of the mix that I struggle with, but then I always try and put easy bits around those harder bits so I can get through it.

 

This must be a question you get all the time, but would you ever consider offering DJ lessons?

This has been something that a lot of people have asked for – so we’re working on a way to reach as many people as possible via the internet, so keep your eyes open for this

 

We’ve noticed when watching you that you don’t use traditional DJ headphones and at first were wondering if you were mixing without headphones all together, until noticing the inner ear headphones.

How do the inner ear headphones compare to over-ear ones? Do you find they help you concentrate more or do they offer something different? 

When I use in-ear headphones to start with, I’m using split cue, which means I’m hearing the master in my right ear and the PFL in my left. Which is kind of different because when I used to use conventional headphones, I used to just listen to PFL and have the booth monitor really loud. In-ears you have more control over what you’re hearing – you can use them in any environment even if you’re in a club with awful booth monitors. They also give you more focus – they are literally inside your head and provide hearing protection!

 

One thing we ABSOLUTELY love about a set you create is some of the old school tracks you drop. Do you find your crowds respond to this well and you keep it going, or is it a personal taste thing? 

It’s a bit of both, to be honest, I enjoy playing tracks that are going to get a response in that way from a crowd, I also just love a timeless record, and I love the fact that there are records that were made 20 years ago that don’t sound out of place in one of my sets.

 

We are beyond excited for you to come to Australia and cannot wait to see you up there killing it on the decks, what can we expect to see from these very intimate club sets? 

This is my first time going to Aus as well, I am as unsure of this as you are – I’m just excited to experience the new culture and the difference in the crowd. I love going to places around the world and seeing how the crowds differ. So I’m bringing a lot of new James Hype VIP Edits and I’m bringing some new DJ tricks to the table as well.

 

The audience here in Australia can be quite different from other countries, how do you prepare a set when you travel all over the globe. Does anything change depending on the country you are playing in? 

Yeah, I always try to consider the country I’m playing in when I’m preparing a set because there are certain songs that people love in one country and might not know in another. I also think that because the line-ups are so different in the different countries that I play, that I have to adjust it drastically.

 

You have recently announced you’re playing the opening party for Amnesia Terrace, which you called your dream gig. What in particular is making you the most excited (or nervous) about playing in such an iconic venue? 

I’ve been going to Ibiza for over a decade, and even when I was too young to go it was always a dream for me to go. Obviously Amnesia is the one in Kevin and Perry... so, that instantly made it iconic to me.

 

2020 also sees you playing at both South West 4 and Time Off festivals, both in your home country in the UK. Does playing festivals at home differ from playing festivals in other parts of Europe? Or is it all one big crazy party?

Summer 2020 is going to be a crazy one, I’m playing so many festivals across Germany, Holland, Belgium, and all across Europe. I always love having the opportunity to play to the European crowds.

 

If there were any other festivals you would love to tick off the bucket list, which would they include?

TOMORROWLAND (NOTICE ME). (hahaha)

 

We always finish with the same question so here we go. What is the craziest thing you have ever seen from Behind the Decks?

There’s a club in the north of England, where they use the DJ booth as a special room to... congregate... and all the regulars in the club let themselves into the DJ box, stand in the corner, do their business, say hi to you and leave. And when I first played there I was like what's going on, like “why are all these people coming in and out of the DJ box?” and then after like half an hour of being there I understood – it was like a VIP toilet for people who didn’t need the toilet.

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If there is one thing we got from this interview, the loyal fans will read this and know what that what you see, is what you get with James Hype! From every social media post and YouTube video, we read over these interview questions with his voice in our head!
James begins his first-ever Australian tour this weekend, with Marquee Sydney being the first show of the tour. Don't forget to use BTDECKS when buying any tickets at Marquee Sydney for a cheeky little discount!

We are so exciting to finally see why the world is going crazy for the HYPE master!