Interview: James Hype certainly is the Hype after his success with summer hit ‘More Than Friends’

Sasha Walker | 16th October 2017

JAMES  HYPE is a name you have probably heard a lot of over the summer and it’s no surprise why with his hit single ‘More Than Friends’, which took the charts by storm. Reaching #8 in the Official UK Top 40 , #3 on iTunes and with over 12 million streams on Spotify, as well as it playing non-stop at party islands and clubs worldwide , James Hype is now an industry big-hitter.

No stranger to music, James started to DJ at only 15 , later producing bootleg remixes and playing clubs in North England. The DJ has also formed a close association with Pioneer, demonstrating his complex music ability during a four deck demo on the DJ Sounds Show earlier this year. His remixes of ‘Hotline Bling’ , ‘Shape of You’ and ‘Cold Water’ have received countless downloads thanks to popular music app Shazam, and James lays claim to iHeart Radio’s urban remix of the year award.

This past year has been a successful whirlwind for James with ‘More than Friends’ and I spoke with the DJ about his music career , playing at the biggest festivals and future collaborations.

 

James Hype – Creamfields

This past year has been a successful whirlwind for James with ‘More than Friends’ and I spoke with the DJ about his music career , playing at the biggest festivals and future collaborations.

VIVA SASHA: Were you always interested in pursuing a music career when you were younger?

JAMES HYPE: A music career isn’t what they tell you to do in school, so probably not no, I know I was doing all sorts of different work experiences but no I never really knew what I wanted to do.

VIVA Sasha: Your track More Than Friends featuring Kelli- Leigh has been the song of the summer and is ranking high on the UK charts and iTunes. How did you feel when it became popular?

James: Its amazing, every time I get into a taxi now I hear it on the radio! Yeah, it got a lot bigger than I was expecting it to because it is my first ever single. Its made my mum very happy, it’s made me very happy… so thank you to everyone who’s bought and streamed it.

VIVA Sasha: The video of ‘More Than Friends’ was from your last set in Ibiza this summer.  How did the crowd react to hearing it, how did it feel to have a set at Ibiza and how was the party?

James: Performing ‘More Than Friends’ at Ushuaïa in Ibiza was amazing. There were 8000 people there, it was sold out and they were singing the words back to me and Kelli-Leigh – who is featured on ‘More Than Friends’. Ibiza is always one of my favorite places to play – I make sure to go there a good few times every summer.

VIVA Sasha: Have you seen a change in your social networking accounts since the release of ‘More Than Friends’ having gone viral on major music channels and radio stations?

James: Massively!  There was a point where I would actually avoid Twitter because there were too many tweets! Every time I went on there was so much new stuff that it would really put me off.  At one point I had over 6 days of tweets built up, it took me a good few hours to go through them but I’m finally back on top of it now.  It’s kind of like your email inbox where you have to attack a bit of it every day.  There is so much love coming through on the social media, I really appreciate everyone who sends positive messages and videos of themselves singing the song.

James Hype

VIVA Sasha: How did the collaboration with Kelli-Leigh happen?

James: I’ve known of Kelli for ages from her singing on other amazing dance tunes. I knew she had the perfect voice for ‘More Than Friends’ because she has a real, authentic, soulful voice.  We have a mutual friend Dave Tracey who is a DJ as well, I asked him if he could connect me with Kelli and then the magic happened!

VIVA Sasha: Who has influenced you musically or artistically before you started to DJ?

James: Before I started making music I was really inspired by Amine Edge & Dance because of the way they flipped hip hop and R & B tracks into house music – it was really exciting to me. Also DJ MK, he really inspired me to start producing house music.

VIVA Sasha: As well as abroad you have had sets at LIMF Festival and Creamfields.  You’re going to be at Projekt in Leeds this month . Are you excited and do you ever get nervous beforehand?

James: For Creamfields I was really nervous, I spent a whole day not being able to stand or sit still.  I stepped up to the stage and I was on right after DJ EZ and there were 15,000 people staring back at me, it was totally surreal.  I’ve played quite a few more festivals since then so I’m a bit more used to it – I still get nervous but I can handle it now.  The Leeds gig – Projekt at O2 Academy – I’m really excited about that, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Leeds.  Being from the North it’ll be very cool as I’m sure there will be people coming out from home to support me.
VIVA Sasha: If you could use one phrase or word to describe the energy from the crowd at your gigs what would you say?

James: That’s a hard question as it’s always different at different shows!

VIVA Sasha: What festivals or events would you like to play that you haven’t played yet and what festivals would you like to return to?

James: I don’t know where to start! Glastonbury Music Festival for sure.  I want to play Amnesia in Ibiza, I think it’s the best club to DJ at from a DJ perspective.  I’d love to return to Ushuaïa in Ibiza as well, it has a really unique vibe and is a really special club.

VIVA Sasha: Is there anyone you’d like to collaborate with and why?

James: I’d love to collaborate with Drake, he’s the king of modern music.  I have no idea what a collaboration from us might sound like but I’d really like to get in the studio with him.

Watch this space as we can be expecting to hear a lot more from James Hype and if it is anything like his current music we have a lot to look forward to.

Stay up to date with all things James Hype on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter.

Subscribe to the official Youtube channel and Soundcloud to hear his remixes and DJ sets.

James Hype – Spotify