Julian Jordan took Amsterdam Dance Event by storm this past week with 3 shows full of madness. He hosted his first “no-phones” Do Not Disturb show specifically designed to live in the moment with the music. He also joined Martin Garrix at his RAI show and played with Sam Feldt at his show over the weekend. On top of all this craziness, he got together with Eleganto to release a special track ‘One Nation.’ The new tune sends an awesome message to the world while bringing heat and energy. Learn more about Julian in our full interview with him below!
You have a new track coming out, “One Nation.” It is the Second one with Eleganto and this has a deeper meaning than your other tunes, right?
JJ – Correct. Yeah. It started as a demo, and we had the vocal and we were like, okay, this is such a cool vocal because for me when I play music when I play at festivals, clubs, it is the best feeling in the world, not only because I love what I’m doing, but also because it is like an escape from the real world. Yes, festivals, clubs, whatever. It’s like an escape. And I saw this quote once, like saying “I wish life was a festival.”
And it’s basically true, so many different people connecting, speaking the same language. And that language is music basically. It’s basically the feeling of togetherness. I really love that and I really love to. Yeah, to put that in a track and the vocal really had that element of all those words meant to me it meant togetherness, one nation, one nation of music, one nation of people that enjoy the same thing and people that want to escape the real world and enjoy the festivals, clubs.
Are you going to try to make more music with a message in the future?
JJ – Yes and no. I make tracks like “Aspirin” with fun vocals or stuff that really has a meaning, but it’s not as deep as “One Nation.” But you know, I love it when it has a meaning. Of course, I also love it when it sometimes doesn’t. But yeah, why not? I can make more tracks this. Of course, I think. I think it’s really, really nice if you are from a, from a crowd’s perspective in the crowd and you hear a vocal that hypes you up, you know? So yeah, yeah, of course, I will do it more.
You have the RAI show and Sam Feldts show coming up. But I’m very curious about your no-phone “Do Not Disturb” show. How did that come about and why the no phones?
JJ – It’s basically it’s called no phones allowed, but it’s basically no cameras. And that’s because, you know, I’ve been doing so many shows in clubs. One of the things I always see is that a lot of people are holding their phones and filming and they want to share their moments. And that’s okay. Of course, it’s everyone should party the way they want to and feel free, but I, noticed I was playing, I was doing this night last year as well, and we had the same rule, but it wasn’t really on the fliers yet. We didn’t really announce it, but it was no cameras allowed.
We, we, we did it by ourselves and we were experiencing a much better, a better vibe, like the people that really enjoyed the music. They really felt it. They are looking at the lights, they are looking at the visual aspect of the night. They have time for each other. It is really like we are so busy with our phones the whole day. I think escaping from that real life that I was talking about is also putting your phone away sometimes and enjoying the moment and yeah, that’s basically the idea behind it.
Where do you see your sound evolving? You started in Big Room. Went into Bass House, a little bit of Tech House. Do you have a sense of where you’re taking the project in the future?
JJ – I always like to reinvent myself a little bit. I don’t like to do the same thing over and over, but I couldn’t. I cannot say where I see myself heading. I always like to be inspired and I like to be inspired by different genres. When I’m in the studio, I just do what I would like to hear at a festival. That’s what I make, or at a club. I don’t really look at what is working right now or what is the hype right now. I think more in ways of, okay, what would be the track that everyone’s going to Shazam? Or what is the track that everyone’s going to talk about after the set? Because there’s always like in a whole DJ set, there’s a few tracks that stand out. And how are you going to be that one track in a set of, let’s say, 20 tracks that is going to stand out? And that’s what I try with every production.
Basically, my goal is to make that track that stands out and if it’s like. A track that is a little bit more bass house than it is, or if it’s a track that’s more like 90s or like techno or whatever, I feel I can do whatever as long as it really has that, like signature. That’s my goal to have that Julian Jordan signature on every track. Yes, I cannot really tell you where I’m going, but every new release is the direction I’m in.
How do you keep yourself rejuvenated on tour while going from city to city?
JJ – It’s basically sleep wherever you can. And, you know, I always feel blessed doing this. I never feel like I’m doing, a really hard job. I don’t think that it is a hard job. I don’t really think it is a job at all. It’s a passion that became. Yeah, that became a bigger passion. And I love to see it as a passion. I don’t like to see it as hard work. I don’t like to see it as something negative. Because when you say, oh, it’s really hard for me, or I have to sleep or I feel tired, you’re turning something that was once your dream, you’re turning it into something negative.
Sometimes I feel tired. But when I play, I always feel grateful. And when I see my fans and see people around the world who love my music, which I made in Amsterdam. That’s so crazy to think about. And it really makes me forget about all the, you know times that I’m a little bit tired, I can go through. I go through a different city, and when I see like one fan or one DM or whatever of someone that’s grateful or wanted to see me, my whole day is like made. It’s I still see it as a blessing every day.
What’s something on your rider list that you always have at your shows?
JJ – Hairspray. Yeah. Hairspray. Okay, that’s because I cannot take it into Asia because there’s, like this flammable logo on hairsprays. I have to put it on my rider to take it with me. Okay. Yeah, I like that they don’t allow it in the airports. And also nuts. *Also jokes about only blue Skittles*
