The producer who had Hawtin and Dubfire fighting over his music returns in style
Having driven us down the Sonic Highway alongside Joris Voorn in 2015, young Dutch sensation Joran van Pol returns to Rejected with with his very own solo release – EXIST. Dan Prince gets the lowdown…
Joran, a huge welcome to DMCWORLD…where on planet earth are you today?
Thanks for having me! I’m currently at Kuching airport waiting to board my plane to Singapore. My girlfriend and I are on holiday and trying to see as much of Singapore/Malaysia as my schedule allows.
A belated Happy New Year to you sir. Let’s get the festivities out of the way first, did you have a good Christmas? Any crap gifts?
Happy New Year to you as well! I certainly had a good Christmas, extensive dinners with my family as well as my girlfriends family. Luckily for me, no crappy gifts…
You have hit the ground running this year with the release of your new EP ‘Exist’ on JorisVoorn’s REJECTED label. Three incredible tracks, please talk us through them…
The EP starts off with ‘Exist’, with this track I tried to more or less spin the listener around on the dance floor with the heavier percussion and spooky melody. ‘Eventuate’ is much deeper than exist and ‘Withdraw’ is the more straightforward dance floor tune of the three.
How has the reaction been to each of the tunes wherever you’ve been dropping them?
Both Joris Voorn and I have been testing the tracks quite extensively and they work well every time. Especially Exist seems to be a fan favorite, so that’s why we made that one the title track.
Well we all love a good heartwarming story and boy have you one with the way your career exploded from early doors. Two superstar producers from the electronic world both wanting to sign your debut EP with only 22 years chalked up on your life board! What was that experience like for you, Richie Hawtin and Dubfire both on your case? Were these guys inspirations for you when you were starting out?
Definitely! Of course I was really inspired by the sound they push forward, but also very much by how technology is so strongly connected to everything they do. Richie, for example, also really inspires me in the way how he develops concepts and tries to make everything fit together.
You have a wealth of great gigs under your belt, Tomorrowland, Mysteryland , ENTER and Cocorico all ticked off with dancefloorapplause. What has been your best gig to date?
That’s very difficult to say, replacing Seth Troxler at Awakenings Festival 2014 because his flight was cancelled was definitely a highlight, but also my regular closing sets at Fuse in Brussels and playing at ENTER in Space were awesome.
What are the 5 big tunes in your box this weekend…
Nuno Lisboa – Inapt
Nuno is a young and talented producer from Portugal, very minimalistic and close to the sound I have in my productions.
Raul Facio – Oro Blanco
Raul is a talented guy from El Paso, Texas. His tracks always provide a solid groove that surely will keep everyone on the dance floor.
Jerrymore – Digger
He’s an upcoming producer from Belgium. I’ve been playing his track digger for some time now, it has a lot of spacy sounds and I like that.
Hunter/Game – Adaptation
The combination of that hypnotic melody in the break and that super strong and dark groove that comes after it does the trick every time.
Luigi Madonna – Follow your body (Petter B remix)
I always use this track when I want to shift my sets into the next gear, straight party!
Okay let’s rewind for a moment. How old were you when dance music first came onto your radar and how?
I think I was 10. In the Netherlands we are very lucky to have a lot of electronic music on the radio. I used to listen to Dance Department on Radio 538 a lot, they’d always have the newest underground electronic music and great sets from big DJs.
How old were you when a career in music started to form in your mind?
I think I was 12. Back then I was obviously only playing at school parties and stuff but I felt that this was the right thing to do and it made me happy regardless of how many people I was playing for.
What did your family think of your idea?
My parents always strongly supported the idea from the beginning. They really helped me get started, my dad used to drive me everywhere when I was playing somewhere and if I had saved a large portion of the money needed for new gear, my parents would help me for the last bit and upgrade my gear. They were also very supportive because I managed to combine study and music. From the beginning I felt the importance to keep up with my studying, not only as a back-up but also as a way to learn new things and broaden my view of the world. So now I have a non-music related masters degree which I don’t use, but it has made me richer as a person.
How much production did you do before you were happy with something to share with people?
A lot, though in the first years I mainly focused on DJing more than producing. It wasn’t until I was 18 years old that I invested more time in producing and started to play out tracks I produced myself.
2016 is stretching ahead, where are some of the gigs coming up that you are excited about?
When I get back from my holiday I will play at Sneeuwbal festival in Utrecht and a week later in Manchester for Awakenings. There is a lot of good stuff coming up, but most of it is unannounced yet…
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
When communicating with others, especially people from other cultures; seek to understand first and postpone your judgement. As humans we’re inclined to judge a situation very quickly, that makes us a successful predator, but I feel the world would be less stressed if we jump slower to conclusions.
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
I have a bunch of tracks ready, I have to see where/how/when they will come out, but I for sure want to put out more music than I have in the last two years.
