The hottest new talent to come out of the UK since Eats Everything broke through the ranks…
The word nepatism was thrown out of the window a long time ago in the Hamilton household. At last the UK has someone to pin their hopes on, a fresh exciting new DJ and producer about to release his debut single on Spinnin’ Records with gigs already under his belt at such fine establishments as Ushuaia, Ministry of Sound, Warehouse Project, Sankeys and DIgital. Not to mention sharing the DJ booth with the likes of Calvin Harris, Oliver Heldens, Fatboy Slim and MK…believe us when we say that this Northern Ireland talent is going all the way to the top. Dan Prince checks in with the young man everybody is talking about…
Jay a massive welcome to DMCWORLD, where on planet earth are you today?
Thank you for having me, I am currently in my home town Coleraine in Northern Ireland enjoying the snow.
You have hit the ground running in 2016 with the release of your brand new single Keep It Comin’ swinging our way on Spinnin’ Deep on January 25th. But before we get into the track, let’s rewind for a moment back to where this all began. You are lucky enough to come from a musical background with your father Col Hamilton responsible for the mighty Lush! Superclub, when did dance music first appear on your radar growing up though?
As long as I can remember, it was always in my family and my father was always playing dance music in the house. He used to have a set up in the garage and about 10,000 vinyl records – when I was around 11 or 12 I wanted to learn so he started teaching me on vinyl, from then I just wanted to be a DJ. I was listening to music by the likes of Sasha etc. when I was a young teen whilst the rest of my friends where listening to pop music; for me dance music was the only music. As I grew up I practiced pretty much every day in the garage on my Dad’s set up, when I was 16 he offered me my first gig at his club on one condition: no beers haha.
What was it about dance music you loved? A lot of kids rebel against the music their parents liked…
Dance music was always number one for me, I listened to a lot of music but for me no other music made me feel the way dance music did. I used to listen to all sorts of dance music with my headphones on and I would close my eyes and imagine it was me playing the song to thousands of people in a club. It was not that long after that my father gave me the opportunity to do just that!
Did you find learning to DJ easy?
It was extremely hard and like most people, I had many days thinking I was never going to be a DJ; but like everything if you practice enough you will get it. Then there was the change in technology so everything became digital, it was a lot easier then!
When did the idea of a career in dance music first start to form in your head?
First thing really, when I was 11 or 12 all my friends wanted to be footballers or WWE stars, for me I just wanted to be like Sasha or John Digweed.
Full support from your dad?
One million percent, no one will ever support me as much as he does.
Tell us about the first DJ gig…
I remember it like it was yesterday: I was 16, my dad gave me the first hour at Lush!. There weren’t too many people around and the club was just filling up, but for me it was a dream come true. My dad had told me that the first set is the hardest and that I had to create the vibe and get people grooving; he told me to never think of myself as the headliner and respect the DJ after me. That was the difference between me and many other young dJs, my dad had me clued in.
Early DJ/producer inspirations?
As I mentioned, Sasha and John Digweed: I wanted to be like them when I was young (still do!). Growing up I was meeting a lot of DJs through my dad, I still remember when Seb Fontaine brought over a football for me for my 14th birthday when he was playing at Lush!. Another huge inspiration to me is Eddie Halliwell, he will always be one of the DJs at the top of my list, his technical skills still to this day blow me away.
How did the production work begin?
When I was really focused on becoming a DJ I realised that nowadays you need to make your own music to have a chance, the days of just being a DJ are gone unfortunately. So my dad took me into a studio with him and an engineer and I just observed what was going on, we were not really making music it was more about seeing what went on when making music. From that day I loved being in studios, it gave me a real joy, so my dad bought me some software on my laptop and I began making little edits for my sets using acapellas and doing little bootlegs to make my sets more exciting. To this day I am still learning a lot about production and I still work in the studio with an engineer for some of my stuff.
So let’s get into Keep It Comin’, tell us about the sound, vocal and history of the tune…
It was just another day working on another track, I had no specific plans or ideas on what to do, I was just doing what I usually do! I was in the studio recording some piano leads when I first created the main grand piano sound, but for me it was a little boring and needed something extra. There were some dusty 12 inch vinyls lying around the studio and one was a C&C Music Factory acapella vinyl – I put it on over the piano lead and the ‘Keep It Comin (music is my life)’ vocal was playing, it was in key and almost perfect. Once I had heard that there was no going back – I needed this vocal on my track! From there things progressed and the track turned out perfect in my eyes.
Where were you when Radio 1’s Danny Howard premiered it on air?
In my house with my family, Danny is a good friend of mine so when he texted to say he was going to play it that week I was smiling from ear to ear. The first time he played it he was not allowed to reveal my name, but the second time was the world premiere with my name revealed, I was in a hotel room in England this time resting before a gig, when he said my name on the radio over the track it was honestly one of the happiest moments I have ever had. Big up Danny!!
What are the 5 big tunes in your box this weekend, please give us a few words on each…
First tune, and has been for weeks, is the Four Tet remix of Eric Prydz “Opus”, I have nothing much to say about it other than it is the perfect record! Second track this week is the new Apres track “Prophet”, it is the perfect feel good song. Third track is the Lucas & Steve remix of The Magician “Together”, this one is for the ladies. Fourth track is the Paul Woolford remix of Dua Lipa “Be The One”, that piano is ace. And last but not least would have to be my new “Keep It Comin’” single, all I want to say is thanks to everyone supporting it, its means a lot.
What producers out there are you giving high fives to at the moment and what do you like about their work?
There are so many at the moment, I would have to say Sam Feldt is acing his productions at the minute, he is making some amazing tropical house vibes. Another would be Michael Calfan, he makes the ultimate party house tracks. And one more, if I don’t mention him when talking about producers I have failed! Mr Eric Prydz, everything he makes is perfect. He is the man!!
Tell us about some of the gigs coming up that you cannot wait for?
I have a few over the next couple of weeks: I have a gig at Harper Adams University on the 23rd Jan with Danny Howard, it’s always fun playing with Danny so I’m looking forward to that one. I am back at Lush! on the 13th Feb for my own Junior J & Friends party, I started them late last year and they have been going really well.
Future studio plans?
I have another track sealed with Spinnin Records which is exciting and I am working on a new single with an amazing female vocalist. Exciting year ahead!!
Did you understand growing up that you were surrounded by famous DJs or was it all just normal?
It was kind of normal as the years went by, although every time I bump into Sasha, Digweed or Carl Cox again I still get really excited.
And finally gotta ask. If we set up two sets of decks in a club for a play off, who do you think would win between yourself and your dad?
Honestly, he wins. He taught me everything so it would be rude to say I would win! Also, I still live at home with him so I need to be careful…
