“Prepare for the Hype … James Hype”
It is well known that you’re not born DJ but you become it, all you need is just lots of dedication and effort; the road to success is long and tortuous and often frightens, leading to give up. On the other hand there are also the fearless ones, who walk that road step by step. The amount of exercise and practice, however, is not all; often even the talent and the willingness to put themselves in the game do their part and it is the case of the British James E. Marsland, aka James Hype, known for being a 360-degree artist, with strong skills in the studio and his impeccable technique when he’s at the console.
Born in 1989, in an interview he claims to have approached music at the age of 13, although it will be two years later when, after receiving his first console, begins to experience the art of djing. In a short time he gets a place as a resident DJ in his local club, then start working 6 nights a week since when he was 18 to 25 years old.
Five years of success (2016-2021)
For his skill in the studio and during his dj sets, you all could say that James Hype has been in the scene for years, maybe decades. You would be right to think so, but the answer will leave you amazed.
In fact, it all began in 2016 – just 5 years ago – with a remix of “Wait Foor Me” by FooR that today has 200 thousand streams; the year stops here but it will be the next to turn the life of the artist.
In fact, after years dedicated to remixes and bootlegs, in 2017 he devoted himself to his debut single “More Than Friends” on the Warner label, obtaining an incredible result: the eighth place in the UK Top 40, first position in the UK dance singles, VIP Mix and official remixes including Ilyus & Barrientos.
In parallel, he continues to get his hands on some of his colleagues’ records; he resumes “Love Shy” by Kristine Blond, which totals almost 16 million streams and “Reverse” by Sage The Gemini, who gets almost 3 million.
But that’s not all: James Hype also ends up on the radio, conducting his own program until 2019. In short, a start with a bang.
Given the beginning, the climax is increasingly defining; in 2018 publishes the remix of “Finesse” by Cardi B featuring Bruno Mars – reaching 7 million streams – that of “Vroom” by Yxng Bane with 1 million streams and publishes a collaboration with Craig David called “No Drama”. It currently has 73 million streams, a VIP Mix and a remix contest also won by Italians like SDJM and others, like Endor.
In 2019 we see an unpublished collaboration with Dots Per Inch, called “I Was Loving You”, which until now has obtained 21 million and 500 thousand streams and which VIP Mix has totaled 873 thousand total. The only remix that managed to get close to the results of the original was that of TS7, with a total of 10 million.
This is also the year that the first post of the Instagram page of James’s personal label goes back to: we’re talk about Stereohype, the tech-house label that ended many times on Beatport for the Label Sampler project and that sees among the artists of the roaster his girlfriend Tita Lau.
2020, the year already defined several times cursed for the music industry, did not prevent James Hype to be heard; they start the DJ Set in streaming, with the background of his label, some remixes and another disc signed by the English artist.
We first see the remixes of “Birthday”, the single of Anne-Marie with almost one million and 200 thousand reached, the one of “Tell Me Why” by Outcry – which has exceeded one and a half million – and its track “Afraid”; The latter, signed with The Cross Records/Island Records UK, has achieved several results: 27 million streams, remixes of Hugel and KC Lights and the support of major British radio (to be clear, BBC Radio1, Capital Dance and Hits Radio).
Finally, this year James Hype has enriched his repertoire. He starts with some unpublished songs: “Dancing” – with 460 thousand streams – along with “Good Luck” with almost 6 million, on November 12 released a featuring with Vintage Culture called “You Give Me A Feeling” and he’s concluding with several remixes; among them we find “Goodbye” by Imanbek e Goodboys and “Got A Feeling” by Felix Jaehn, Robin Schulz and Georgia Ku.
Outside of the studio, he uses his Twitch and Youtube channels a lot, on which he loads his energetic sets and videos. In addition, to help young budding Djs, he uploaded a course, a masterclass and a webinar on Digitaldjtips.com, showing his secrets and tricks up his sleeve.
You can find the masterclass link here: https://1.digitaldjtips.com/hype-course-info
In his radio shows, however, he has always been used to put energetic songs of different kinds, ranging from tech house to a more classic and groovy house, all remixed in full James Hype style: power, technique but at the same time simplicity and functionality. Moreover, even today he is hosted by the different streaming platforms, where it entertains himself and the people online in its own way, to the rhythm of good music.
Another appointment, this time with much of the roaster of Stereohype, was on November 24 with the Store Launch, for the real label’s merchandising; in honor of that, the guests in lineup were, in order of performance: Lewis Tala, Goodboys, R3wire, James Hype himself, Tita Lau, Chapter & Verse, Jess Bays and Sabion Paid. Below you can find the link to the event, uploaded to Youtube.
We can say that James Hype’s road to success was – and still is – traveled thanks to the experience gained over the years. Thanks to it, James teaches the youngest aspirants that you can overcome all obstacles; just have confidence in yourself and never stop believing, to try, to experiment.
I am 22 and graduating in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, I speak 4 languages and I am very passionate about music, concerts and festivals. After graduation, I’d like to aim for a profession in the music industry and I am a proud dreamer but down to earth.
