Based in Riel, the Netherland, Joppe Van Cutsem focuses on producing House and Techno with a fundamental melodic and progressive characteristic by the alias Jope. Mesmerizing melodies accompanied by energetic drums characterizes his sound.
With his first official releases in 2020 on Euphonic Visions and Sekora and support by names such as Armin van Buuren, EDX, Mees Salomé, Nora en Pure, Anjunadeep, Spotify, Spinnin records and so on, Jope has started a growing career within the Melodic Electronic Dance Music.
His latest track Hearts Don't Forget on UV with Sarah de Warren has gathered fantastic support so far and we are fans of Jope productions. It is great pleasure for us to have an interview with him about his career and the creation of this beauty.
Find it here: https://uv.streamlink.to/heartsdontforget
1-Dimitris: It would be nice to start by telling us your 3 most important achievements or goals fulfilled in your career so far that you very are proud of.
Jope: First of all, it may sound cheesy haha, but consistent releasing on labels. I am happy to have found some amazing labels to work with and creating a connection with them. Secondly I would say some of the support I have had. Off course the amazing support from UOAK always and support from Kyau & Albert for example. One of the most memorable supports till now is probably Mees Salomé at Mystic Garden. He sent over a video of him playing 'Serein' and to see all those people dance to my track was just a magical moment for me. And the third one is actuallly somethig coming very soon, playing a DJ set at Luminosity. To be on such an amazing line-up feels like a dream. To be standing next to names like Marsh, Jody Wisternoff, Deeparture, and more feels surreal. DJs that have been a huge inspiration to me.
2-Dimitris: Why and under which circumstances did you took the decision to start DJing or producing electronic dance music?
Jope: A pretty funny story. Someone in my class way back told me that he makes music and I thought I could do better (quite arrogant thought of me haha). Bought the cheapest program I could find in a store near me and completely unsurprisingly, what I made was pure sh*t haha and was extremely bad compared to that classmate. Luckily it quickly turned out to be one of my favorite things to do and eventually I picked it up more and more.
3-Can you note down the top 3 producers that have influenced your decision to get involved in the electronic dance music scene and you admire and respect them very much?
Jope: This is a very difficult question. I would say Ben Böhmer, Deadmau5, Chemical Brothers. Ben Böhmer due to his amazing sound within the melodic house scene. Beyond Beliefs is my all time favorite. Deadmau5 has been an inspiration source for a long time now. His production skills are just crazy and I the amount of great albums is unbelievable also his latest project with Kaskade. And I've listened to Chemical Brothers a lot as a kid with my parents. Those have been a huge part of my childhood and can therefore not miss in this list!!
4-Dimitris: It would be fantastic to talk about your track Hearts Don't Forget with Sarah de Warren on UV. Please tell us how this track came about and what was the idea behind it.
Jope: This track started as an instrumental project with inspiration mainly from music by artists like Keinemusik. Last summer I went to Keinemusik at Woodstock 69 and the atmosphere was crazy!! What I especially notice in this music are the great drums and the beautiful piano. I therefore put my focus more on percussion and playing the piano live with my midi keyboard. This is where the inspiration for the instrumental version came from. Eventually Paul Thomas came up with the idea of looking for a vocalist and eventually the perfect collaboration with the enormously talented Sarah de Warren came to be. I am super happy with the release of this track on UV.
5-Dimitris: How long it took you to produce it and can u describe the production process in simple steps?
Jope: The first idea of this record came about quite a long time ago. I think the first idea had been on my laptop for almost a year and after the dj set of keinemusik I went back to work on this project to focus more on the drums and piano. It started out as a pretty basic melodic/progressive record with fairly standard drums and the chords you hear in the final product and then eventually I wanted to make the drums a bit more interesting and I thought the melodic elements were a bit boring. So I came up with the melody that you hear in the 2nd "drop" and I tried to play a piano solo live as a layer to make the track more unique, especially in the background.
6-Dimitris: Did you had any particular difficulties accomplishing that particular track or any specific technical challenges or obstacles that you had to overcome during its production.
Jope: In the end I was doubting if the current vibe of the track was the best direction for this one. I ended up making different versions after, but in the end with this vocal it couldn't have worked out better in my opinion.
7- Dimitris: Which music composition software or hardware you prefer and why? What is your opinion of the latest movement to produce music with more analogue equipment and with less or without any digital software?
Jope: I am personally a big fan of analog. At my part-time job I am constantly working on analog studio gear, while revising and testing it and I especially enjoy working with it and turning actual knobs. But on the other hand, I am also a fan of digital gear. Sometimes I notice that it is very simple to quickly set up or work out something. It can make your life as a producer faster and simpler. I prefer Ableton myself. I have already used several programs, but Ableton is perfect and intuitive for me. Fast and clear!
8-Dimitris: Do you prefer instrumental dance tracks or you adore vocals? Please explain to us your position and if in your latest production you have vocals tell us how did you choose the specific singer and if it was great to work with her/him?
Jope: Depends on the intent of the instrumental idea. Some tracks call for vocals and leave space that can be perfectly filled by a voice. But for some songs I don't think vocals are necessary and it has no added value. If I have to choose one of the two, I would choose vocal tracks, also to produce. I really enjoy linking certain songs to vocalists and find it super interesting to collaborate with other creative people. I found out about Sarah de Warren through a great record "Paige, Nihil Young & Sarah De Warren - Cure Or Remedy". And I was immediately sold and to have a record with Sarah now is unbelievable.
9-Dimitris: If you really like to produce vocal tracks which vocalist/singer or lyricist on electronic dance music you aspire to work with?
Jope: For sure Julia Church, Jem Cooke, Delhia de france and Sarah de Warren in the future ;)
10-Dimitris: Do you believe that artwork on your latest track is good and do you believe that artwork can attract listeners or record buyers? Can you mention the best artwork of a track ever released?
Jope: I am a big fan of the artwork of my latest track. In the last few years I have come to appreciate nature enormously and I love a beautiful flower as artwork. I also think that artwork can help for engagement. I notice myself that I also click on a random song and listen if an artwork is also beautiful.
11-Dimitris: Can you pick your top 3 record labels including the one released the track that we discuss in this interview and give us a short comment about them?
Jope: Sekora, UV and Anjunadeep/beats. UV has been an amazing label to work with on my latest track. Paul Thomas is a super nice guy and really helped me shaping this track and helping in collaborating with Sarah. I am very grateful for that. Sekora has been a huge part of my carreer since day one. It has been one of the greatest labels to work with and to help me creating more of a brand. I really consider them as a family/community. Everyone is so passionate and really wants to help. Anjunadeep has been one of my favorite labels. Even before making music, Anjunadeep released the greatest music and still releases some of my latest favorites!
12-Dimitris: Do you have your own record label? if yes tell us when did you set it up, the reasons behind this decision and your top 3 releases on the label so far plus 2 or 3 releases that we should look after from your label.
Jope: No, unfortunately not.
13-Dimitris: Are you planning to complete an album or mix compilation soon? if yes please give us all the details about regarding tracks and how will look and sound like?
Jope: No, but would love to start on making an album soon :)
14-Dimitris:How much time do you spend promoting yourself in your social media and you see this as essential tool for self promotion and getting bookings too? Which social media is the one that seems to work better for you?
Jope: At the moment there is not a specific amount of time I spend on (social) media for my brand. I especially notice that it is a great tool to keep your fans informed about new music and general news and is a great way to connect with people. It is certainly essential, not only to promote, but to keep in touch with certain important people. I already owe several collaborations to instagram. Instagram is also definitely my personal favorite and the main platform I use.
15-Dimitris: Do you have your own radio show/podcast/twitch stream or Vlog(video blog)? If yes please give us a comment about it and how long it take you to prepare for it and if you are always excited to produce it?
Jope: No, not yet ;)
16-Dimitris: Do you have any gigs/festival performances confirmed so far for 2023 in which ones are you most excited to perform and why?
Jope: Luminosity Beach Festival (24th of June), Festival De Achtertuin (15th of July), Density (1st of September), and another one in August that I can not yet tell everything about ;). I am very excited for each of these. Being there with friends and family. And very hyped for Density, an event I'm organizing myself together with my brother.
17-Dimitris: Please share your most funny and most serious incident that happen to you during your DJ performance?
Jope: I have not yet had a lot of performances, but probably something that every DJs has had is that somebody tapped my USB and it went into auto-loop because an error occured. Besides that I ones had a CDJ with a broken Cue button, which was awful to play with haha.
18-Dimitris: Are you enjoying to visit music conferences and do you have any plans to attend any of them in 2023:
Jope: I love to visit music conferences to learn and get to know people. Every year I'm participating ADE and currently also have been to Musik Messe. You can learn so much from artists you love and with ADE there are also some great parties haha. It is a great way to connect and extend your brand.
19. Are you happy with the way that royalties system works particularly regarding streaming revenue? Do you believe that artists get what they deserve from streaming providers/DJs playing your tracks in gigs/radio and selling music in physical formats like CDs/Vinyl or digitally.
Jope: I find this a very difficult question. In some respects yes, but also no. Streaming services generally do not pay very much per stream to the artists, but these services do ensure that you can easily release your music and create a fan base. Without these services, it would be difficult to distribute your music without a budget, for example through CDs. And for labels it differs enormously per deal and in the end I think it is partly the artist's co-responsibility to check whether they think the deal is fair or not. (the good) labels do a lot of activities for you that you no longer have to do for the release of your music, which of course also allows you to make more music. For me, this is ultimately the goal. That's why I don't think I would be releasing independent music anytime soon.
20-Dimitris: Please note for all the new talents that read this interview to get some inspiration from you any technical tips in relation to your DJing or music productions. Also any piece of personal or music business' advice that has helped you to progress even further and is worth telling to the new upcoming talents.
Jope: Something that I've learned to be the best way for me to produce is to just play around. I started focusing a lot into the technical side of producing and wanting to know a lot about the gear I was working with, however lately I started to understand it is more about playing around with your gear and be creative. It may sound a bit stupid, but try every knob and don't think to much when creating something.. Also something very difficult for me still, trust your own opinion. Something I learned myself is that you have to stand behind your own production. The most important thing is that you become a fan of your music yourself. And last but absolutely not least, finishing your ideas. I often start a track and stop with that project quite fast when I'm not liking it immediately, but finishing a lot of ideas really works on learning to arrange and go into detail for mixing and mastering.
21-Dimitris: Many DJs who are producers too they offer online masterclasses or teach to music production courses. If you are offering any of these services please tell us about it.
Jope: Not yet, but when I have more time, this would be something I would love to try!
22-Dimitris: Is there a club classic that you would like to remix or rework in 2023? Do you attempt often to do your own bootlegs of classics?
Jope: For sure!! Everything But The Girl - Missing (Todd Terry Club Mix). That vocal and those melodies are magical to me!! I want to focus more on bootlegs in the future!
23-Dimitris: Many artist right now attempt to come closer to their fan base and use the various services in order to offer exclusive content to their most dedicated followers. Do you have any plans to do the same by connecting even more with your most dedicated fans?
Jope: At the moment not. I probably will start to come closer to my fanbase by these various services. I love to connect with my fans and try to always react on DMs!
24-Dimitris: Can you describe your music as certain music genre such as trance, house, techno or your music exempts these categorizations? What is your opinion about hybrid styles and the artists who are attempting to mix influences from various genres in their tracks?
Jope: I would describe my music as Melodic House, Progressive house, and sometimes Melodic Techno. I find it hard to put it into one of these particular boxes. It is quite similar but has a different vibe. I would say some of my more darker style tracks/demo's would be marked more towards Melodic Techno. I enjoy hybrid styles. For me it is more about the track itself. If you made a hybrid between country and melodic techno and it is a banger, it still is a banger!! And I would for sure play it live myself.
25-Dimitris: Is your music business your full time occupation and are you able to make a leaving out of your music business (DJ/producer/label owner/teaching or mastering tracks)? If not what other jobs are you doing in order to support your income?
Jope: At the moment I am still an Electrical Engineering student and unfortunately the music business is not my full time occupation. Besides school and making music I work in revising mixind desks and working for a label.
Dimitris: Your message & wishes for Flux Bpm Online readers.
Jope: Enjoy reading first of all and If you listen to my latest track I hope you'll enjoy and off course if you have any question, just send me a message over on instagram.
This was an awesome interview, thanks Jope for your incredible efforts.
Thanks to Paul Thomas for arranging this excellent interview. Thanks to the team FSOE for all the interviews so far.
