We catch up with UK deck wizard James Hype whose new hit collaborative single with Tita Lau on SOLOTOKO, “Disconnected,” just hit Beatport’s overall top spot.
James, congratulations on your new Beatport number 1 with “Disconnected.” How are you?
Thank you! Honestly, I didn’t expect “Disconnected” to be my first Beatport #1, but what do I know is that I’m feeling great. It’s an exciting time, I’ve just got back from six weeks away from home touring North & South America, and I can’t wait to finish some more music while I’m back in London.
How did “Disconnected” come about? Was there a concrete inspiration or idea for the track? You mentioned you wrote it in the middle of an argument you were having in the studio.
The main part of disconnected was written in about five seconds! Me and Tita were sat in the studio together talking, and she said, “I feel a little disconnected” in conversation about a real-life scenario. My brain instantly turned this into a lyric with the synth afterward. We threw this together in Ableton quickly so as not to lose the momentum, and we then built drums around it and a structure for the track. I wanted the low end groove to feel like Miane’s “Nanai,” so you may hear some inspiration from there!
You’ve worked on the song together with your partner — Bristol-based singer and producer Tita Lau — who also releases on your label Stereohype. Was it just a matter of time for you to do a track together?
Tita and I talk music all day long, and we’re always involved in each other’s work, even just being an extra pair of ears, so yeah, we’re always in the studio together starting projects. This one was just a matter of time! Stay tuned for more!
This is your first release on Sonny Fodera’s SOLOTOKO label. How do you pick the labels you release on?
This past year I’ve had releases on Musical Freedom, Insomniac, SOLOTOKO, and Heldeep (coming later this month). I’ve been trying to match the right-sounding track to the correct label while also being conscious of which imprints will reach different parts of the world. I know Sonny has a huge following in the UK, and I thought it would be good to give “Disconnected” a push there!
Another recent track (and current Beatport top 10 hit) you did was your joint tune with Vintage Culture, “You Give Me A Feeling.” Is there a specific work process or routine when collaborating with other producers? How did it work here?
Every collab is different, I started this track over a year ago, and I knew it was special, but I just couldn’t finish it. It was super minimal with the vocal and the bassline and not much else, every time I tried to finish it, I felt like I was going to ruin it… so I just left it! Then me and Lukas (Vintage Culture) got talking about doing a collab. We worked on a few bits, and nothing really clicked. When I sent him over this track as a work in progress, he loved it. He did some work on the drums and finished off the structure.
Which other producers and musicians excite you the most at the moment?
When I was in Brazil, I learned about Victor Lou, and I love his work.
Any new year’s resolutions that you would like to share?
Finish more music and let the people decide what is good instead of trying to guess… we never know!
