Exclusive Interview with Jay Hardway

Siam2nite had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Jay Hardway, shortly before his performance at Levels on 11th June.

You are a 24 years old up-and-coming DJ & Producer from the Netherlands, signed on the prestigious Spinnin’ record label. You started producing music when you were 14 years old. How did you get in touch with electronic dance music in the first place?

The music was already popular in Holland and was played on major radio stations a lot. That’s how I got in touch with the music. Also the Internet was a good way to find out about the music. A lot of big DJ’s were and still are from the Netherlands so I wanted to be a DJ from a young age already.

You play and produce a mix of Electro- & ProgressiveHouse. How would you describe your own music in just a few words?

Energetic, euphoric, musical/melodic

You are best known for your collaborative tracks with Martin Garrix: “Error 404” and “Wizard” (the track reached the #1 spot on Beatport only 2 days after the release and became an international hit charting in 14 countries) and the tracks “Bootcamp” and “Voodoo” (with DVBBS). What other tracks or remixes would you recommend to someone that is not yet familiar with your music?

My track ‚freedom’ with Mike Hawkins is a track in which my style is really noticeable in the break. I also did some older remixes for Lethal Bizzle and Margaret Berger. In these remixes I really love the melodies. And I recommend people to keep an eye out on my social media, because a lot of new music is coming!

Looking back over the past eventful and equally successful 2 years since the release of “Wizard”, what were the best and the worst gigs you played and what were the funniest things that occurred during your performances?

I had so many great gigs it’s hard to pick some, but Tokyo and New York are definitely among the favorites. Beautiful cities and the people go crazy every time. A gig that was not so good was on a festival in Holland where it was raining all day. So a lot of people stayed home instead of going to the festival. But I had a lot of fun playing for the people that did come.

What’s on your agenda for 2015 and what are you currently and focusing working on?

NEW MUSIC! :) Solo tracks is what I’m focusing on and I hope to finish some collabs this year. A new solo track is finished and being released soon, so stay tuned!

On 11th June you will make your Thailand Debut at Levels. Have you visited Thailand before? What can the Bangkok crowd expect of your upcoming performance?

I never visited Thailand before, but I heard so many great stories, so I can’t wait to play there. My performance will be with a lot of new tracks and some of the more known tracks. I will make sure it’s going to be a crazy gig!