Interview with Jope

We talked to the young talent Joppe van Cutsem, a Dutch DJ and producer with a promising career who has been gaining more and more space in Deep and Progressive House scene under his artistic codename Jope, who doesn’t stop making resounding releases by incredible labels such as Sekora Music, Euphonic Visions, Colorize, Immersed and Songspire Records. And if you still don’t know his sound, here’s an excellent opportunity to get to know the magical music of an incredibly talented person for electronic music.

In conversation with him, we heard from Jope himself interesting things about his beginning and career in music, what it’s like to work with different labels and, of course, about a lot of electronic music! Welcome to WeRave Music, this is our exclusive interview with the up and coming Dutch producer Jope.

Hey Jope, first of all thank you so much for having us for an interview. It’s amazing talking to you! And to start this interview, where in the world are you?

Jope: I live in the Netherlands. In a small village called Riel next to the city Tilburg. I live here since 4 years. Before that I lived in Tilburg all my life.

How did you get started in electronic music and why do you choose Deep and Progressive House? Is there something special for you in these genres?

Jope: I actually got started due to someone from my elementary school. He said he made music (Dubstep) and I listened to what he made and in my mind I was like: “I can do that too”. But surprisingly I sucked at it the first time I downloaded a music program one I really like. The music program was Music Maker and I just dragged in a few loops thinking I was producing music (hahaha).

I also learned a lot from my dad about music. All the stories of partying and the history of House Music and Techno he had experienced have given me a lot of inspiration and perseverance later in my producing years.

About the music genres. There isn’t a very perticular reason why I started with making this genre. I tried to make a lot of different styles over the year, but I got quite stuck at Deep House on one day and that developed into Progressive / Melodic House / Techno.

Your recent ‘Utopia / Ineffable’ EP is a beautiful release with two killer tracks. Can you tell us about the EP and what the idea it came from?

Jope: The EP started with ‘Utopia’ and it started with the vocal sample I found and it developed into a track, which I personally extremely like. And after they asked to make it an EP I started on ‘Ineffable’. ‘Ineffable’ came out to be something that I was not used to make. There isn’t really a story in this EP. They just are two tracks I really like.

Jope – Utopia | Euphonic Visions

Jope – Ineffable | Euphonic Visions

You have two tracks called ‘Love Is Blind’ and ‘Onsra’ that we really love to listen. What’s the inspiration behind these songs?

Jope: This is actually quite a hard question for me, because I don’t think that I make tracks while feeling specifically inspired by something. I just start a project and jam until I get something I personally like.

However I have a few inspiration sources for when a studio session isn’t working. For example, making a walk in nature or just hanging out with friends, not thinking about producing at all.

Jope – Love Is Blind | Sekora Music

Jope – Onsra | Euphonic Visions

For us is impossible hear your name and don’t think about Euphonic Visions. What’s it like to collaborate on Kyau and Albert’s label and how did it start?

Jope: It’s amazing to work with them! They are so nice and really want to help and they try there best for every release to make it really worth it.

It started like this: At one point I was trying to get more feedback from producers I looked up to, one perticular act I came in contact with were the guys from Local Dialect. they helped me a lot with extensive feedback on my tracks and it quickly got better and better. And then I went to see on which labels Local Dialect had released music on. And so I actually ended up sending demos to Euphonic, with the surprise that they actually said yes.

How is your music production workflow? Do you have a pattern or do you let ideas flow?

Jope: I don’t have a particular workflow. It just starts with a scratch ableton project and I just start working on an Arp sound or some chords, maybe start on the drums. It starts as a jam session I would say.

Among the artists of the new generation of electronic music, are there any that inspire you?

Jope: It’s quite difficult to define producers from the new generation, but one of the guys I look up to from this “new generation of producers in the scene” is Heard Right. I just love his music and I have so much respect for the big steps he’s making. And he’s a great person to work together with. Besides him I also look up to Motives, also a super nice guy and great person to work together with.

This question is really hard because most of the people I’ve come to know through this music genre are extremely talented and everyone is just reallt nice to each other. It’s not just one or two persons I look up to, but more like the entire scene.

You currently work with excellent electronic music labels such as Sekora, Immersed, Colorize and Euphonic Visions. Are there any tips you would give to budding producers to get that high?

Jope: I think that there isn’t a formula to get into record labels. Any tips I could give them is just keep producing and one of the most important is ask for feedback to artists you like. There is also a lot of chance that you won’t get a lot of answers, but that’s why you need to stay positive and keep sending it to other producers.

Just keep sending music, however do send music that the artist or label might actually be interested in. For example, do not send a crazy dark Melodic Techno tune to a label that focusses on Chill and Progressive House.

Are there more songs to come in 2022? Could you tell us more about it?

Jope: Yeah of course. There’s something coming on Sekora again! And working on a lot of collaborations. I’m not going to spill any names, but they are amazing!!

Jope – Kalon | Sekora Music

In your opinion what is the most exciting thing happening in dance music currently?

Jope: The fact that everything is almost open again. People can start partying again and what I have experienced in the last few House and Techno parties I´ve been to since it reopened in the Netherlands, is that everyone is sooooo happy te be partying again. It’s something that everyone has missed the last 2 years.

Thank you so much again for this interview Jope. It was amazing and I wish you many inspirations in your career! Please, do you have some message to electronic music fans here in Brazil?

Jope: I would like to say to my Brazil fans that they need to message me! I love to get to know the people who listen to my music. And also, keep streaming my music. Love you all!

Image via Jope