We spoke to the deep house producer and DJ Joel Vels at the K-Swiss pop-up studio at Amsterdam ADE. He told us about how he got into music, his experience at ADE, and he took part in our Take-5 series. Discover what he told us below.
Joel Vels is a producer and DJ who is also known as JLV. He first began making music at just 15 and rose to fame for his incredible remixes. Most notably, his remix of ‘Hold On’ by Stisema got a huge amount of attention. Joel Vels has recently started his own sub-label with Hexagon, Something Good, reflecting his dedication to deep house driven by emotion.
Joel Vels makes incredible music but he is unbelievably humble. It all stems back to his time in high school: “in high school, I really got into music. But I was the guy that would keep it on the down-low. I just went to school, kept my head down, and did my thing because I didn’t like school”.
Events like ADE allow fantastic artists like Joel Vels to really come out of their shells. He told us that he had spent ADE meeting some big names in the deep house scene and partying. Joel Vels also used the opportunity to show off his DJing capabilities. He played at the Hexagon label event on a very busy Saturday night.
To Joel Vels, the world is full of inspiration. We asked him what inspires his music and he told us that it is other people. Any new music or festival triggers a spark of creativity for the deep house producer. Joel Vels also finds inspiration outside of music and he loves watching any creative person at work.
We also asked him what terrifies him the most and he told us that it is impossible to know what direction life will go in. Joel Vels knows he could lose his hearing at any time, or his career can come crashing down. The deep house DJ knows his gift is precious and wants to get as much out of it while he still can.
As part of our Take-5 series, we asked the deep house producer which three DJs he would take if he was stranded in the Amazon rainforest for a year. Joel Vels gave us some excellent answers. He instantly asked for his mentor, the Dutch songwriter and DJ Don Diablo. To bring the positive vibes, Joel Vels also wanted Martin Garrix, and for the parties he wanted to bring Fisher.
Joel Vels continues to bring his unique brand of emotional deep house to his adoring fans. Be sure to keep an eye out for his latest new releases. If you want to hear more of what Joel Vels told us head over to the Nexus Radio website and listen to the full interview.
