Joining us in the Kef popup studio at the Nexus Lounge Amsterdam edition, we spoke with Jose De Mara about his experience working with house music legends like Swedish House Mafia and Armin van Buuren, as well as the evolution of his musical tastes from late ‘90s trance to modern house.
After fifteen years of working the industry, Jose De Mara has hit all the major artist milestones on the road to success. Working as a producer and a DJ, he’s found chart success both with his remixes and his original work, all while performing all over the world. That said, he’s found particular success in his home country of Spain, where fans have gone wild for his sound.
Internationally, he’s best known for his 2012 remix of DJ Sammy’s “Look For Love” as well as a handful of his original tracks, including his recent single “Amen”.
In recent years, however, his primary focus has been on establishing and growing his own music label – Arcadia. With support from Swedish House Mafia and lots of new music, the label has come a long way in the last couple of years, but De Mara’s still setting his ambitions higher. Of course, the label isn’t his only focus, and he says he’s got plenty of original music planned as well as live performances all over the world. By the looks of things, 2024 will be a big year!
Digging a little further into his process, we wanted to know more about De Mara’s approach to music in the studio. In discussing his process, he highlighted the importance of ideas in producing a successful track.
“People forget about one part that’s really important, in my opinion, and that is the idea. The idea is most important because it’s where the heart of the song is located.”
Now, every artist takes a journey to find their sound, and De Mara’s journey is one that many will undoubtedly relate to. First discovering trance music in the late ‘90s, De Mara slowly shifted towards the house, taking major inspiration in his professional work from Armin van Buuren and Tiësto. These days, he’s all about house music, going so far as to say, “House music is my thing. My entire life is about House music.”
If you’d like to learn more about Jose De Mara, his time at ADE 2023, his favorite ‘80s movies, and his most unusual guest at a live show, then be sure to check out the full, exclusive Nexus Radio interview. For more updates about his live shows and releases, you can check out his Instagram or head on over to his official website.
