Kicking things off this month in our Introducing series we spoke to Hot Creations Josh Hvaal. The young UK based producer comes from a long line of electronic music enthusiasts, and has been spinning records from a young age. After recently releasing his ‘Getting Better’ EP, Josh Hvaal shared some of his history, inspirations and challenges of being an artist.
2020 marked a breakthrough for yourself, was your dream always to become a DJ/producer? Or was there a certain moment that made you think this would be the career for you?
Hello! So I have been DJing and playing dance music since the age of nine, so I think that it was a natural progression from there to start making my own music. As I got older, making my own music allowed me to play sets full of my own records that reflected my style of music taste.
For any of our readers who haven’t heard your music before can you give us a little insight into what style of music you produce and like to play?
I’d say my sound is extremely 909 drum machine led. I actually find it quite difficult to explain what my sound is as I can’t compare it really to anything else. But I would say that it is heavily influenced by the 90s Dancemania Chicago sound.
Your debut release was on Hot Creations, you have then gone on to sign 2 further EP’s on Hot Creations and Hottrax. Were these tracks specifically made for these labels and how did it feel seeing your first track get signed by such a big label?
I feel honoured to have my own sound on arguably the most influential dance music label of our generation, the records Jamie and Lee have signed were never specifically made for Hot Creations or Hottrax, they were inspired by the dance floor and reflect my own style of the underground
What artists have inspired and influenced you the most?
As I mentioned earlier, I’m a massive Chicago house fan, so the likes of DJ Deeon, Paul Johnson, Robert Armani and DJ assault have to be up there as they are the reason I make music the way I do.
What has been your biggest life achievement thus far?
Other than Jamie signing me to Hot Creations, I would have to say it was the support I had from Danny Howard on Radio 1 last year. I grew up listening to Friday night Radio 1 so it was extremely surreal hearing basically every release I put out last year on Radio 1.
What do you feel is the biggest challenge artists now face looking to breakthrough in this industry?
I think the pandemic has made it harder for artists to break through as the clubs aren’t open meaning we can’t tour and test records in the club or at festivals. It just means artists have to look at other ways of getting their records heard by the masses.
If you could produce a track with any artist past or present who would it be and why?
Wow, this is such a difficult question!! For me it would have to be Paul Johnson, I have been a super fan of his for a long time and his entire discography is unreal. He is without a doubt one of the most prolific producers in the underground.
You can buy the ‘Getting Better’ EP from Josh Hvaal here.
