JIMMY CLASH

How have you got to the place you are today in your career? What was the tipping point? If I look back to the moment, I started this, it all began as a hobby. It was a regular Sunday morning when I downloaded a demo version of FL Studio (the music composer software I still work with today the day). At that moment I didn't know that it would turn out like this, a professional career with shows all over the world and songs on the biggest record labels. It's hard to say when the tipping point was, it’s been a gradual way with ups and downs but I'm super happy how it all went and the point I am today.

What is your approach to the world of music? Is there a process with writing for you or is every track different? A creative process is the most beautiful process there is, you are charged with inspiration and everything falls into place when working on a new song. There is no one particular way to approach a new project. Sometimes a melody pops up in your head (the WhatsApp conversation to myself is full with crazy humming voice notes haha), sometimes you come across a nice useful sample and sometimes you come up with a unique combination of certain music genres. In the process of making music there are no rules, and that’s why I like it so much. Endless creativity.

Who would you consider to be your biggest influence? There are a lot of artists I admire, but Calvin Harris is standing out for me. The combination of radio songs and club tracks he has been releasing is very inspirational for me. Also, the disco - funk influences he is using in his songs are very inspiring. In the future I aspire to work like this as well; releasing accessible songs for the bigger audience, while I keep producing hot club records for in my DJ sets.

What is the greatest satisfaction that music has given you? There are a lot of things I can name, like the DJ's I look up to playing my music on the biggest festivals, songs on massive record labels, but what the most matters for me is making people happy. When I'm performing and I see people with a huge smile on their face and having the time of their lives - that's where I'm doing all of this for. You don't know these people personally; you don't know what they are going through. And If I can make them forget about their daily life and rejoice them by house music - That's really important for me.

What have been the biggest difficulties you’ve encountered along the way so far in your career? In every career there are ups and downs. If you watch aftermovies or recaps from artists you will always see the bright side. Ofcourse there's a dark side, for every artist it's different how to deal with those moments. Luckily, I'm always very positive and it doesn't really affect me. I like the travelling and I can deal with less sleep. There's always thoughts in my head that I must be privileged that I can do this for a living, that is keeping me motivated and happy.

Have there been any sacrifices you’ve had to make in order to pursue your dreams? If so, what have they been? My parents gave me a chance to do the thing I love the most: producing music, only if I would graduate from college. At the age of 21 I graduated. Today the day I'm still grateful for the chance they gave me. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for a better outcome. ''Nothing great was ever accomplished without making sacrifices''.

How far are you willing to go to achieve your professional goals? For me there's no other option. I live for this music, and I really believe in the fact that as long as you work hard enough - you will eventually achieve anything you want. So that's what I'm doing every single day. Producing your own music and playing it all around the world is the most beautiful job I can imagine.

What was the inspiration behind ‘Young and Invincible as a single? Do you think it’s yourmost accomplished single to date, or would that be ‘Miracle’? Both of the songs are records I'm really proud of. ''Young and Invincible'' is a collaboration with Portuguese DJ/Producer KURA. It was the second of my three collaborations with him. The support on it was magnificent, it's been played in almost every big radio show. ''Miracle'' is a more radio orientated track, which resulted in over6 million Spotify streams. I can't really name my favourite, both of the songs mean a lot to me.

You recently released your single ‘Third Eye, howdid this record come about? ''Third Eye'' is a collaboration with my Taiwanese friend DJ Junior and English/Dutch rapper/songwriter Da Knightshiftah. There's a very special meaning behind the song because the ‘'Third Eye'' refers to the gate that leads to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness. It's a really interesting subject, and at the same time a very cool theme fora house track. I also boosted the 963 Hz frequency in the second break of the song, which is known as the frequency to actually open your''Third Eye''.

What other projects are you currently working on? The past few months I've been super productive in the studio. Worked on a lot of songs, and I can't wait to release them all. To give you guys a little scoop; new music will be out soonerthan you think. One of my most musical and melodic tracks is coming next month in collaboration with Kill the Buzz. Super excited for that one. Furthermore I've been working on a lot of other collabs, one of them is with Mr. EDM himselfMaarten Vorwerk. Also looking forward to drop that record. Maarten has always been in the background to ghost-produce songs for big DJ's, but forthis song he stepped out of the shadow, so his artist name 'Vorwerk' will be credited in the track name…

What advice would you give young people who have just started in this complex world of music? Be creative while making music, practise endlessly, read books and theories, watch ''how to'' tutorials, stay humble, be nice to anyone and the rest will follow automatically.