Introducing Julien Fade [Exclusive Interview]

Introducing Julien Fade

10/1/2019

For those who are unfamiliar, can you tell us a bit about Julien Fade and how you got into EDM production?
First of all, thank you QR Network for having me! My name is Julien Fade and I'm an eighteen year-old music producer. I'm originally from Frankfurt, Germany, but just one month ago, I moved to Amsterdam, the beautiful heart of the Netherlands, to start my studies in electronic music production.

I got into EDM very early on when I started listening to my father's house music collection and 80s/90s music as a kid. Then, as a young teenager, I started discovering other channels like Trap Nation on YouTube with artists like San Holo who made music I've never heard before, and also Skrillex who grabbed my attention with his aggressive sounds and an insane energy. But still, my love for 'House Music' remained and I got into it again when Martin Garrix started becoming popular after the release of his track 'Animals.'

I started DJing at birthdays and smaller parties we hosted and also I installed an old version of Logic Pro on my computer and began messing around with the program to create my own remixes. Quickly things became more serious when I bought Ableton at the age of fifteen. Since then, the style of music I'm focusing on the most is definitely house in all its variations. My biggest passion consists of the harder forms such as bass and electro house. However I'm not limiting myself by doing the same thing over and over again. I'm still trying to develop myself everyday by challenging myself with a project out of my comfort zone.

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A post shared by Julien Fade | DJ & Producer (@julienfade) on Sep 9, 2019 at 4:55am PDT

Your music falls on the more modern side of current trends. Where do you look for inspiration when writing new music?
For me, inspiration can be found anywhere at any time and in anything. It might be a nice vocal, a good drum loop, or even some random sounds you come across in a sample pack. Listening to other artists or just experimenting with new plug-ins can be very inspiring. Once I get an idea, I have to turn off the internet on my computer and put the phone away in order to bring my creative flow into the project, without interruption. This often begins a ten hour stint in the studio without eating or even using the restroom! Still, that's totally worth it when you see the results after a long period of working.

Can you walk us through the making of "Believe in Me" which you just released?
The inspiration of 'Believe In Me' come from skipping through Splice, looking for a vocal to start with. The problem with Splice vocals is that they are unfortunately totally overused. In order to make a "good" track, you have to be as creative as you can with the rest of the track. For 'Believe In Me,' my intention was to make a lot smoother track this time without heavy synths in the drop but still enough energy to fill the dancefloor. Choosing the right sounds and paying attention to details is therefore essential. At least in my opinion, I guess I reached that goal quite well, so I'm super proud about the release.

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A post shared by Julien Fade | DJ & Producer (@julienfade) on Sep 6, 2019 at 10:13am PDT

So far, you've been releasing your music independently. What is your reasoning behind this and how do you plan on managing independence vs. labels in the future?
As a young and unknown artist, it's quite hard to get in touch with bigger labels. And since I didn't see a big difference between an unknown artist signing on an unknown label or being an unknown artist releasing music on his own, I decided to stay independent. When starting your own career, the first and most important thing to focus on is the music anyway, so I spent more time practicing than having to deal with labels. â€‹

What I have to admit is that looking back at my first tracks I've finished (under the name Caesar Beats still on my SoundCloud channel) I can understand why labels didn't want to sign me! (Laughs) But nevertheless, I wanted to put myself out there from day one and after just a year, I already had my first track played on local radio station, which was a huge success for me! Later I started sending out tracks to bigger DJs and producers and hoped for their support, and luckily Jonas Aden and Jay Hardway have shown some love so far! For the future I'm definitely planning on signing tracks to labels because I see it as a good way to bring my career to the next level, so stay tuned!

In 2020, what do you think will be the hardest part about paving your own success and establishing a brand in the electronic music industry?
Due to the fact that everybody can start making music these days, it's very important to stand out in the crowd in any possible way. Being unique and interesting is a key factor for success in my opinion. That's also why I spent a decent amount of time these last few months experimenting with new sounds and new ways of production. I can't say that I've really found my sound yet, but at least I have gotten a bunch of steps closer. Finding the right balance between a recognizable sound and being different and refreshing with every release is very important too.

What are some of the goals that you have for yourself in the years to come?
2020 will be huge! When I look at what happened this year already, I'm curious to see what comes next. I'm super grateful for all the help I had lately, that's why I'm planning on putting out a bunch of good, free content for my fans to thank them for their huge support in the past. My goals are to also produce tracks with bigger artists and to release them on bigger labels. I would love to get my first bookings in clubs and festivals too!

Finally, I would like to thank you guys from The QR Network for the interview and the support and I hope to see you again as soon as possible!

Thanks to Julien Fade for taking the time to answer our questions! Be sure to follow him using the links below.