Introducing Rising DJ And Producer Joel Corry
Joel Corry is a rising talent taking the dance-electronic music world by storm. The emerging artist first fell in love with music listening to the UK garage scene. Gaining inspiration from his older brother – an MC and Garage DJ – Joel’s love and admiration for the genre steadily grew. At the young age of 13, he was gifted his first turntables furthering his music dreams. While honing his craft Joel also attended Bucks University – earning a degree in Music Business – and worked with MTV as a runner and on-air personality. After spending some time working on an array of projects, Corry made the decision to focus on music full time. Since then, he has released bangers like ‘Sorry’ and ‘Lonely’, cementing himself as a DJ-producer to watch.
We were able to chat with Joel Corry about everything from his earliest music memory, working in TV production, latest single ‘Lonely’ and more…
Let’s take it back to the beginning. What was your earliest music-related memory?
My older brother Sam was a DJ, and I remember thinking he was really cool with his turntables and vinyl collection. Watching my brother and his friends having bedroom sessions and recording mixtapes definitely inspired me. It wasn’t long before I had my own set of decks, and that was where it all started!
When did you realize that you wanted to pursue music?
DJing was always Plan A. I was business-driven from a young age. At 15, I had my own mobile DJing company and was earning good money. I progressed into the club scene, holding down residencies across London. I knew that if I wanted to take things to the next level, I had to knuckle down in the studio and work on my production. I remember the first time one of my tracks got played on BBC Radio 1, and it gave me the belief that my dream was achievable.
What were some of the challenges you faced getting your career off the ground?
There have been obstacles in the music industry that I have had to overcome. Proving to people that I was serious about making it as an artist was a challenge. Challenges are a positive thing. Challenges make you work harder.
You earned a degree in Music Business, have you applied what you learned in Uni to your career now?
I think you learn the most from being hands-on in the music industry. In hindsight, the degree was not necessary for me. I would advise anyone who wants to get into the music industry to find an internship or work experience. Start from the bottom and learn on the job.
Along with music, you also dabbled in TV production, working as a runner and on-screen presenter. What was your favorite aspect of working in such a different sphere than DJ’ing?
I liked working in the TV industry, and it was very intense but great fun. I enjoyed the pressure of working on TV sets with big crews. My aunty and uncle are both film producers, so I had a taste of being on a film set from a young age.
Early on in your career, you were involved in an array of things – TV, Fitness, School, and music. What was your “ah-ha moment” in terms of you deciding to focus on DJing and producing solely?
I was juggling DJing and fitness together, and it was becoming difficult to put 100% effort into both. I had won multiples bodybuilding shows and landed the front cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine. I felt like I had achieved everything I wanted within fitness. It was at that point I decided that I was going to focus solely on DJing and production. I knew if I was going to make it as an artist, then I needed to eat, sleep, and breathe music—no more distractions.
Your track ‘Sorry’ made massive waves last summer! How did that track come to be?
Sorry is a cover of the UK Garage classic ‘I’m Sorry’ by Monsta Boy feat. Denzie. It was one of the first records I bought when I started DJing, and was a staple of my DJ sets growing up. Last year I was chilling in the studio listening to some old school garage and had the idea to flip this track into a summer banger. I reached out to Hayley May, who had featured on my previous singles. Once Hayley got in the studio and started laying down the vocals, I knew it was going to be a killer track!
With ‘Sorry’ and your latest track ‘Lonely making the rounds, are there plans of releasing an album soon?
I have a vision for an album. I have so many tracks already written for it. It is a big dream of mine, and fingers crossed it will happen in the future.
What are the top three things you’re looking forward to this year?
I am currently supporting Sigala on his UK & Ireland tour, it has been absolutely amazing. Next month I am supporting Jax Jones on his UK tour, which I am super excited about. Then it will be time to start getting ready for a huge summer. I have some big summer 2020 plans to announce soon, watch this space!
Make sure to check out Joel Corry’s video for his recent single ‘Lonely’ below…
