Cinema NDN: In Conversation with Julian Jordan on "Love You Better" And More [Interview]

Friday, February 21, 2020

In Conversation with Julian Jordan on "Love You Better" And More [Interview]

Julian Jordan partnered with real life love interest Kimberly Fransens on his brand-new radio hit, "Love You Better."

Kicking off 2020 with a bang, Julian Jordan is back with another surefire radio hit, "Love You Better."

This time around the the Dutch sensation chose to work with his real-life love interest Kimberly Fransens, who provided the fitting vocals on the track. Known to switch up his sound between the club and pop spaces with utmost ease, Julian Jordan (real name Julian Dobbenberg) looks to dominate both arenas with a combination of the memorable songwriting and tight production.

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Known for her appearances on TV show The Voice Holland, Fransens tried her hand at the vocal for fun after Dobbenberg had gone through a few different vocalists but hadn't seemed to find the right match. He quickly realized the track was destined to be sung by her, and that's how it all came together.

In conversation with EDM.com, Dobbenberg revealed how playing Coachella was on his wish list, and also how he had a plethora of new music ready to unleash in 2020. Read on to see what he had to say.

EDM.com: You signed your first record deal with none other then Spinnin’ Records before you even graduated from school, so it’s safe to say you started early! How did your journey into the industry begin?

Julian Jordan: I was always into making music. I started drumming when I was five years old and started producing music when I was 12! I just loved to create my own tracks. I decided to upload all my tracks on SoundCloud because I had no label to release them yet.

One day I got an email from Spinnin’ Records saying that they wanted to sign one of my tracks that I had uploaded on my SoundCloud. When I sent them the track, I didn’t get any response. Then, three months later, I was looking at the Beatport chart and saw my track on the top 10 overall chart ranked at #3, but with a different DJ name and different label. I was so mad that I wrote a story about it on a forum and all of a sudden a big Dutch media website covered the story. When this happened, I got a call from Spinnin’ Records saying, "Sorry our email was hacked but you can send your next track to us," and that’s when it all started!

You started working with Martin Garrix before he had exploded on the scene back in 2013. From then to now, tell us about the journey you’ve have had as friends and collaborators.

We started sharing music on the same forum and we really enjoyed each other's productions. So one day Martijn texted me saying "We should hang out in the studio." So we did. I went to his home bedroom studio and we’ve been great friends ever since. We were both super young, shared the same passion, and were very motivated, so we made a lot of music.

You chose to work with your real-life love Kimberly Fransens on “Love You Better” after giving multiple singers a shot on recording this catchy track. How was it working together professionally?

It’s always tricky to mix business with your personal life, but this collaboration actually happened very naturally. I was searching for the right voice for this track and I showed the track to Kim and was like, "Why don’t you try it?." So we just tried it, and we were both very happy with the result.

Your YouTube series, It’s Julian Jordan gives fans an inside look into your life and makes them feel like they're a part of your entourage. Are we going to see more of this in 2020? What was your thought process behind launching the series?

Yes! I love to give my fans a closer look into my personal life. I think that with social media these days, it’s all about showing the best side of yourself and as an artist, you always have to think about everything when you post a picture - what type of pictures to post and what captions to use. But I want to show my fans a more personal side of Julian Jordan, and I hope they can connect with me more this way. Viewers will see me hanging with friends, attending meetings and be a part of my studio sessions, shoots, flights and the fun on tour. Just to show that we are all humans and to motivate my fans that hard work and passion can take you everywhere.

At a young age, you’ve already checked off playing some of the largest festival stages around the world from Tomorrowland to Creamfields, and Ultra Music Festival to Mysteryland. What is the one festival or city around the world that you'd like to play but haven’t had a chance to yet?

I would love to play at Coachella. I’ve only seen videos and pictures and it always looks so dope. I think the crowd is also into a lot of different genres and I really love to play for a diverse crowd. They listen to your sets differently and it gives me the chance to try out new stuff and see the reaction of people that wouldn’t go to an EDM festival in the first place. Also, the whole vibe I get when I watch videos from Coachella is definitely something I want to experience.

You’ve consistently dropped club bangers and are now back with a sure shot hit-making melody on “Love You Better.” What, in your own words, is the signature sound of Julian Jordan?

It’s all about energy, making music that you love and taking my fans on a journey. I always try to build a lot of energy in every track and try to put some signature Julian Jordan sounds in it, so when you hear a track and certain elements, you instantly know it’s my production. I can make very dark club/festival music, but also positive happy crossover tracks, all with those elements in it.

What can Julian Jordan fans look forward to in 2020?

I have so much music ready for 2020 and I think it’s gonna be a very very special year. I think 2019 was all about letting the world get to know the Julian Jordan sound, and now it’s time to keep firing those tracks.

Listen to "Love You Better" here.