In Touch with… Jam El Mar

We talked with Jam El Mar about his music, his musical past with Jam & Spoon and much more! Enjoy reading!
 
TranceAttack: Hey Robert! Great to have you for a chat on Trance Attack. Great to have you for a chat! How is it going? Where do we find you at the moment?
Jam El Mar: I am fine, a bit tired though, just sitting in a plane that will take me back to Frankfurt from Amsterdam. I have 45 minutes now to answer questions. 😉 Yesterday, I played at Thuishaven, a great, unique place, yesterday the event was dedicated to retro sounds…
 
TranceAttack: 2018 has been great so far for you with releases on Perfecto and Coldharbour. Are you happy so far?
Jam El Mar: Not only Perfecto and Coldharbour- also I did a remix for Tronic which found the support by Adam Beyer and Nicole Moudaber, well, they are not Trance but two of my heroes. (Actually, I heard, when Nicole was throwing parties in Lebanon years ago, the also played Trance. 😉
 
Working with Paul was a wish for a long time since he supported my early tracks back then a lot. He is one of the DJs, who became international stars back then! I remember him playing my Dance 2Trance Tracks on the U2 World Tour!
 
Coldharbour is now my partner for most of the releases that’s to come as I teamed up with Markus Schulz and his crew, Adina, Tim and Mike. I met Markus at MayDay 2017 and we are working together since this day. He is a wonderful person, studio wizard and fully on fire when it comes to music and DJing!
 
TranceAttack: Before 2018 it has become quiet still in the Trance Scene around you. How did it come to this “comeback”?
Jam El Mar: Since the day, when Mark Spoon passed away, I was a bit lost. There was no connection to the Electronic Dance Music scene anymore since I always have been a producer, never a DJ. So I moved on my own way, worked with bands and singers but one day, when I heard a podcast of Audio Injection I realised that my home is the club music. Trance of course, was always the connection, but being a curious person I also love to look ahead and over the fence and try to discover music from other styles. It’s not a secret that I also really love the more melodic side of Techno but even a hard technoid Mix from Victoria Rebecca can take me away. But when you listen to my own releases you will find yourself at the interspace of Techno and Trance. Before Jam & Spoon became over ground we always were like that. An Age Of Love Remix is right there. Markus Schulz completely supports and understands that so he is my congenial partner for that. But I also work with other great producers. Just be alert and check the new release that’s to come! Interesting stuff is in the pipeline!

TranceAttack: Most of the music fans know you from your time as part of Jam & Spoon. Compared to the “good old days”, how did the scene change from your point of view? Is there something you miss? What is the biggest difference between the dance scene now and then?
Jam El Mar: The dance scene these days is big business and club music took over the whole planet and became a mass phenomenon. So the whole scene is much more pro and money involved. That’s ok, but the love & peace & Rock’n Roll spirit is not as present as it was. I would not say it’s gone but many pushed aside a bit. The tracks these days sound much more perfect and we these amazing sound systems that deliver a great sound even though you are 100 meters always from the stage. Some people think the „good old Days” were better – I don’t think so. Also some say that the tracks are not so good anymore – I think there is a lot of music out there that is wonderful. Just the amount of releases are enormous and you have to dig deep to catch the golden nuggets. Also: where other, than in Dance Music can you bring hundred thousands of people together without and violence? This is the real power of electronic music!
 
TranceAttack: What do think, where is it all going with the trance scene? Faster, slower, rougher, smoother?
Jam El Mar: As long as you have a brilliant Track it doesn’t matter if it’s 124 or 138 or whatever. DJs will play it anyway when it finds their love. Sometimes I think Trance is a bit generic, following the same scheme all the time. I think producers should always go for a signature sound, build the own sound libraries and risk something. To me the vibe and the atmosphere is most important! I you can give your track the little bit of golden dust that make you goose bumps you will always be a winner!
 
TranceAttack: Can you describe your time after the end of Jam & Spoon?
Jam El Mar: It was tough. I lost my congenial partner and had to go and find my own way. That took longer than I ever imagined. But now I am back on the track and happy about how things are going! And I am happy to see that there is a Trance Family worldwide. I think no crowd is so dedicated and passionate about their love for music than the Trance family. Once you give them love with your music they will love you forever…

TranceAttack: How did you experience the death of Mark Spoon back in 2006?
Jam El Mar: Shock and unreal. I still can’t really realise that Marks is gone. It’s a very strange bookmark in my life. Mark is on my mind often. It’s not that I „talk” to him or strange things like that but I still can feel his presence – especially when I am on stage I think of him.
 
TranceAttack: We heard your passion is aviation. Is to see the earth from above something totally different or are there relations to the music?
Jam El Mar: Oh yes. Not only being away from the ground also you have to be very concentrated when airborne. But that’s the right thing for me: for a couple of hours you are in a totally different world and you a not into music for that time. It’s like a flush through your mind! Have a nice smooth landing after a wonderful flight and you are ready for the studio again! 😉
 
TranceAttack: Coming back to 2018 what are your plans for the upcoming months?
Jam El Mar: Finding great music and preparing the next releases and being on stage and make the people happy! 😉
 
TranceAttack: Which DJ/Producer would you love to work with?
Jam El Mar: Oh there are so many – can’t name all of them ….
 
TranceAttack: What are your favourite Trance Tracks at the moment!
Jam El Mar: I really like the Alex Di Stefano tracks, I really dig the Cosmic Gate Remix of “Only Road” by Gabriel & Dresden! I also like almost every track of the Arkham Knights and Solid Stone! And maybe one of my absolute favourite is the “Spirit Of The Warrior” Remix by Davey Asprey and I admire the works by Markus Schulz…I am sure I forgot many… oh there is one I really like – it sounds like an old Belgian Hard Trance track: “Commander” by Renegade System. A track that will always be in my heart is the Jerome Isma-Ae Remix of Nana by Orkidea and a track that is absolutely remarkable is “Zagros” by High Frequencies and Milad E!
 
TranceAttack: Thank you for the interview and all the best for the future!