A musician from Merseyside is overwhelmed after his debut EP hit number one on the leading garage and bass music charts in the UK.
Joe Hill, who is from Earlestown in St Helens, has been left “speechless” by the reaction to his five-track debut EP, No Gimmicks, which made its way to the top spot on the electronic online music store Beatport this month.
Joe, who goes by the stage name JOJO, has been involved in the music industry and bands for 'most of his life' and began producing electronic music around seven years ago.
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In a year which has presented many people with bad luck and struggle, it granted Joe with an opportunity which he “didn’t expect” to happen after he was signed to a label he has long been inspired by.
Wub Club Records, a Sheffield-based record label co-owned by Forca, signed Joe back in February this year after he had reached out and sent them two tracks.
Since February, Joe said the label has transformed his life and presented him with experiences he once dreamed of.
The 23-year-old told the ECHO : “This year with the label has just been mad.
“I've been interested in this label for years and always wanted to work with them but I didn't know if it would ever happen.
"It's just crazy because these are the people that made me want to make music in the first place and now I'm part of this amazing family - it's just mad."
In September Joe was given the opportunity to attend Balter Festival in Chepstow where he was given his first 'artist experience' at a large scale music event.
He added: "I wasn’t on the line up but I got to experience it as an artist and then on the Sunday I got the chance to get up on the stage and play a couple of tunes which was awesome.
“It's just been a bit of a crazy year to say the least.”
Since releasing ‘No Gimmicks’ on October 8, Joe said the response he has received has been ‘overwhelming’ and the fact it even featured on Beatport - a respected music platform for electronic genres - is ‘unreal’.
He said: “[No Gimmicks] came out a couple of weeks ago now and it ended up in the charts and getting to No. 1 which I did not expect at all.
“It's been very overwhelming since the release and I’m just really made up that my sort of music has climbed the garage and bass charts.
“With it being quite a niche genre I really didn’t expect it to chart but the response has been amazing - I've had loads of messages and videos of people playing and listening to it from around the country so it's been crazy!
“For it to even chart was a massive deal, to actually get to number one was just ridiculous really.”
As well as the label being a long-term goal of his, Joe also said that the co-owner of Wub Club has always been someone who he has ‘looked up to’ so to be given the opportunity to work alongside him is ‘mad’.
He said: “Getting onto [Forca's] label has been a massive step up for me.
"He’s been someone who I’ve looked up to and been to raves to watch on the stage and been involved in the scene and the next minute he’s just taken me under his wing and he’s taking me to all of these places and putting out my music and getting behind me and he’s even become a really good mate of mine now.
“He’s put me in touch with all of these DJs and producers who I’m now working with but at one point where the people that inspired me to make music in the first place."
Since signing with Wub Club this year JOJO has gained a significant following in the industry, with his previous single 'Boss' gaining over 120,000 hits on Spotify.
Looking towards his future, Joe, who currently works as a plasterer, said he still has a lot of work to do until he has reached his goal of making music his full-time career but this year has been a ‘massive step in the right direction’.
He said: “I’m so proud of everything. I’ve been working for years on this and then this year I’ve been able to tick off a load of boxes - but at the same time there's still a lot of boxes to be ticked.
“This isn’t the end of it at all, there's still a long way to go to achieve what I want to achieve but it's just amazing to be a part of what I've wanted to do for so long and I’ve got the best mentor behind me.
“I’m just very humbled to have had the year that I’ve had and I never thought it would have happened this way but I just appreciate everything that's happened.
Joe added: “Hopefully one day I won’t have to wake up at 6 o'clock in the morning, freezing in Winter."
'No Gimmicks' is out now on all major streaming platforms and Joe added the next Wub Club event will take place on November 19 in Sheffield to celebrate the label’s fifth birthday.
