Joe Mesmar is a Canadian Underground DJ and Music Producer. He’s toured worldwide, with shows in countries including France, Italy, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States, among others. Originally from Montreal, Mesmar has been recognized by his fellow artists as one of the hottest rising talents in the industry. The producer earned praise from such names as Josh Wink, Richie Hawtin, Stacy Pullen, Sam Paganini, Nicole Moudaber and Mark Knight.
The Music Artist was obsessed with music from an early age. By the age of 14, he had picked up the sticks and began teaching himself the drums. His passion shined through his playing style; and he eventually progressed to learning more about music theory and branched out into the digital side of music. Mesmar became enthusiastic about creating instrumentals. This led him to venture into becoming a DJ/Producer in 2013 before taking it more seriously the following year.
Mesmar would soon begin a career in the field after winning a Beatport contest with a remix of Josh Wink’s track “Balls”. He then collaborated on numerous tracks with the likes of Eric Sneo and Ramiro Lopez, and inked record deals with Toolroom Records, Ovum Recordings, and GreatStuff Recordings.
In 2015, Mesmar was ranked among the top 300 best-selling techno artists as he played sets at premiere nightclubs in Montreal, including Circus Afterhours, Velvet, and Salon Daome. Both DJ Mag and Vice have interviewed him over the years to discuss his rise through the industry. Mesmar has shared the decks with Oliver Huntemann, UMEK, Pig&Dan, and Sasha Carassi, among others.
1InMusic meets the talented music artist for an exclusive Q&A session
1 In Music: What’s your goal in life you want to achieve next as an Underground DJ?
Joe Mesmar [JM]: So many goals! One of them, is to be signed on my favourite labels, Drumcode, Intec, Suara. Another one is to tour the world continuously.
1 In Music: When did you realise you were going to make music professionally?
JM: Well, It all started as a hobby. I wasn’t really intending to go all out and make it as my full time job. It all started when I was picked as one of the late winners of the Beatport contest hosted by Josh Wink and his label Ovum Recordings.
I woke up the day of the winners announcement, I opened my Mac and rushed to the Beatport Contest page to see who was announced as the winner (They picked 2 winners at that time). I wasn’t one of the few ones that got picked, and I was annoyed and sad. Then, a few days later, Beatport emailed me stating that Josh Wink wants to release my Remix alongside the winners. The happiness I felt during that day was like that of a kid with mountains of candy around him.
1 In Music: Who, to you, is a valuable music artist?
JM: Oof! So many! But just to name one… You cannot go wrong with Carl Cox, a humble man with talent. People just love his music & his live sets. He’s deeply loved!
1 In Music: How do you prepare for your performances?
JM: Before all, I always check if the event organizers want me to stick to a specific sound. Some are picky, some aren’t. It actually makes it easier for me to build my set.
I tend to merge up different vibes/styles when there are no limitations on me. I mainly play melodics/vocals, so I have to be creative. Sometimes I blend darkish tech house into my sets.
1 In Music: What do you do when you don’t do music (creative or otherwise) and that you are passionate about?
JM: Sports, Friends & Family are the main mandatories 🙂
1 In Music: Success to you is…?
JM: … Have Authentic Interest, Be Consistent, Be Persistent, Have many goals, Avoid Self-Deprecation, Give value To What You Do, Show No Fear, Be Authentically Confident, Always Welcome Criticism, Develop Your Talent, Grow
JM: In Producing, one of the biggest mistakes I used to make was to involve other people’s opinions in my unfinished music. Way too much feedback will leave you no choice but to keep you stuck and un-decisive. You’ll never know when to finish the track, and then you’re just focusing on perfecting it at all times. My advice is to be YOU. Produce what you want, and do not ask anyone’s advice. Learn from yourself, from your mistakes, and that’s how you grow. Another one, When preparing your tracklist, always over-add extra music in case the crowd doesn’t react much to the music you’re playing. This way you’ll switch things up from Negative to Positive. Be in control. It’s a challenge, but it’s not hard. It’s only hard when you think it’s hard.
1 In Music: Any upcoming projects?
JM: Many plans in progress. Right now I’m working daily and hard to get the label showcasing all around the world. but I will not reveal anything yet But rest assured that it will be worth it and super exciting!
1 In Music: Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your talent. Where do we find you music and music projects?
JM: You can find me anywhere on Social Media! If you want to stream my music, you can follow me on Spotify. To keep up with me, follow me on Instagram 