Origins: Joss Dean On London Club Culture And The Rise Behind ‘Was I Loved’
- Mar 13
- 4 min read
Joss Dean’s rise hasn’t been built on chasing moments. It’s come from understanding how they work.
At just 19, he’s already played some of the UK’s most defining rooms, from Drumsheds to The Warehouse Project, alongside a run of sold-out headline shows. But the foundation for that didn’t start in clubs. It started in house parties, watching how people move, and paying attention to why.
“I first really got pulled into house music when I was around 16,” he says. “I was playing house parties with friends and started to enjoy the music that was being played at those parties. The energy around it and the way people reacted to certain tracks really stuck with me.”
That early curiosity quickly shifted from passive to active. “After that, I started getting more interested in how the music was actually made and how DJs controlled the atmosphere in a room.” That’s where things changed. Not just listening, but learning. Not just playing tracks, but understanding what they do.
Growing up in London only accelerated that process. The city’s club culture doesn’t push you in one direction. It exposes you to everything, from deeper house to more driving, groove-led sounds.
“The city has a strong house music culture and there are so many different influences around you,” he explains. “Even just hearing mixes online or through friends gave me a feel for the kind of sound that works on dancefloors here.”
What stuck with him was the groove. “I was always drawn to deeper house and tech house sounds with strong grooves and energy.” More importantly, he began to understand that DJing is less about selection in isolation and more about control in context. “It made me realise that DJing isn’t just about playing tracks, it’s about understanding the atmosphere and taking people on a journey.”
Before the bigger bookings came in, everything stayed small and consistent. Bedroom sessions, house parties, repetition. That’s where the real learning happened.
“Before any bigger bookings started happening, I was learning the most during bedroom sessions and small parties with friends. I spent a lot of time practising mixes, experimenting with tracks and figuring out what kind of sound felt natural to me.”
That environment gave him space to get things wrong, which matters more than getting things right early on. “There was no pressure, so I could try different things and learn from mistakes.”
At the same time, he had close reference points shaping his approach. Growing up alongside his brother Max Dean and cousin Luke Dean meant he was constantly exposed to people who were already deep in it.
“Seeing how passionate they were about DJing and producing pushed me to take it seriously and start building my own path in the scene. Seeing how they approach DJing, track selection and crowd control gave me a lot of insight.”
That combination of low-pressure experimentation and high-level influence created a balance that still defines how he works.
The biggest lesson from that period was patience.
“My earliest DJ experiences taught me that patience is really important,” he says. “When you first start DJing, you want everything to happen quickly, but improving takes time and a lot of practice.”
It’s a lesson a lot of artists ignore early on. The instinct is always to rush into the biggest moment. He learned to hold back.
“I learned that you don’t always need to rush into the biggest track or the loudest moment. Sometimes the best sets are built slowly by letting the groove develop.”
That same thinking runs through his production. Confidence didn’t come from validation or big co-signs. It came from repetition and trusting his own taste.
“Building confidence in my selections came from spending a lot of time digging for music and trusting my instincts. When you’re starting out, it’s easy to worry about what people expect you to play. I realised that the most important thing is choosing tracks that genuinely excite you.”
There’s a clear turning point when that instinct starts to translate beyond your own environment. For Joss, that came when his music left the bedroom and landed in real club settings.
“One of the first times I really felt my sound translating beyond my own environment was hearing my music played in proper club settings and seeing the reaction from the crowd. It gave me confidence that the sound I was working on could connect with people outside my immediate circle.”
From there, momentum becomes a byproduct rather than a goal.
Looking back, he’s clear on what kept things moving without losing direction. “The mindset that helped me the most was focusing on learning rather than rushing success. Instead of forcing things too quickly, I focused on building my taste, practising DJing and improving my production.”
That approach feeds directly into ‘Was I Loved (Dub Mix)’, his latest release on Dansu Discs. Where the original leaned into vocal identity and crossover reach, the Dub Mix pulls everything back to pure function. Rolling drums, weighty low-end and space where it matters.
It’s a record built for late-night sets, where control matters more than impact. Where tension builds naturally instead of being forced. Where the groove does the work.
That shift isn’t accidental. It reflects exactly where Joss Dean is right now as an artist. Not chasing attention, but understanding how to hold it.
Comments