John Grand: If your goal is to become the next superstar DJ, you\’ll run into more obstacles than you can count.

John Grand, who you might recognize from his work with the indie/electronic band The New Division, returns with his latest EP Nightfire / Speedrunner, diving deeper into the worlds of progressive trance and melodic house. Since creating his John Grand alias in 2015, he has carved out a unique sound, drawing support from industry icons like Armin Van Buuren and Above & Beyond. In this interview, he reflects on his musical journey, explores the inspiration behind his latest tracks, and shares how his creative collaboration with longtime friend Dave Raval came to life.

You created the John Grand alias in 2015. What inspired you to take on this new identity for your music, and how has it evolved since then? 

Before creating John Grand, I was (and still am) the lead singer of The New Division, an indie/electronic band. While under New Division I got to experiment with dance music but I never had the chance to fully immerse myself in club-type tracks. As John Grand, I was able to fully commit to song structures, and sounds that would\’ve never worked in prior aliases, and it was freeing in a way to step outside of my comfort zone and create tracks that I\’d always heard in my head, but never had a chance to fully express.

Your tracks have been supported by iconic DJs like Armin Van Buuren and Above & Beyond. What was it like hearing your music on platforms like A State of Trance and Group Therapy Radio for the first time? 

Funny enough, the very first track I released as John Grand got picked up by A State of Trance and that really helped solidify the idea of venturing into a new sound. Up to that point, I was just creating John Grand songs as a hobby. Hearing my first single under this new alias being played by Armin opened my eyes to what was possible. I\’d already been a fan of the show for years, and to hear him announce my name, while being played next to other trance giants was an incredible feeling. 

Let\’s dive into your new EP Nightfire / Speedrunner. What’s the story behind the collaboration with Dave Raval on Nightfire? How did you guys connect creatively for this track? 

So Dave and I have known each other for well over a decade. He is one of the people who got me into producing trance and progressive in the first place. We\’ve actually worked on a lot of music together that\’s never been released – not that the music was bad or anything, we just never found an outlet for those songs and eventually decided to move on to new ideas. The first track we released together was \”Midnight Sun\” which is one of my favorite songs we\’ve done. \”Nightfire\” felt like a spiritual follow up to that track, and the way it all came to be was just a mutual sharing of ideas, parts, and the song eventually came to life after months of fine tuning. 

Speedrunner has a funk-influenced bassline and chopped vocals. Can you walk us through how this track came together in the studio? 

When I first pitched the song to Enhanced, I warned them that it might be a bit too nostalgic for the label, but I still wanted to see their reaction as I\’d spent a long time working on it, and felt it might have some potential. The inspiration for the track was drawn from the label\’s early days when artists like Ost & Meyer, and Johan Vilborg were making these really funky progressive trance tracks, and I guess I wanted to revisit that sound since it was dear to my heart when I first got into dance music. As far as the production goes, a lot of the motifs and riffs were written fairly quickly. It\’s always a good sign when the melodies come to you that quick, so I just kept going with it and found myself with a track that played around with a little of everything I love. 

Your music blends progressive trance, melodic house, and techno. What are some of your biggest musical influences, both inside and outside of electronic music? 

Inside wise, I\’d say Farius is one of my favorite artists in the progressive trance scene, along with Matt Fax, Grum, and Prydz (who doesn\’t love Prydz!?). Outside wise, I\’m a huge fan of artists like GusGus, Moderat, Jon Hopkins, New Order, Underworld…. I could go on and on! 

Outside of the studio, how do you unwind or find inspiration for your tracks? Any hobbies that help fuel your creativity? 

Its a bit of a weird one because music was my main hobby to de-stress, but once you\’ve clocked in 8 hours in front of Ableton, music no longer becomes the best way to unwind. Honestly, hitting the gym is the best way to keep fueling creativity. I don\’t know what it is, but every time I\’ve come back from the gym I feel ten times more creative. 

For aspiring producers who are just starting out, what advice would you give about staying motivated and pushing through challenges in the industry? 

First and foremost, I think its important to know why you\’re doing anything if you want to stay motivated. I\’ve been releasing tunes as John Grand for nearly ten years now, and there\’s been a lot of moments where I wanted to give up. The only reason I never did however is because the music kept bringing me back, the excitement of making one more track, of just seeing what would happen if I tried something different and fresh. If your goal is to become the next superstar DJ, you\’ll run into more obstacles than you can count. But if your goal is to simply make music that makes you happy, then you\’ll always find an audience that\’ll resonate with your music. 

You\’ve had your music featured on some huge platforms, and your fan base continues to grow. Where do you see your sound heading in the next few years? 

I really want to explore a bit with the old-school progressive house sound that was big in the early and mid 2000s. That oldschool Bill Hamel sound (RIP). I\’m not really as interested in making massive or bangin\’ tracks as much anymore… I feel I\’ve done my fair share of them and I want to explore the groovier side of progressive that I fell in love with, which by the way, is sort of making a comeback from what I\’ve noticed. I\’ve been really inspired by James Zabiela\’s \”4.4.4\” set which covers a lot of different genres, and the way he mixes everything really resonates with me. Ultimately I don\’t want to be tied down by a single genre, I want to have the freedom to express myself across a wide range where possible.