Conversations with Jose Sierra

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Jose Sierra.

Hi Jose, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I got into the music scene because of LOVE! My best friend Juan wanted my help with recording a mix for his partner. He knew I was into making music at the time so he asked to have a certain set of songs that were special to them mixed up so he could fit it all on a custom vinyl record. I didn’t have a DJ board at the time, so I borrowed it from my friend Doug. Juan and I got together and recorded the mix until the hours of 4 am until we got it right. I fell in love with the creativity of DJn.

From there, I invested in my own sound system and other gear and began doing gigs for friends and family. Soon enough, I was introduced to industry leader Brian Howe who mentored me and opened up many doors for me in the nightlife space. I began playing at a local Irish Pub scruffy Murphys and started to grow an audience there. I knew that I didn’t want to continue playing open format gigs- so I ventured to other nightlife spots and found myself At Larimer Lounge for an Abstract House show with Erin Stereo,

I fell in love with the idea of performing in such an intimate space like Larimer. At the time, I was heavily invested in house music and techno and made sure to continue supporting James Grebb at future shows. One day, James posted a story on his Instagram asking Denver DJs to message him. I replied to it and he said he needed support for an upcoming show. I sent him a mix I had recorded but was procrastinating about posting it. He let me know I was onboard for the show and I found myself playing my first show at Larimer Lounge!

The first show was a packed-out night on the opening day of the Rockies, so we had a great fun crowd! I remember playing a great set and having the time of my life. Everyone in the room was going crazy for me, and I fell in love with the feeling of performing. From there, I would go on to play for Disco Producer Boogie Lights, who also opened up many doors for me at Beacon. He also introduced me to Adrian Tecla- a dear friend of mine who teamed up with me and Shambo to host the first-ever VYBE event in Cheeseman Park.

VYBE continued to host events at Cheeseman almost every Sunday in 2023. The community grew from 10 people all the way up to a whopping 300+ people who attended the events religiously. VYBE has grown to host its own yearly arts and music festival called VYBE Fest. We had 200 people in attendance in 2023 and VYBE is already planning for 2024. My contribution to it all revolved around providing power, sound equipment, and management of talent and artist relations.

Thanks to my contributions to VYBE, I have gained the support and respect of many local music lovers, artists, and friends alike. Many of whom continue to support my own and each other’s endeavors on a regular basis. That support came in at just the right time. My friend Lauren invited me to compete for a chance to perform at Dancefestopia – a 70,000+ person festival. I competed- and won the opportunity to play at DFT 2023!

Going to that festival changed my life and outlook on music. I had never been to a festival before, so to have attended AND played AND to throw our OWN festival with VYBE was a big deal. While building up VYBE and creating a community for my sound.- I found that I fell in love with another music genre. Drum and Bass. I started making my own edits and uploading hybrid mixes that incorporated house, bass, and dnb music. By luck- a new Instagram page called “novationnights” started following me.

They reached out in DM asking if I liked drum and bass. To which I replied with my own mixes and edits I had been working on. They liked my stuff and agreed to have me play their first warehouse rave here in Denver. I smashed my set and was invited to return a second time. And then a third. And after that, they made me their resident DJ and I have played a total of 10 consecutive events for them.

With so much DnB in my head, it was only natural to start making my own DnB music. I have been working on my production for the last 5 years and have just begun to hit a point of feeling comfortable and happy with my sound, I have begun to produce my own music with the help of other fellow artists DJ EHGO (Diego) who so happens to also be my best friend.

Slowly, session after session with many more producer friends, I have been able to finally start making music that I feel proud of. And this is the next evolution. Learning production, while keeping myself healthy, financially stable, and enjoying life.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been anything but smooth! There are always hiccups in the process. Luckily- my mindset and attitude of staying positive and manifesting life through careful selection of my words and thoughts, is what has kept it a little bit smoother.

Of course, you can’t just speak your life into existence- there’s gotta be the work to back it up. And maybe a tiny bit of luck. The biggest struggle has always been being able to attend events, play your own, and attend your friends to support them. All on top of managing other jobs and family/ relationships.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I suppose people know me best for my energy. That seems to come up a ton. I just got so into the performance of DJn and am really having the best time of my life up there. That feeling rubs off on the crowd and leads to a special moment where we are all dancing and enjoying the music together.

I am known for being able to smoothly mix together different genres of EDM. I started off in the house music scene but have slowly crept my way into the Drum and bass scene through my continual warehouse rave bookings with Novation and my original DnB productions.

What does success mean to you?
Success is how you feel at the end of the day. Are you happy with your decisions? Can you rest easy knowing you’ve been putting in the work? Can you say you gave it all you got? Success is a feeling. It is unique to us all because we all have different gifts. If you are using your gift and applying yourself- then you are successful.

If you are born with a gift, yet you do not execute or put the gift to use, then you are not successful because you have fulfilled your role in this world. It is up to each one of us to bring forth our gifts and do our part. That is success to me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dh_dos?igsh=MTMwb3hqYTR2dmk4aQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/XM2e2t77gckUWdw39

Image Credits
Shambo Scott