JJ Mullor: Nearly Three Decades in Electronic Music and a New Chapter in Hardgroove

The story of JJ Mullor spans almost thirty years of Spanish electronic music. The DJ and producer from Almería began his career in 1997 and has since performed at venues including BCM Planet Dance, Carpe Diem Beach Club in Hvar, Mandala Beach in Mojácar and Mae West in Granada, alongside appearances at international events such as ADE Amsterdam and OHM Festival in Croatia.

His discography crosses different eras and scenes. His productions and remixes have appeared on labels including Toolroom, Armada, Ministry of Sound, Hed Kandi, Tronic, Great Stuff, Black Hole, Nervous, Tommy Boy, Pacha Recordings, 1605, BluFin, Formatik and Material Series. His track “Time” reached number four on Beatport’s Tech House chart, while Pacha Ibiza used his remix of “House Music” as the soundtrack to the official teaser for David Guetta’s F* Me I’m Famous!** party for two consecutive years.

In 2010, he founded Supermarket Records, releasing music from artists such as Guille Placencia, Wade, Dani Sbert, Groovebox, Jerry Ropero, Dennis Cruz and Coqui Selection. In 2024, he opened a new chapter under the alias Gömbök Project, returning to the tribal techno, hardgroove and percussion that first drew him to club culture. Two years later, he rebuilt Supermarket around those sounds.

His latest release, My Yard EP, brings JJ Mullor and Gömbök Project together on the same record for the first time. This meeting of past and present offers an opportunity to explore a career that deserves to be rediscovered and understood by different generations of electronic music fans.

You started DJing in 1997, when discovering music, learning the craft and building a reputation involved very different processes from those we know today. What was the electronic music scene like in Almería, and which records, clubs or people made you decide to dedicate your life to it?

JJ Mullor: The electronic music scene in Almería was heavily influenced by the Valencian bakalao sound and everything coming from Spain’s eastern coast. I was really drawn to the figure of the DJ and that ability to make people dance and enjoy themselves. Above all, I was fascinated by the idea of being the master of ceremonies on those nights when people went out simply to have an amazing time.

Several clubs in Almería influenced me, including Sala Sol and Garaje, although Sala Sol was the main one. I started working there in club promotion and naturally found myself gravitating towards the booth. I would go up, watch the DJ and study what they were doing. That was how I received my first DJ lessons, so to speak.

Although we have associated you with house and tech house for much of your career, you have explained that tribal, percussive techno was the music that originally drew you to clubs. Why did your professional career spend so many years following a different path from that first passion?

JJ Mullor: That’s right. I have always loved tribal sounds, especially the prominence of percussion. In fact, one of the first tracks that helped me make a name for myself was “Calliope”. Other releases followed, such as “Zambeze” and “Tribética”, all connected to that tribal sound: a slightly slower form of tribal techno, but always with that same essence.

Why did I spend so long exploring other directions? Because we all make mistakes, and one of mine was allowing myself to be influenced too much by whatever was dominant at the time. If house was fashionable, I made house, even if it wasn’t really what I loved most. Or I would move towards tech house, which did have more in common with my own sound.

Also, when you released on more commercial labels, such as Blanco y Negro in Spain, you had to make your music more accessible. Ultimately, I let myself be influenced by things that perhaps I shouldn’t have.

You began working as a DJ in 1997, but your recording career developed later. What pushed you to move from selecting other people’s music to producing your own, and how do you remember those early years of learning to turn your ideas into tracks?

JJ Mullor: I started DJing in 1997, but I didn’t release my first track until 2008. At that point, I realised that if I wanted to move forward in my career, especially internationally, I also needed to produce music. It was very difficult to get your name out there without releasing anything, because the biggest DJs were putting out their own tracks and building their names through them.

At first, I didn’t know how to produce, so I had to work with other producers. I shared my ideas and explained exactly what I wanted: “This needs to sound like this, I want a Spanish guitar, this section should work in this particular way…” My first track, for example, was produced by Manu García, but it was always based on my ideas. He handled the technical side of bringing everything in my head to life.

It wasn’t such an unusual way of working, either. Without comparing myself to him, there have been plenty of accounts of Michael Jackson communicating certain ideas by humming them so that other musicians could develop them. It is simply another way of working.

Your catalogue has appeared on labels as significant and varied as Toolroom, Armada, Ministry of Sound, Hed Kandi, Tronic, Great Stuff, Nervous, Tommy Boy, 1605 and Pacha Recordings. Looking back now, what common thread connects music released in such different stylistic contexts?

JJ Mullor: I have released on a lot of important labels and had quite a few tracks that did very well. If I had to identify the common thread linking productions in different styles, I would say it is my own personality.

I could make house, tech house, techno or tribal, but there was always a JJ Mullor touch. Ultimately, that was my signature, which is exactly what you look for when you produce music: for people to recognise that a track is yours simply from the way it sounds.

“Time” reached number four on Beatport’s Tech House chart. What did that success actually change in your career? Did it open the doors you had hoped for, or did it also reveal the gap that can exist between success within the industry and wider public recognition?

JJ Mullor: “Time” was the first track of mine to reach number four on Beatport’s Tech House chart and number 33 overall. Back then, getting into those charts was very difficult, so reaching those positions gave me an incredible boost to keep making music at that level.

The track also came out on my own label, Supermarket Records. That made it a double boost: it encouraged me to keep investing my energy in both the label and my career as a producer.

It also led to bigger labels taking an interest in my music. We all know how this industry works: you can be a good producer, but if you haven’t released on recognised labels or achieved something significant yet, it is much harder to get people’s attention. The success of “Time” helped me enormously in overcoming that barrier.

In 2013 and 2014, Pacha Ibiza used your remix of “House Music” for the official teaser of David Guetta’s F* Me I’m Famous! party. How did your music reach that platform, and what did it mean for a producer from Almería to hear his work associated with one of the most visible brands in Ibiza at the time?**

JJ Mullor: It was incredible that Pacha Ibiza used our remix of “House Music” as the soundtrack to the official teaser for David Guetta’s F* Me I’m Famous!** party for two consecutive years. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it.

That gave me another enormous boost to keep working. In a career as a producer and DJ, you need those little pushes that remind you that you can follow this path and achieve your goals. Those moments tell you: “Come on, keep going, keep moving forward.”

For a producer from Almería, tucked away in one of the far corners of Spain, hearing his music in the official teaser for a party like F* Me I’m Famous!** at Pacha Ibiza in both 2013 and 2014 was truly incredible.

Another important moment came with your remix of Yones’ “On The Rise”, which entered Music Week’s Cool Cuts Chart, and your exclusive publishing agreement with MusicAllStars Publishing, part of the Spinnin’ Records group, in 2014. What expectations did that international breakthrough create, and what did it teach you about how the industry really works?

JJ Mullor: My remix of “On the Rise” by Yones came out on Tommy Boy, and that was incredible for me. I owned records from the label, such as “Running” by Information Society, which I had played many times. Tommy Boy was one of the most important labels to me, alongside King Street Sounds, another legendary New York label where I also released several records.

Being able to release music with those companies was already very special, but the “On the Rise” remix also entered Music Week’s Cool Cuts Chart, one of the industry’s most important charts alongside Billboard. It was another major boost for my career. I continued working with Tommy Boy afterwards: they commissioned more remixes, and I also released original tracks.

In 2014, MusicAllStars Publishing, the publishing arm of Spinnin’ Records, took an interest in my music and wanted to sign an exclusive publishing agreement with me. At the time, Spinnin’ was one of the biggest labels in the world and had released hits such as “Animals” by Martin Garrix, “Tsunami” by DVBBS and “Epic” by Quintino. You can imagine what it meant to me that they noticed my work: suddenly, a whole world of possibilities opened up. It was another incredible moment and a huge boost for my career.

You have received support from artists such as Mark Knight, Paul van Dyk, Roger Sanchez, Nora En Pure, Showtek and Erick Morillo, and your music has been played on BBC Radio 1 and KISS FM UK. Yet your name may not have the visibility among the wider Spanish public that such a track record would suggest. What do you put that contradiction down to: geography, a lack of industry infrastructure, personal decisions, changes in style, or an industry that sometimes forgets its own history too quickly?

JJ Mullor: Yes, exactly. Having artists as big as Mark Knight, Paul van Dyk, Roger Sanchez, Showtek, Erick Morillo and Danny Howard play my tracks and feature them on their radio shows, while not receiving the same recognition here at home that I have received abroad, is a contradiction.

But there is an old saying that no one is a prophet in their own land. Even so, it doesn’t worry me too much. I believe everything comes in its own time.

In 2010, you founded Supermarket Records and began releasing music by producers such as Guille Placencia, Wade, Dani Sbert, Groovebox, Jerry Ropero and Coqui Selection. Why did you feel the need to create your own label, and what did working as an A&R teach you about music, artists and your own career?

JJ Mullor: I founded Supermarket Records in 2010. Initially, I released music by artists I already knew, such as Dani Sbert and Coqui Selection. Then I backed producers who weren’t yet well known, including Guille Placencia, Wade and Groovebox, who went on to become international names.

I needed to create my own label because I had a very specific vision, especially when it came to promotion. At the time, some labels would release the music but wouldn’t always keep working on it afterwards. I wanted the tracks to reach as many places as possible, to be played by major DJs and to benefit from every opportunity for exposure. I worked so hard on that side of things that even Jerry Ropero ended up sending me a demo for Supermarket.

My philosophy was simple: if someone spends countless hours in the studio, they deserve something in return. If that could no longer be a substantial financial reward because sales were starting to decline, there should at least be a promotional return and a genuine opportunity for their music to be heard.

10. Your career also includes performances at venues such as BCM Planet Dance, Carpe Diem Beach Club, Mandala Beach and Mae West, alongside experiences at ADE Amsterdam, OHM Festival and an event with Cirque du Soleil. Which performances do you consider essential to understanding who you are as a DJ, and what part of your identity only emerges when you are facing a dancefloor?

JJ Mullor: There have been some very important performances for me: BCM Planet Dance in Mallorca, Carpe Diem Beach Club in Hvar, Mandala Beach in Mojácar and Mae West in Granada. Being invited to play at those venues confirmed that I was doing something right.

BCM was my first truly major performance outside Almería. I played to around five thousand people, and it was unforgettable. I also have particularly strong memories of an event in Valencia with Cirque du Soleil, in front of around nine thousand people. It was a techno line-up, and I played with my friend Dani Sbert, which shows that this sound is neither new to me nor a response to a recent trend.

They are little gifts that life gives you, and they encourage you to keep going. When I am facing a dancefloor, the part of me that wants to read the crowd, keep people moving and build a coherent set comes to the surface.

In 2019, you released “Kemps” with Reedjekt on Toolroom Ibiza 2019 Vol. 2. What was it like to become part of the Toolroom world, and what did that track represent within your evolution at the time?

JJ Mullor: Releasing “Kemps” with Reedjekt on Toolroom was incredible. I had been sending demos to the label for a long time. They liked them, but they always told me they didn’t quite fit what they were looking for at that moment.

We sent “Kemps” to another label operating within the Toolroom network, and their A&R replied that they didn’t want it for that project, but they did want to include it on Toolroom Ibiza 2019 Vol. 2. I couldn’t believe it. Just when I had accepted that perhaps I would never release there, the opportunity arrived in the most unexpected way.

In 2024, you created Gömbök Project to explore hardgroove and techno. Why did you need a second name rather than releasing that music directly as JJ Mullor? What creative or psychological freedom did separating the two identities give you?

JJ Mullor: I created Gömbök Project in 2024 because I needed to break away from that earlier mix of styles—house, tech house and techno—and focus on what I really loved: techno and hardgroove. I wanted to avoid confusing the people listening to my music, even though my personality was still present.

Many artists have used aliases or alter egos and later returned to releasing under their main name. I may do the same. Gömbök was a bridge that helped me find a clear direction, but I will probably end up releasing everything as JJ Mullor, because my identity comes through in any style I produce.

A producer’s life goes through different phases, and I don’t think any of them should be hidden. Now the time has come to simply make the music I truly love.

Hardgroove is enjoying a remarkable resurgence among a generation that, in many cases, never experienced its first wave. You have followed those tribal, percussive rhythms since the beginning. What differences do you hear between the hardgroove you knew in the late nineties and its current reinterpretation? Where does a genuine revival of a musical language end and a trend begin?

JJ Mullor: Today’s hardgroove, represented by artists such as Chlär and Yanamaste, has become more linear and darker. I respect it, but it isn’t the side of the sound that fulfils me most. I connect more with the tribal hardgroove of the first wave, associated with names such as Ben Sims and Boriqua Tribez, now Uncertain. It had more joy to it, with Latin, funk and even disco elements.

I also follow artists such as David Moleon and Cave very closely. At this point, I don’t pay much attention to trends. I make the hardgroove I like. Since I started releasing it as Gömbök Project, trends have stopped mattering to me. For me, the trend is whatever I want to do.

14. In 2026, you relaunched Supermarket Records to focus exclusively on hardgroove and techno, after years of association with house and tech house. What led you to make such a radical decision, and what identity do you want to build for this second life of the label?

JJ Mullor: The decision to relaunch Supermarket actually began taking shape in late 2025 and became a reality in 2026. After so many changes in musical direction, I had put the label somewhat to one side. Also, in 2023, I was involved in a very serious car accident that nearly cost me my life. That made me decide I wanted to start again and do things exactly as I felt they should be done.

I came back with enormous enthusiasm and a real hunger for life, as well as a desire to revive Supermarket and break with its previous chapter. I want to focus both the label and my own productions on hardgroove, techno, raw techno and peak-time techno, always with powerful energy and a very clear identity.

My Yard EP is credited jointly to Gömbök Project and JJ Mullor, almost as though your two identities have finally met in the studio. How did they divide their roles, and what does each track—“Lady Panda”, “Mr Toyota” and “Tekno Birds”—represent within that dialogue between your history and your present?

JJ Mullor: It is an interesting question because, although both identities belong to the same person, Gömbök Project works in my head like a kind of Jiminy Cricket, telling me: “This is the way; do this.” JJ Mullor is the producer who then puts those ideas into practice in the studio.

Gömbök helped me make a definitive break with the past and focus on what I really love. It was born after the accident and represents the part of me that decided to follow its own path without looking at what the market demands, what is fashionable or what people expect.

The press release describes the three tracks as “DJ tools” in the classic sense: percussion at the forefront, rolling basslines and arrangements designed for mixing rather than instant consumption. In an era dominated by quick streams, drops designed for social media and increasingly short tracks, is this also a statement in support of DJ culture and patience on the dancefloor?

JJ Mullor: Exactly. This music isn’t designed to become a worldwide hit, get played on commercial radio or make its way into mainstream clubs. I want to create tools that help DJs within their sets: tracks that can extend the groove of the previous one, or even work on a third deck to keep everything moving.

I don’t connect with the kind of sets that have become popular on TikTok or YouTube, where one breakdown follows another, a drop plays for thirty seconds, and then there is another minute and a half with everyone’s hands in the air. To me, that isn’t building a set; it is simply playing music.

I want my tracks to serve a purpose and give DJs something useful to work with. I want a DJ to be able to think: “What should I play now? A JJ Mullor track, because I know it will work, it fits here and it will also help me move into the next one.”

After almost three decades, you are rebuilding your label, returning to the sound that first drew you to electronic music and introducing yourself to a new generation. If a twenty-year-old discovers JJ Mullor today through My Yard EP, what would you like them to understand about everything that came before, and what do you want to demonstrate in this new chapter?

JJ Mullor: I don’t want to break with my past or hide it. There was a period when I produced more commercial house and tech house, and all of that is part of my story. What exists is a before and an after.

JJ Mullor hasn’t appeared out of nowhere. I have been doing this for almost thirty years: as a DJ since 1996 or 1997, and as a producer since 2008. Now I am truly happy with the music I make, and I want to stay here rather than change styles simply because another sound becomes fashionable.

I would like anyone discovering me today to understand that there is a solid career behind it, with important releases, labels and performances. But I also want to show that the best is still to come and, above all, for people to enjoy my music.