Learn more about NÛ Management’s Marketing and PR Manager Jacob Mandell and find out about first experiences in the scene, how he fell in love with hardstyle, and more!
Name: Jacob Mandell
Rave Name: JaQob
Age: 26
Hometown: Coral Springs, FL
Current City: West Hollywood, CA
Occupation: Marketing & PR Manager at NÛ Management
Facebook: Jacob Mandell
Twitter: @JaQob_
Instagram: @jaqob_m
What was your first electronic music event?
My first Electronic Music Event was a Bassnectar show in Tallahassee near FSU at this venue called “The Moon”. Still to this day is one of the best shows I’ve ever been to. The energy and enthusiasm from the crowd was so infectious, and the highlight of the event was without a doubt when Bassnectar dropped an unreleased single that the crowd sang the FSU war chant over. Check it out on YouTube!
What/who influenced you to attend your first event?
Funny enough, it was a combination of myself and my mother. I’ve actually been listening to electronic music for almost 18 years because of my mom. She’s a dietitian and extremely big into physical fitness, so when SPIN classes became popular she became a regular at the classes at our local gym. She ended up buying a spin bike for our house, and would buy electronic music cd’s and compilations that I would listen to with her starting when I was around 8 years old. I still have some of them to this day actually. Highly recommend the Louie Devito NYC Underground Compilations. Straight FIRE.
I’ve been a fan ever since, but it wasn’t until I was in college at Florida State that I decided I finally wanted to check out an electronic music event in person. Up until that point most of the events I went to were Alternative/Rock/Metal or Hip-Hop/R&B focused.
What is one moment from an event that was special and why?
One moment I’ll never forget is getting to finally see a Q-dance stage in person at TomorrowWorld 2013. I’ve been a huge hard dance fan for about a decade now, but up until TW 2013, I never had the opportunity to see one of their stages in person. Ever since I found out about Q-dance, I’ve been an enormous supporter of theirs because of the creativity and effort they put into every single event.
Their production is always years ahead of almost everyone else, their end shows are legendary around the world in the event community, and most of their festivals and events are around half the price of what it costs to attend “similar” events here in the US. And fun fact, my obsession w/ Q-Dance is in fact where I got the “Q” in my nickname from. [Laughs]
What is your favorite festival or event?
My favorite festival that I’ve had the pleasure of attending would probably be TomorrowWorld. I loved the atmosphere, the venue was incredible, and the fact that it was a 21+ event made it such a comfortable place to party w/ people who (for the most part) had experience partying themselves as well. I went to all three years and had an incredible time throughout, even w/ the bad weather the last year which should tell you something about the quality of the festival itself.
My dream festival / the festival I’d consider to be the best in the world is definitely Defqon.1 in the Netherlands. The energy of the crowd, the unbelievable production, and the dedication of the hardstyle community make for a literal out of this world experience that I’ve heard is almost incomparable to most other festivals around the globe. Not to mention, the Defqon.1 Endshow is one of the most extraordinary visual & auditory experiences in the world.
What is your favorite electronic song and why?
This is probably the toughest question anyone could ask me. I’ve been listening to Electronic & Dance Music for so long and have been such an avid music listener, but it probably comes down to one of two options.
Deadmau5 & Kaskade – I Remember… No explanation needed here. Just an unbelievable piece of music from every angle.
Pendulum – Witchcraft… Pendulum played an extremely important part in my return to Electronic Music in high school when I was big into Rock & Metal because of their Live Music aspect, and this track is without a doubt one of my favorites. The melody, lyrics, and progressing energy throughout the track hooked me from the very first time I listened to their “Immersion” album.
There are so many more I would include if I could. If anyone is interested, feel free to follow my Electronic & Dance Music Favorites Playlist on Spotify :]
Who are your favorite artists?
I’ll keep this one short and to the point.
- Pendulum
- Headhunterz
- Tom Misch
- Flamingosis
- Carl Cox
- Sub Zero Project
- Radical Redemption
- Da Tweekaz
- Brasstracks
- Netsky
- Noisia
What are your favorite genres?
I love EVERYTHING that can be considered Electronic & Dance Music. Hard Dance and Hardstyle is probably my favorite, but I love Dubstep, DnB, Trap, Future Bass, House, Techno, Funk, Disco, etc. I’d challenge anyone to find a subgenre of electronic music that I don’t enjoy. [Laughs]
Everything is so different, from the vibes to the dancing to the experience at a show, I push everyone I know to challenge themselves to step out of their comfort zone and explore all that this incredible scene has to offer. Worst case scenario – it’s not for you. Best case scenario – you can open some incredible doors to new music.
What do you feel your “Identity” is in the electronic music community?
I’m the Marketing & PR Manager at NÛ Management so that has rapidly become one of my biggest identifiers over the past 2.5 years. Working w/ artists like BONNIE X CLYDE, NITTI GRITTI, NONSENS, & KANDY (among others) has been an absolute dream, and I’m so damn excited to see what the next few years holds for us. Outside of that, I’m definitely known as the Hardstyle guy or that one dude with the ridiculously infectious laugh XD. I just like being known as a genuine music enthusiast honestly who always brings good vibes and a big smile wherever I go. [Laughs]
Is there anything else you would like to add about yourself for the readers?
Everything started for me when I took the opportunity to use my spare time to create and maintain a blog by myself called Electronic Anything. I started that project about 5 years ago I think, and that’s how I ended up making a lot of really great connections and working my way into the industry. I didn’t see any financial gains from Electronic Anything, but it is without a doubt one of the reasons why I was able to secure an internship with NÛ Management back in January of 2016.
If you have any free time and would like to try to work your way into the industry, I highly recommend starting a project like this or joining a publication/media team where you can start to develop your network to make connections that will help you down the road when the time comes.
I just hope everyone knows that they have the ability to make their wildest dreams and aspirations come true. I’m always available if anyone wants to chat about the music industry, needs advice on how to achieve some of your goals, wants to chat about music and share tracks, or if you just would like to introduce yourself and talk about life. [Laughs]
Also – I’m a new resident of Hollywood, CA so LA peeps be sure to hit me up or find me at an event around town!
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