Joel Corry is a self-confessioned perfectionist. As he says himself, “the luxury of being a DJ” is that he can test unreleased material on audiences at club sets week after week – and then head back into the studio to make all the necessary tweaks.

“I’m sure a lot of other DJs and producers are the same,” he remarks. “But little minor details will literally keep me awake at night. I’ll be obsessing over them. It gets to the point where sometimes I actually drive myself crazy – and I’m hearing stuff that’s not even there anymore!

“In those moments you just have to take a breath and remove yourself from it – and then go back in again,” he continues. “It’s a process and there’s always stressful moments. But I can’t lie to myself, so I have to finish that record and be able to say, ‘That is the best I can make it sound. I can’t do any more work on this.’”

It’s an approach that’s clearly paid off. After first rising to prominence back in 2019 with ‘Sorry’, Joel's 2020 single ‘Head & Heart’, featuring MNEK, topped the UK singles charts for six weeks, and has since passed the one-billion-streams milestone on Spotify. He’s since clocked up five BRIT Award nominations, and has continued to deliver with singles like ‘Lionheart (Fearless)’ with Tom Grennan, ‘History’ with Becky Hill, and ‘Dance Around It’ with Caity Baser.

This month, he returned with ‘0800 Heaven’, a collaboration with Nathan Dawe and Ella Henderson.

Joel Corry, Ella Henderson and Nathan Dawe

“This tune is one of the biggest I’ve had for a long time – big as in what it makes me feel when I’m playing it, when I’m DJing,” Joel tells me. “It’s very euphoric and it’s got trance elements in there. It’s an absolute summer banger. There was some buzz around it already, and I think people were just waiting for it to drop.”

Irish fans will get to hear it in-person this July, as the English DJ makes his eagerly awaited return to Dublin for his Longitude debut.

“I haven’t been in Dublin, or Ireland, for ages, so this is going to be a big set for me,” he reveals. “I love Dublin. Over the years I’ve been there so many times, and I’ve had so many great nights. Back in the day there was the Wright Venue in Swords, which I played all the time. So I was always over there, and I’d stay for a few days, to check out the city. Dublin is a very wholesome place, and I love the Irish so much. So I’m looking forward to Longitude. I’ll be bringing a special show for that one, for sure!”

Joel’s also well aware of the thriving homegrown scene that’s currently bringing dance music in Ireland to the global stage.

“There’s loads of talent always coming from Ireland and Northern Ireland,” he enthuses. “But there’s definitely been a rise, especially in dance music, of great records and producers coming from over there.

“I’m always open to collaboration,” he adds. “As long as the song’s right, it doesn’t matter who it’s with. For me it’s all about the song and the good vibes.”

Of course, this summer is gearing up to be another busy one for Joel – particularly now that we’ve entered Ibiza season. As part of his major residency at Ibiza Rocks, he’s set to play the island every Wednesday from now until October. Now 33-year-old, his love for the island stretches back to age 18, when he travelled over for the first time.

“It was my birthday, and I went there with my older brother and my best mate,” he recalls. “I remember watching Carl Cox, and having the most magical Ibiza night of my life, thinking, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’ And I’ve been back to Ibiza every year since.”

Carl Cox

In more recent years, you only have to look at the weekly Top 10 charts to see how dance music has been dominating the mainstream. But as Joel points out, as far back as he can remember, “in the UK, dance music has always been very present.

“I’ve toured other places in the world, like America, and over there, you feel like it’s not as present,” he resumes. “It is starting to burst through now, but in the UK it’s always been there. It’s always been part of our culture, and had a presence in the charts, but it’s really exciting now to see how big it is. And it’s great that every time you turn on the radio, it’s always a dance song!”

When he first got interested in DJing as a young teenager, it was UK garage that drew him in.

“I was a garage DJ, and my brother was an MC, so we used to make mixtapes in my bedroom,” he reflects. “I would love to hear those tapes right now… actually I wouldn’t!

“But garage was my passion,” he continues. “It was all about vinyl as well, so I wasn’t DJing on USBs like I do now. It was turntables, and I’d go to the record shop every week and dig for vinyl. I hate saying this, but that was real DJing! Two turntables, vinyls and vinyl bag – not like it is now where you can just go online and download hundreds of MP3s for free. Every single song meant something to me, because I’d have to pay £7.50 for that one vinyl every week. So I wasn’t gonna waste my money unless it was an absolute banger!”

He’s grateful for that foundation, he tells me.

“Going through that process was my introduction to DJing and dance music,” he says. “It was all part of a culture – that white label, underground movement – that I loved. And I’ll always have love for vinyl and turntables. I still have a pair in my house, and my collection of vinyl, of course. But I don’t really bring it on the road with me, because it’s just too heavy. I stick with my USBs now, which are much more practical!”

While he’s hit some major milestone moments so far, Joel tells me that he still feels like he’s at the outset of his career.

“I was with David Guetta last summer in Ibiza, and he said to me, ‘This is my 20th year anniversary as a DJ in Ibiza,’” he recalls. “And I just thought, ‘20 years?! I’m on year three!’

“Compared to my idols, like David, Tiësto and Calvin Harris, I’m definitely just at the start of my journey.”

Longitude attendees will get the chance to catch one of those idols, Calvin Harris, at his headline slot on the Saturday of the festival.

“No one’s ever going to match what he’s done,” Joel says of Calvin. “He’s a genius. He’s the most talented person in dance music, and he’s had these huge timeless moments over the years. He’s the god! If I could touch only a little bit of the success he’s had, I’d be happy.”

•‘0800 Heaven’ is out now. Joel Corry plays Longitude on Sunday, July 2

Read the full Longitude Special Feature – featuring interviews with Jazzy, MK, TraviS X Elzzz, Multunes, Songer, Fionn Curran and RAYE – in the current issue of Hot Press: