wev (formerly wevor trill) has been a favourite of ours since he first burst onto the scene with tracks like ‘drop’ and ‘yayzer beam’. Back then, he was known for his gritty trap and bass sounds which eventually resulted in an incredible collab with bass heavyweight Peekaboo. In recent time wev has been undergoing an important evolution. He moved to New York late last year, re-branded and drastically shifted his music direction and sound. The past few months and releases have given us a taste of what’s to come, but his upcoming EP www will be our first true insight into where wev is headed. 3 track effort is set drop on January 29th and promises a multitude of house vibes. Ahead of the release we had the pleasure of connecting with wev for an interview and guest mix. The interview touches on his move, the new direction and some of his bigger plans for the future. The mix is a wild trip into the house genre, from classic house feels, to deep house, bass house and more. Check out the mix and interview below and be sure to pre-save www.
You recently moved to New York. How’s the city been treating you? Has the move had any impact on your output or inspiration?
I love it here— in a lot of ways I felt like I was already from Brooklyn, so it was a very natural transition. There was definitely an adjustment period that I wasn’t fully aware was going on in the background, but I love the energy here. I feel there’s a lot more raw material for me to work with and find inspiration in. My musical output has definitely gone up a lot.
What’s your favorite thing about NY?
The people. I’ve witnessed more humanity here in a few months than in years spent in California. Everyone is in the shit together and there’s a certain comraderie to it.
Your sound has been going through an evolution over the past year. Moving from a hard-hitting trap and bass sounds, to a more groovy house aesthetic. Can you speak to what prompted the change in direction?
The outset of my music pursuit was greatly influenced by the music I was surrounded with at the time. There were certain people and environments that really steered my sound, but after a while it became clear that my direction wasn’t reflecting who I was, and wasn’t an honest expression of my actual emotions and experience.
The heartbeat of the genre is very easy to connect with and dance to; if you can move a muscle, you can change a thought. House for me is a conduit for connecting with people…
What drew you to house music?
I was exposed to the genre in a very authentic way while I spent some time in London and Paris, and the more I started to explore the sound it really resonated with me. The heartbeat of the genre is very easy to connect with and dance to; if you can move a muscle, you can change a thought. House for me is a conduit for connecting with people— I can relay the musical palette and ideas in a way that people can still understand and be moved by.
The evolution in sound also coincided with a rebrand. Who is world wide wev?
worldwidewev is me! But it’s also you. The project is an honest representation of my thoughts, feelings, aspirations, taste, and experience. It is my world— always a work in progress, and doesn’t stop at music.
It’s my first cohesive collection of songs, and I set out to encompass some of the foundational elements that exist in my music going forward. It is a taste of the character and color of my emotional state over the last year.
Tell us about the upcoming EP. Where are you taking listeners with this one?
To me, this EP is a trajectory. It’s my first cohesive collection of songs, and I set out to encompass some of the foundational elements that exist in my music going forward. It is a taste of the character and color of my emotional state over the last year, and represents the new direction in terms of genre. I want to take listeners into my world.
The EP is also accompanied with an interactive visual element. How did you go about building and creating this? What elements of the music are most prevalent within the visual experience?
One of my primary goals as an artist is to innovate on the existing platforms we have and create a unique, immersive experience for others. With the emergence of VR/AR I saw an opportunity to bring a new kind of experience to people using technology they already have. I didn’t have budget to pay someone so I spent a few weeks learning javascript and experimenting. My goal was to create a moment where a viewer was suddenly very grounded in the present, and focused intently on orienting themselves and navigating an environment in a new way– browsing a website by orienting their whole body. The inspiration for this came from the experience of playing a Nintendo 64 game for the first time. It was a new 3D environment to explore, coming from the 2D world of Gameboy color. My music is primarily inspired by visual concepts, stemming from early computer graphics and old video games. Graphically the web experience is made up of primitives, and ‘the grid’ which has been a recurrent inspiration of mine.
Every instrument has its own limitations, and I find it easier to work within those limitations more creatively than when I have virtually unlimited options and capabilities in a software only environment.
I know you’ve getting into producing a lot more on your TR-09 and leveraging analog synths. What impact has this had on your creative process and music as a whole?
Working with analog and hardware in general has let ideas come to me more naturally. Every instrument has its own limitations, and I find it easier to work within those limitations more creatively than when I have virtually unlimited options and capabilities in a software only environment. Also, every synth or machine has its own distinct character, and working with the hardware directly lets me bring that character into my music more directly.
Setting goals seems to be an important part of your life, are there any goals for 2019 that you’d like share with us?
The theme for my year is to connect with as many people as I can and give them a good experience. Some goals that comprise that theme would be playing shows and touring, which is definitely an emphasis. I want to make a show in London and Japan happen somehow.
What is your mix the soundtrack to?
My mix is the soundtrack to a night drive through 1982 Tron in an all white Lamborghini Countach.
Tracklist
ambiwlans – chahinez
wev – ID
secondcity & tyler rowe – i enter
palace – dreamscape
alok & shameless – who gives
patrik skoog – drake equation
wev – fake id flip (unreleased)
friend within – people working
no moon – swimming w/ john
heathered pearls – interior architecture software
wev – ID
mall grab – i’ve always liked grime
expect us – welcome to the basement
anthony parasole – point god
sg lewis & aluna george – hurting (wev flip) (unreleased)
