Freeform bass pioneer WEKS is swiftly becoming a hot ticket item, distinguishing his experimental, production-heavy style from the masses with the release of his highly anticipated Terp Sauce EP, which dropped just shy of two weeks ago. The earliest releases from the New Hampshire-native depict a more trap-focused guise with tight percussion and crisp beat breaks, which have provided ample foundation for WEKS to transition into more exploratory techniques in recent months.
We were delighted to have the opportunity to catch up with WEKS to discuss the inspiration behind his latest EP, his approach to sound design, as well as the goodies that he’s got stocked up in the arsenal to reveal in the coming year.
Be sure to check out the full interview and tracklist below!
You’ve recently transitioned into a fantastic hybrid-freeform sound, what initially sparked this transition in styles?
Honestly, I feel like this element of my style has always existed, as we’ve moved through 2018 the more minimal approach has sort come to the forefront in terms of popularity so I’ve honestly just become more and more comfortable exploring that dimension of my style, and I love it. I’m an 808 kid man, this minimal style just promotes that booming bass and I love it.
How does this pivot reflect on the time and diligence that has gone into perfecting your craft over the course of your career?
I think this is just an expression of the elements of my style I’ve become most proud of. All of my recent work I’ve tried to sort of show off my production abilities and techniques and I think that shows. I know that my music sounds different from other peoples and that’s on purpose, I want my mixing techniques and style to stand out. I want each element of every track to pop out to the listener as high grade. This has sort of worked against my creativity in some ways as I’ve gotten away from the more melodic elements of my style to focus on the production filth, but this summer I’m bringing the hype and I’m bringing back that melodic vibe.
Walk me through the process for sourcing the sounds for your FUXWITHIT premiere ‘Tembo’ specifically, as well as the entire Terp Sauce EP as a whole. Did you craft each aspect by hand, or were there certain aspects taken from your previous releases or tools/packs that are available to the general public?
Most every sound I used in this EP was of my own creation in either serum or massive with various levels of processing. I think only one of the lead sounds started with a sample from a TYNAN pack. Actually fuckin shouts out TYNAN, he turned me on to using frequency shifters in sound design and I use them in literally everything it’s absolutely my go to for sound design. Also shouts out YOOKiE all the dope shit I learned about sub basses and 808s I learned from Anthony. I synthesized all the basses in the EP myself and I actually made a lot of the drums too, I don’t really do that as much anymore actually simply because i can get the desired result through more skillful EQing than I previously was capable of. A lot of the sounds I used i didn’t make specifically for the EP, a good chunk were patches that I’d made previously and just processed differently or used differently. A lot of my serum and massive patches are multi-faceted and can be easily modulated to produce widely varying dimensions to the sound.
Terp Sauce has been received extremely well by the community and seems to be climbing higher on the charts each day. How do you aim to capitalize on this momentum throughout the rest of the year?
I’ve set some goals for myself as far as who I’m looking to release with and what I want to have on my resume come 2020, but I think what I’m most excited about is exploring the new sides and aspects of creativity that I can incorporate into my style. I think the ID after Tembo in this mix is a good taste of what direction I’m moving in.
If Terp Sauce were constructed as a ride at an amusement park and you were in charge of designing the course, what sort of thrill are we looking at here?
Well it starts with a dab lol then it’s a nice ride through a garden until the bottom falls out and you spend the rest of the ride in a fuckin cavern with the sounds ping-ponging and reverbing off the wall, and every now and then the track will drop beneath a waterfall and you’ll get soaked lol. And the ride attendant will hook you up with blunts the whole time (I moved to Maine so I can say that).
What do you have in store for us today with this guest mix?
10 unreleased tunes from me, a great barometer of where I’m headed this year. Some IDs from some homies, particularly my bois RaidBoss, we collabed on a track that dropped with MMXVAC. Shout out MMXVAC for backing me, that I didn’t think fit the vibe here but I have some tunes of theirs in here because we’re bois and really believe in each other’s projects. The mix as a whole I think is a perfect indicator of where my sound is headed this summer, I’m hunting down a particular sound and I think it’s really going to resonate. Enjoy!
Tracklist:
WEKS & L3THO – ID
Tokey. – High Breed (Allen Mock Flip)
Computa – Sensory Overload (WEKS Remix)
WEKS – ID
Brainrack – I’m Like
Trolley Snatcha – Big Belly
LAXX – The Limit
WEKS – ID
w/ RaidBoss – ID
WEKS – ID
WEKS – Heat Wave
RaidBoss – THNKN BOUT U
AVANCE & HEIMANU – ID
HYDRAULIX – Flatline
WHIPPED CREAM – Blood (GAWM Remix)
TYNAN & Kompany – Extraterrestrial (WEKS Remix)
Nitti Gritti – Crack (WEKS Remix)
Kompany – Firewall
WEKS – Burners
WEKS – ID
WEKS – Tembo
WEKS – ID
AVANCE & Loca – REVENGE
Lil Windex – FMU (WEKS Remix)
TripzyLeary – H3110 (WEKS Remix)
MineSweepa – Flex Like Ouu Flip
Moore Kismet – ID
WEKS – ID
Gladez – Pull Up (WEKS Edit)
WEKS – Like Drugs ft. Blakmag
