In the vibrant and everchanging world of electronic dance music, few artists have carved out a niche as distinctively as Wiwek. Hailing from the eclectic city of Amsterdam, he has captivated audiences with his distinctive “Jungle Terror” sound, which melds electronic madness, tribal percussion and unrelenting animalistic energy, Wiwek has been a force to be reckoned with on the international dance scene for over a decade now.
With a constant stream of releases from throughout the year, such as his Jungle Terror vol. 5 EP on Yellow Claw‘s Barong Family, “Rush” on W&W‘s Rave Culture, “Remedy” on Hardwell‘s Revealed Recordings in addition to scoring for the first time in its entirety a full-length movie for Electric Child by Swiss filmmaker Simon Jaquemet.
With 2024 quickly coming to a close, we took the time to catch up with Wiwek. Check out our exclusive interview below!
Wiwek – Remedy | Download |
TSS: You’ve been a part of this music-making scene for over a decade now – what are some changes you’ve noticed over the years?
Wiwek: Somehow it changes alot, but the essence stays the same. The fact that the scene is very trend sensitive but the core will always be the same, people want to party and need good music for that. Maybe the biggest change I noticed is how the scene keeps expanding in volume and because of that there is alot of place for every kind of dance music to survive. There’s a market for everything it seems. While in the past it looked like alot of artists tended to adjust to certain trends more to survive.
TSS: How would you say your sound has evolved since the earliest stages of your career?
Wiwek: I think its becoming more dance oriented instead of jump oriented, if that makes sense. With that I have to say, especially my newest music that I still have to put out for the past 6 months it was still very jumpy haha.
TSS: What has been the key to success and longevity?
Wiwek: I am not sure about the key to success but the key for longevity is definitely to have fun with it and keep exploring. If you stop having fun you definitely need to reflect and find out where the joy is in it for you.
TSS: Are there any new or emerging artists in the electronic music scene that you’re excited about? What makes them stand out to you?
Wiwek: I’m really excited about certain DJ’s because of their sets lately. DJ’s like Tsepo, Lucky Done Gone, Skin on Skin. They really know how to keep the dancefloor going and it’s almost becoming a lost art with most DJ’s mainly focusing on playing hits mashed up with more hits. It’s really refreshing.
TSS: What does your creative process look like when producing a new track? How do you approach experimenting with sounds and genres while maintaining your distinctive style?
Wiwek: I usually space around during the day and then going in the studio when I feel/hear the ideas in my head already. Otherwise I just know i’m going to be messing around to much. I also get a lot of ideas now when I just listen to other DJ sets or feel the vibe of a party where I’m at. This the process for now though, usually this process changes every few months. Sometimes I am also in learning/exploring mode and I just check a lot of vst’s/samples for example and suddenly get ideas because of that.
TSS: Speaking of producing, what hardware and software do you use these days?
Wiwek: I use FL Studio, I don’t use hardware at the moment.
TSS: When you have a rough week or hit a wall creatively, how do you get back on track?
Wiwek: I go outside, walk around. I’ll visit a party, or just checking online for new music. I’ll just continue with life basically instead of trying to force it out in the studio.
TSS: You seem to be always pumping out new music more often than not dropping a boatload of new music this year which included your Jungle Terror vol. 5 EP and “Remedy.” Where do you find consistent inspiration?
Wiwek: I think its what I said before, if I don’t have inspiration I am not forcing it to still create. I just continue with life outside of the studio and because of that give the creativity some space to bloom with interference. Somehow that just works for me. I am trying to give inspiration a healthy form of pressure you may say haha.
TSS: You recently delivered the score for the full-length movie “Electric Child” by Swiss filmmaker Simon Jaquemet. Tell us how that opportunity came about.
Wiwek: This is his third film and for the previous to films he did he licensed my music for certain scenes. This time he knew he wanted to do that again, cause he has one big club/festival scene. Instead of just licensing it again he asked me to be the composer for the whole movie. I always wanted to explore this field so this was an amazing opportunity for me.
TSS: With 2024 quickly coming to a close, what can the world expect from Wiwek in the near future?
Wiwek: In the near future I will release the soundtrack album/EP for the movie ‘Electric Child’ and two new songs with my second project ‘LUSU’
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