Hello hello, welcome one and all to another Beneath The Surface session. It’s cold and a little bit dreary, but Christmas is on the horizon and I’ve got something here to get your engines going. I am delighted to have the producer, DJ and all round epic music maker Will Wallace join us today. He leaves no stone unturned during todays chunky lil interview, so grab a cuppa something hot and heart warming and lets get to it!
How would you describe the music you are currently creating?
In terms of genre, it is kinda in its own bubble. Its a strange blend of up tempo EDM/Trap, with hip hop and pop elements throughout, as well as taking some influence from my early love for dubstep with certain sound design choices.
I’ve always wanted to create music that you can enjoy in (almost) all situations, that is what makes a song special for me. With EDM, it is easy to get stuck in the mindset of making music that works well in live scenarios (or was before COVID), but the best songs, in my opinion, are the ones that people can enjoy any time, any place.
What does your creative process look like?
I am quite a messy worker, all my projects (even the finalised ones) aren’t the most organised or OCD friendly projects you’ll see. I like to have loads of ideas within one session of Ableton, so I can use/reference different material to speed up my workflow. I also reuse a lot of sounds when Im creating, and then I’ll change them later on, once the idea is more finalised and I am refining the sound design elements.
When I start a project, it usually takes me awhile to come up with an idea I like. I usually mess around with chords on the piano until I find something I like, and then i’ll record it into Ableton and start creating the basic sounds and structure. I’ll usually stay up all night working on an idea until the core of it is finished, I find that the starting process of the song is the most important bit, otherwise you end up playing a loop of an idea over and over and it never progresses.
Who would you most like to collaborate with? (let’s send it out to the universe and make it happen!)
I am not actually the biggest fan of collaborations (between producers, anyway). I always find that there is a lot of compromises that happen (from both sides) and it takes away from the idea of the song – you really need to mesh with your collaborator musically for it to work.
That being said, I would most like to collaborate with Zedd, I really respect his work and I always reference his music when I’m collaborating with vocalists etc. He is a perfectionist with his music and it really shows, the attention to detail is astounding.
What is the one message you would like to send out to your fans?
Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far especially with Greenlight, the response has been far more than I could have asked for) & there is more music coming!
What’s your top tip to rejuvenate your creativity/get over a writer’s block?
Take a break. It doesn’t have to be a big break, but do something you enjoy. For me, I usually play video games to take a break mentally, or I’ll go and enjoy some of my favourite food (sushi!).
I also find that taking a break from that specific project you are stuck on helps, too. For example, if I am stuck with a song or idea, but still want to be creative, I’ll work on something in a genre completely out of my comfort zone (Drum and Bass, for example). Even if the idea never gets used or you think its pointless, it helps get the creative juices flowing again without any pressure of the idea needing to be good.
What’s next for you, what do we have to look forward to/ what are you currently working on?
Keep up with Will:
Stream Greenlight everywhere here.
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