This weekend one of the guests in the Cellar (get tickets here) are fast rising duo Whyt Noyz. In just a short space of time since forming in late 2010, Whyt Noyz have quickly risen to the top of the techno pile with keen percussion and killer rhythms. Proof of their skills can be seen in the fact that Richie Hawtin has signed a track by the duo to his seminal Minus label. Having recently played fabric there is a big buzz around this dup so we caught up with them to find out more… oh, and check out the pair’s latest mix half way down the interview.
How did you guys meet? What drew you to each other?
Duncan : We have been best friends for a long time, I guess we became close due to our shared love of music and the fact we are both
completely mental in the head.
Do you have set roles when producing and DJing? Who does what?
David : Not really, each track is different, with Volcano for example that was released on Minus 12 Duncan started the initial idea in London and sent me the files, I then worked a lot on the drums and the arrangement and finished it at my studio. Sometimes its great being in the studio together but it can also be a hinderance as we end up dressing up in stupid clothes and making funny videos that we piss ourselves over but nobody else ever gets to see them. Not really the most productive thing in the world to do. In honesty we have only played a few gigs together as we have been concentrating on our production, our gig for WetYourSelf! at Fabric was insane and the reaction to our own unreleased tracks was incredible, it definitely gave us more confidence in our music.
How long have you been producing, when did you first start and why? What parties were you going to that gave you the techno bug?
Duncan : We have both been producing on and off for about 6 years each but we really started to take it seriously around 18 months ago. In that time we have invested into a proper studio and a lot of equipment, we have also spent countless hours experimenting and researching production techniques as we want our music to be supported by our heroes such as Richie Hawtin & Dubfire Essentially we do it because we love it but we also want it to be our main occupation so you have to look at it seriously and work hard to make that happen. Its a very competitive industry and there are a lot of extremely talented producers our there who make underground house music and techno, you have to keep up and make sure your sound is current and that the sound quality and engineering of your music stands up next to the biggest producers. We have been influenced by so many parties, DJs and labels but I think Carl Cox at Space in Ibiza is one of the main places that inspired us to really push forward with our music and want to take it seriously, Below in the Courtyard at Rainbow also opened our eyes to the more underground side of house music and I guess that is when we really started to explore it. Looking forward the Below 7th Birthday on June 3rd, amazing lineup!
How do you hope to stand out and sound original? What defines your sound would you say?
David : I think one of the main problems in electronic music at the moment is a lot of producers feel forced into making music specifically for labels which means a lot of the music ends up sounding generic, this is a less of a problem in underground music but its so important to remain original and keep your identity otherwise you will get lost in the huge sea of music that is released every day. I think we do have our own sound and a lot of this comes from the drums and rhythm beneath the track, we rarely use loops and create all of our drums from scratch in Ableton, its important to try and create small stamps in your production that people pick out to identify it as your track. I would define our sound as driving tech-house and techno, every track we make has to make us want to go mental and it also has to pass the fist pump test. Also our studio cat Sid has to approve.
How did you hook up with Minus?
Duncan : We had been working on our music for about 12 months before we sent any music to a label. Once we had 4 tracks that we felt worked as an E.P I sent the demos out to 3 labels that we loved one of which was Minus, we didn’t hear back from any and then about a month later we got an e-mail from Richie Hawtin asking us a few things and luckily we had not signed the tracks elsewhere, it all went from there really, we just stayed in touch and sent our tracks through to Minus as soon as we finished them and that led to “Volcano” being released through Minus 12 and appearing on the New Horizons compilation CD on Mixmag. You can also download a New Horizons app for your Iphone or Ipad where you can remix our track long with the other tracks on the compilation.
WHYT NOYZ – Spring Mix 2012
Did you make the track with the label in mind or…?
David : Not at all, it is difficult not to fall in to the trap of making music specifically for a label but it can be dangerous and make you lose that thing that makes your music stand out. I guess it’s that same producer’s notion of ‘trust your ears’. If you love it, then it is good!
Is it a label you have always admired? Which other labels have been formative in your tastes?
Duncan: Yes, Richie Hawtin & Minus are a huge inspiration to us and we just hope we get to experience some of the incredible things that he and the label have achieved. Dubfire and SCI-TEC are also huge inspirations to us and Gregor Tresher’s Break New Soil is also an incredible label that has been releasing some amazing music from some very talented producers recently.
What else you got coming up?
David : We are hoping to announce some really big release new for us soon. I have been very busy finishing my final year at University where I have been studying Visual Communication, it has been great as it ties in with the live show that we are working on but once that is finished next week we will be spending a lot of time on new music and we are really hoping to get some new music out throughout the summer.
What should people expect form your set at FACE?
Duncan : Having it techno. Ha, I guess our set will be very similar to how we played at WYS! at Fabric, a selection of music from some of the producers who we are really supporting at the moment along with a lot of our own unreleased music, but yeah basically fist pumping tech house and techno. We are really excited about playing, Face has gone from strength to strength and it has been such an important the cellar is an amazing space and that sound system is wicked!
What do you like to do outside of music?
David : To be honest we are both health freaks who spend a lot of time at the gym, we also spend a lot of time with our families. I am a big fan of mixed martial arts and love UFC. My two obsessions in life are UFC and techno, ha, but basically at the moment our lives revolve around the gym and making music, hopefully we will be able to fit travelling around the world playing amazing parties into the equation!
