Another pet peeve of Wolfgang Gartner’s is the repetitive nature in the way the top DJs select their tracks. “The way that all the DJs are playing the same tracks at festivals,” he says, “is something I bitch about all the time. You know that. So, okay: you know that if a track is in the Top 10 on Beatport, everybody’s playing it because it got there, because everybody’s buying and playing it. Whether that be DJs at clubs, DJs at festivals, wherever–if you play that track in that set, you’re doing that knowing that everybody else is already hearing that track. And doing that, to me, is just lazy and ignorant.”
I ask Wolfgang if he’d rather see artists try to be more original with the track selection in their sets, and he responds adamantly. “Yes!” he says. “Play something! There are so many tracks out there that are just as good as the Top 20 that are so good, and just haven’t been discovered yet just because they’re on some unknown label or from some unknown artist. I mean, you can even find a track from two years ago that was maybe in the Top 10 and people haven’t heard it in two years–bust it out again! Or you can do a mashup, or play your own shit. But you don’t even have to be a producer to overcome this. Just dig, and be a DJ. That’s what it used to be about. There was so much vinyl out there–you’d go to a record store and just dig. I mean, all my friends had all these different records, and none of us had the same stuff. None of us had the same styles, so we’d dig in different stores, and different circles, and get our own collection up. And that’s what people need to do instead of going to Beatport and downloading just what’s on the Top 10.”
Like mixing out of one track and into another, Wolfgang launches seamlessly into his next item of interest: the way that the world’s top DJs now share tracks between each other, which often leads to many different well-known DJs incorporating the same exact songs into each of their sets. “Everyone in the top-tier DJ world is friends with each other now,” he says, “and we all send each other songs. And I know if ‘so-and-so’ who’s in the Top 50 DJs in the world sends me a song, he’s probably sent it to the other Top 49 DJs in the world, and they’re probably all playing it tonight!” He laughs, as if he knows just how truthful his statement is (Martin Garrix’s “anthemic” track Animals has been played by nearly every house DJ so far this weekend). “But,” he continues, “I’m just not gonna [play those types of songs] in my sets, no matter how good they are.”
We get onto the topic of his musical influences, specifically the way he incorporates soulful funk- and disco-influenced elements into his work. In addition to that, he also has been mixing a lot of hip-hop in with his sets lately. I ask him why he enjoys the “funk” sound so much, and what about the sound he thinks resonates with so many people. His answer is unexpected: “To be honest, I don’t know if it does resonate with a lot of people. And I’m trying to make it resonate with people, because I think my demographic is getting younger. The people who come to these type of [festivals] are getting younger, which is a beautiful thing and I love it. But, they haven’t really been exposed to the funk…
“Like, when I was growing up there was disco house, and the hip-hop had a lot of disco samples in it, and that was the real funk. Then it turned to all very electronic and lacking ‘soul’–sometimes that’s okay, and sometimes a song that lacks that ‘soul’ element is still good. But I think people that are growing up on this music right now haven’t been exposed to this element of real, 70s-era soul that I was exposed to. And they need to be, because they just haven’t heard it. So I try and work it in in a way where I’m showing it to them, and mixing it in with what they’re familiar with to make it easier for them, but hope that they’ll still get turned on to it somehow.” I note that even though he’ll make a track like “Redline,” which is definitively progressive house, that he’ll still try to keep that funk-influenced element of his sound alive in most of his tracks. He agrees. “Exactly, and I do it to try and expose [the fans]. But I really think it throws them off some of the time. I just do it as sort of a public service.” We appreciate his service, I tell him with a smile, and he laughs.
Then something happens which I do not expect at all: I actually stump Wolfgang with a question. This is not intentional at all, and I ask him what I feel is a pretty tame query. Who, I ask, are some up-and-coming artists that are on his radar–other than the guys on Kindergarten Recordings. At first he draws a blank. “Um…’other than the guys on Kindergarten’ huh…I’m looking at my playlist and record catalog in my head right now, and all the new stuff that’s undiscovered, well…I’m playing off Kindergarten!” We both laugh, and I tell him it’s not as if the guys on Kindergarten aren’t good. Quite the opposite: Charlie Darker, DallasK, and Popeska have all been tearing it up with their respective careers so far. I just want to hear who else is on his radar. I won’t let him cop out, and I still want an answer. “Who do I like?” Wolfgang asks himself. “Um…oh…I can’t really think of anyone right now to be honest!”
My colleague and fellow editor, who has been sitting in on the interview the whole time, glances over at me and says “You stumped Wolfgang Gartner!” I laugh nervously and exclaim, “No, I didn’t mean to stump Wolfgang Gartner!” All the while, Wolfgang himself is laughing, finding the humor in both the question and his lack of response. “Haha, that’s the thing! That question always stumps me, because everyone who’s ‘hot’ right now has already been discovered. Like, all these guys who are out here right now–they’re hot, they’re doing good stuff, and their music is good so I appreciate it. But there are very few ‘up-and-comers’ that I can think of right now. If there are guys coming up who are really hot right now, I’d probably be signing them and trying to get music from them. So if I knew those names, I’d be on them myself.” Touché, Wolfgang.
By now our interview is winding down, so I ask Wolfgang what we can expect from him for the rest of the year, and into 2014. “Part of it is that I just don’t know,” he says. “Basically, I’m writing a shitload of new music right now. And I’m not necessarily exposing it yet. I’m waiting for the right time. I used to just write a song and then come out and play it in my set the next night, but I’m not doing that anymore. I’m holding it back. I don’t know what we’re gonna do, but I wanna unleash it in a way that…I put out an album and nobody has even heard a snippet of any track.” I note that every DJ is all about the “previews” and the “teasers” lately. “That’s the thing, I just want it to be ‘Boom!’ Here’s twelve f**king tracks that I’ve spent time making, and you haven’t heard any of them. So that’s what I’m working on right now. I feel like I’m working on an album, but I’m not signed to any album deal or anything.”
He explains how his deal with noted label Ultra Records recently came to an end. “I just got off Ultra Records, my deal with them has ended. And I feel that, part of the reason I’m in such a good place creatively is partly due to that.” My colleague notes how that’s pretty much what happened with deadmau5 after his Ultra deal ended, and he agrees. “Just like deadmau5. We were both talking about that. Basically, I’m just in a really good creative headspace and making a lot of music. It’s just all very secretive right now.”
We’re almost out of time, so for my last question, I ask Wolfgang what’s one message he’d like to communicate to these younger fans who are entering the EDM scene. Just something for them to keep in mind as they go on to (hopefully) embrace this music for years to come. “Don’t believe the hype,” he says. “Don’t believe the marketing, the advertisements. Do your research. Just listen to the music! Don’t go for all the other shit–the partying, the bright lights–I mean, that’s great too. But avoid the gimmicks. Listen to the music. Because that’s what it’s about.” The response is typical Wolfgang–straight, to the point, and most importantly, valuing artistic skill above all else.
My interview with Wolfgang Gartner is eye-opening in more ways than one. In the beginning, I’m surprised to see that Wolfgang is just a mild-mannered, down-to-earth guy who is incredibly easy to talk to. There are absolutely no signs of elitism or snobbery with the man–two insults that the aforementioned Facebook/Twitter “keyboard warriors” like to hurl at Wolfgang, as if they somehow know him. I’m surprised to hear Wolfgang tell me how much he is affected by the words of naysayers and haters through social media. He takes the music he makes as seriously as a painter would a painting, or an architect would a house. His pipe dream for social media to be “eradicated” seems to stem not only from his unfortunate experiences with Facebook- and Twitter-users, but also from his own wish for the dance music scene to return to being the more inspiring, supportive community it once was.
The artistry, the digging for unheard-of records, the fan support of musicians. These are all things Wolfgang would bring back if he could snap his fingers together and make it so. But he can’t. Instead–with his songs and his words–he fights for the true music fan, the one who isn’t swept up in the aforementioned “hype,” who goes to clubs and festivals not just to get drunk or high, but to experience the music itself and to spread that love with fellow enthusiasts. And he will fight for this dream, tooth and nail. Because Wolfgang Gartner is not just a producer or a DJ. He is a musical warrior, waging a battle against the forces of stagnation and immaturity that pervade many areas of the modern-day EDM scene. And while this campaign is nowhere near over, Wolfgang will continue to fight. He’ll continue to sound off and be outspoken, never censoring himself for anyone. But most importantly, he’ll continue to make music his way.
That’s what warriors do: stick true to their sense of honor and never waver in their mission. The worldwide house music scene is lucky to still have artists like Wolfgang, someone who is not afraid to speak their mind, or to trumpet artistic skill over bottle service DJs and gimmicky music. Because he doesn’t just fight for himself–he fights for us too. And that’s the true definition of a warrior.
-Paul Adler
wow this interview just brought my respect and admiration to Wolfgang to a whole other level. great interview
Good read! I like what he had to say.
Damn good interview and write up
Awesome interview, that man knows what he likes, cant wait to see him on sunday.
Everything he says and believes in is dead on. His work ethic truly amazes me.
I’m not that surprised with the outcome of the interview. I pretty much expected that type of answers from Wolfgang. Go forward Wolfgang, your troops is right behind you.
You suck, you haven’t made anything good in four years. I disown you!
Joey will always be the game changer for me! Stay up brotha!
Joey will always be the game changer for me! Stay up brotha!
great interview- WG = authentic, I don’t think there’s any arguing against it.
I see what you did there…
like you could do any better
what I think is the most astonishing factoid is, is that people claim to know, or be able to predict “typical wolfgang” but hardly anyone who says such things has had a face to face conversation with the guy. its even more remarkable that people who say those things can see so obviously how his music is, is how he is. unique. his music is that embodiment of what I term his “Wolfgangatry”, the harmony of his thoughts in something that as individual snippets would just be noises. his mind is truely an artistic one, and in such a sense as well perfect for making his kind of desired waves he aims to create.
Great interview! Loved reading what Wolfgang had to say and makes me admire him even more!
good shit.
it was a joke, UMADTHO?