Wave Racer dropped his new single “Flash Drive” off his upcoming EP and we’re really diggin’ it here at GLT. The EP is scheduled to release on the Future Classic label sometime in October. We’ve been huge fans of Wave Racer for quite some time now and we’re absolutely loving Flash Drive. While continuing to carve out his own unique sound, Wave Racer keeps impressing with with each release. We had the opportunity to sit down with Wave Racer after Paradiso Festival and learn a little bit more about the man behind Wave Racer.
Continue reading for our exclusive interview with Wave Racer and check out his new single “Flash Drive”:
GLT: For people that aren’t familiar with Wave Racer, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into music.
Wave Racer: Wave Racer is a project I started. It was not the first musical project I’ve been a part of, but it’s definitely the most personal, most ‘me’ project I’ve done. Before I was Wave Racer I was doing music with a friend of mine under a different name. We were making disco house. It was very ‘Ed Banger Records‘ inspired stuff. I kind of got bored with sampling old disco records even though I loved it and decided I wanted to make my own sounds and thats how I got into sound design. That’s where Wave Racer came about; out of that desire I had to create new sounds and also just broadening my musical tastes, horizons and discovery.
GLT: You’ve become notorious with sampling video game sounds. How did that come about?
Wave Racer: I like using those sounds because they have an element of nostalgia. I like making people feel nostalgic when listening to music; its really a powerful emotion, especially when consuming art and music together. It reminds you of when you were a kid and didn’t have any responsibilities or sadness; you were just playing video games having the time of your life. Those sounds are symbols of that I guess. Also the sounds in video games are just very interesting and cool to work with. They always seem to pop out in mixes.
“I like making people feel nostalgic when listening to music; its really a powerful emotion,, especially when consuming art and music together. It reminds you of when you were a kid and didn’t have any responsibilities or sadness.”
GLT: Have you ever looked into sound tracking for video games?
Wave Racer: I would love to but it’s a whole different ball game. I would love to try it in the future and I have been offered before but I’ve never actually had the opportunity to do it.
(Wave Racer at Electric Forest)
GLT: You’ve been pretty busy touring around this summer. You’ve played at Splash House, Electric Forest, What The Festival, and now Paradiso. Have there been any highlights?
Wave Racer: I’ve got to say, Electric Forest was frickin’ amazing. I’ve never been to Electric Forest and I’ve never seen a festival like that before. I played an early set and had a pretty big enthusiastic crowd for that time of the day so I was really happy with that. Just going around that festival and hanging out with friends back stage was really fun.
GLT: Do you take a different approach when playing small shows vs. larger festival sets?
Wave Racer: Not really. I probably make a few changes depending on the kind of event it is, but they’re very subtle changes. I like to just ‘do me’ every time and want people to know who I am. I try and play as much of my own music as possible and make my set about my own production.
You recently remixed Duke Dumont’s “The Giver”. How did that come about?
Wave Racer: Duke reached out to me to do that remix. He’s always been a fan and wanted to work with me in some capacity, so he asked me if I wanted to do an official remix for that. I liked it because the vocal is quite nice and I wanted to flip it on its head and make it different. When I first heard it I was like, “Yeah, I think I can do something different with this.”
GLT: If you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, who would it be?
Wave Racer: I would love to collaborate with Hudson Mohawke. He’s alive and well and killing it (laughs). I’ve always been inspired by his stuff, especially his album that just came out. Amy Winehouse would be pretty cool as well. I’ve been getting into this pop production mindset and she just has one of those voices, you know?
(Wave Racer Performs on The Wreckage stage at Paradiso)
GLT: Who’s been your biggest influence as an artists?
Wave Racer: So there’s many… Before I was doing Wave Racer, disco, soul, and funk music was a huge influence, the French Ed Banger sound. Modern producers would be Rustie, Hudson Mohawke, and Cashmere Cat who are doing killer things not only with their own projects, but also for other artists. Since I’m primarily a producer and that’s what I like to do, it’s inspiring to see the work of other producers.
GLT: Any production tips or favorite plug-ins you use?
Wave Racer: I’m just an Ableton user. I don’t have any fancy tricks. I’m pretty boring to be honest. I have a few go-to synths like Sylenth 1, Massive and FM8, which are pretty common. That’s basically it. I have go-to’s and a big sample library. The biggest trick of mine is just simple stuff like EQ and compression – learning how to do that well can fix any problem pretty much.
GLT: How would you describe a Wave Racer show to someone that’s never been?
Wave Racer: It’s different. It’s bouncy, it’s bright. There’s highs and lows – it’s dynamic; its not just ‘full throttle’ the whole time. That’s what sets it apart from other electronic shows. If you are a fan of the music it’s engaging in that sense.
“It’s bouncy, it’s bright. There’s highs and lows – it’s dynamic; its not just ‘full throttle’ the whole time. That’s what sets it apart from other electronic shows.”
(Wave Racer drops “Streamers” at Paradiso Festival)
GLT: Do you ever think about how you would change a set after you perform?
Wave Racer: I don’t do DJ sets very much because I use Ableton Live and its kind of planned out and I have a show in mind. I don’t really think about the setting that much even though I should. The thing for a live show with me is to showcase my own music and the music I love along with it. I treat it more like a showcase than a DJ set where you improvise. I do DJ as well and when I do that I switch it up, but a show like this in America, I plan it and go with it and see how they respond.
“The thing for a live show with me is to showcase my own music and the music I love along with it. I treat it more like a showcase than a DJ set where you improvise.”
GLT: Have any hobbies you do in your spare time?
Wave Racer: I like to make coffee and I like to cook. I have an espresso machine at my house and I enjoy using that. I also like to hang out with my cats. I don’t know if that’s a hobby, but yeah. I spend a lot of time making music.
GLT: What’s your best meal in the kitchen?
Wave Racer: I’m actually not that good of a cook. I’m trying to learn to cook more things. I’ve learned how to cook mushrooms really well. I do a mean cherry tomato, mushroom and avocado toast. That’s my signature at the moment.
GLT: What’s one video game no one could beat you at?
Wave Racer: I’m not a nerd, I’m not that good at video games. Although I was pretty damn good at Mario Party on the original N64. I was also pretty good at Super Smash, but I could get beat at that. I could definitely get beat in Mario Kart. So yeah, I could definitely get beat in anything, but those are the game that I would put up a good challenge.
GLT: Any last words of wisdom or advice for the Wave Racer fans out there:
Wave Racer: Just do you! That’s it.
> > > PRE ORDER WAVE RACERS EP HERE: http://futr.cl/FlashDrive < < <
> > > LISTEN TO FLASH DRIVE (feat. B▲by): https://soundcloud.com/wave-racer/wave-racer-flash-drive-feat-bby-1 < < <
