Equate meets Wuh Oh

EQ: ‘Wuh Oh’ is a very unique name, can you tell us how you came up with it, and its significance?

WO: In one of the very first tracks I produced for the project; I used a sample of a kid saying ‘wuh oh!’. I showed the tune to Sega Bodega and he suggested I name myself after it. The name made sense since a lot of my proudest moments musically are the result of a happy accident when writing or producing – there can be magic in mistakes!

EQ: Where does your love and passion for electronic & dance music come from?

WO: One of the best things about producing electronic music is that you can have complete control over every instrument, sound and sample. There are endless possibilities, all of which you are in charge of. Since I’ve always liked making things on my own, this really appealed to me when I first started out.

I also love the functionality of dance music and the physical response it can induce when done right. Electronic dance music tends to adhere to certain rules and templates that are fun to lean into or play off of. Ultimately, making people think, feel and dance all at once is the goal I have most fun with.

EQ: Who do you primarily make your music for – yourself or your listeners?

WO: More and more these days I’m aware of a desire to connect with people whilst writing my music. I used to think there was something of a chasm between composing music that would satisfy me on a technical and intellectual level and music that is more readily accessible to a broader audience. Nowadays I’m a lot happier to replace an overly complex drum pattern with something more familiar and danceable. I’ve realised that scaling back certain elements of the track allows the parts that matter most to pack more of a punch. I reckon curating virtuosic madness down to something more immediate and digestible makes for a stronger song that’s truer to its essence.

EQ: …and when creating, do you have any specific muses?

WO: I’m not sure if I have a muse exactly, but over the years I’ve learned that I’m the most productive making music when I’m happy. I’ve recently found that sitting down at the piano to figure out a song from beginning to end before taking it to the computer has been especially conducive to creativity.

EQ: Your rise in the industry has been pretty rapid – what would you say you’ve learnt so far?

WO: ‘Don’t ask for permission, ask for forgiveness later’ is a saying that I stumbled across a while back and realised applies pretty accurately to my career so far. I’ve learnt not wait for approval or validation from anyone else before getting on with the work that I know in my heart needs to be done.

EQ: …and what’s one piece of advice you’ve been given that you’d love to pass on to any young musicians reading this?

WO: A few years ago, I went through a period of beating myself up about spending time away from making music to work on other Wuh Oh related projects that weren’t necessarily sitting down to write the songs themselves. My little brother told me it’s okay to enjoy every part of the process. It was such a simple thing to say and it’s always stuck with me. Whether you’re deciding on stage outfits, designing cover art, dreaming up a music video, give yourself the headspace to enjoy it and do it right. I’ve found that balancing my time between different creative outlets has helped me to enjoy making music all the more and has helped me become a more well-rounded artist in every regard.

EQ: What has been the best, or most defining moment in your career thus far?

WO: I personally find it hard to feel proud of the past. It’s like I’m giving myself a belated pat on the back – for some reason it always feels like I’m congratulating a person too far removed from who I am in the present. I’m always obsessing over what’s next and what’s after that. Having said that, playing with DJ Shadow was a cool thing, as was having Hudson Mohawke remix one of my songs.

EQ: Your music has often been described as quite ‘modernist avant-garde’. Is this accurate, and how would you classify your sound?

WO: It’s interesting to hear people say my music is forward thinking and experimental because most of my influences are old school classics. I definitely try to put sounds together in a way I haven’t heard before and I will keep exploring the left field and the mainstream in equal measure. It’s certainly a balancing act. It would be silly to jump off the deep end and confuse the hell out of people for the sake of it.

EQ: You’ve recently worked with some incredible names in the scene like Orbital & Com Truise. If you could collaborate with any other artist (dead or alive) who would it be and why?

WO: I mean, Paul McCartney is my hero. I have a ridiculous looking toy of him on my desk in the studio so I can consult my favourite Beatle when I’m stuck on a track, so I guess I would like to know what music I could make with the real Paul. He’s the ultimate melodicist.

EQ: Your new single ‘How Do You Do It?’ is out now – congratulations! What was the inspiration or thought process behind this body of work?

WO: The song was based off of a piano riff I wrote years ago, and it’s gone through a bunch of incarnations. Early on it was going to be a garage rock track, then it was a lowkey, downtempo hip-hop instrumental for a while. Quite recently I gave it a final makeover, taking it into full on dance territory. Sometimes it takes a while for a composition to reveal what kind of track it wants to be. The last thing I added was the wee vocal refrain before the drops because I’ve always loved when club tunes do that. It’s a really intuitive signal that shit’s about to go down in the song. It’s the ultimate ‘get hyped’ moment!

You can follow Wuh Oh on socials:

Instagram: @wuhohmusic

Twitter: @wuh_oh

Spotify: @wuhoh