2020 is a major year for Wuki. Following a GRAMMY nomination this January, the producer dropped the collaborative Ro Sham Bo EP with Nitti Gritti, and is now steadily releasing teasers from his upcoming album. His latest single “I See You” features Texan rapper Stoppa, and is an adventure into his in-depth explorations of club and dance music. We spoke to Wuki about life in quarantine, and what to expect from his debut album.
Always willing to think outside the box and play with genres and styles, “I See You”, your new single, is no exception. What inspired you to switch up genres in this track?
I’ve actually had this track in the burner for 2 years. Sometimes it takes that long for a song to be realized. I wanted to make something that built tension the whole time and blew up into a massive drop. It’s kind of an experiment in sound.
Talk to me about the process of creating your album. How did it come about?
I make a lot of different genres and I wanted to showcase all of them. I have dabbled in a lot of genres but recently I think I found my “sound” so I wanted to package it up and make a statement.
I watched your track breakdown of your first single off the album, “Chicken Wang”, on Twitch. It was so interesting learning the story of how the song came together that I wanted to hear about more of your songs! Can you give us some background on “I See You”?
Haha [sic] there’s a little bit less of a story for “I See You”. It started as a freestyle session I did with Stoppa. I loved that little vocal so much I built a song around it!
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, artists have been forced to halt concerts and large events as the world practices social distancing. With a new album coming out soon, how are you getting fans excited? Is it challenging to do without live shows?
Yes and no. In a weird way I feel more connected to fans now. I know them by name, where they’re from, what they like. So Twitch and other socials are a great way to get people excited.
Have you found other ways to perform and create community while in quarantine?
Yes 100%! [On] Twitch!
Has quarantining changed your creative outlook or process? a. Do you have any advice for fellow artists working to adjust to our current day-to-day?
As far as making new music, not really. But I do find time to interact with my fans more. I think the best advice now is that there’s no shortcuts. You gotta have something valuable people want to see or watch. So work on that.
You were nominated for a GRAMMY award earlier this year, for your remix of “Mother’s Daughter” by Miley Cyrus. Following your nomination, is there a new creative goal you’re hoping to reach?
Haha [sic] not really I just focus on making good music. The GRAMMY is nice but it is just a symbol of validation. All I care about is making cool shit I like!
Were there any surprising hurdles in making an album for the first time? If so, what were they?
Confirming vocalists is hard! Mixing is also hard!
What song off the album are you most looking forward to playing live?
I think actually “I See You”! I wanna make some crazy visuals for it.
Follow Wuki on Spotify for more music.
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