Interview: 5 minutes with Will Easton

Will Easton is a London-based electronic producer and DJ. With his previous release via W&O Street Tracks finding support from the likes of Patrick Topping, Jamie Jones, Camelphat and Tensnake, it’s no doubt that rising UK talent Will Easton knows how to deliver a club ready weapon. Easton has received props from the likes of Huxley, Josh Butler, The Golden Boy, Jacky and Paso Osuna alongside radio support from BBC Radio 1’s Pete Tong and TCTS on KISS Fresh.

Weapons has invited Will Easton to serve up his take on the ‘dancefloor weapon’ in his latest release “Life Coach”; the cut sees Easton blend sharp hi-hats, looping vocals, infectious claps with a weighty bassline.

We caught up with Will Easton on coffee rushing and production refinement:

Set the tone for us. Why the arts?

I definitely always knew that I didn’t want to work in an office and do the usual 9-5. Nothing about having a steady job and doing the same thing every day appealed to me. I’ve always enjoyed music and creative pursuits – my house always had music playing when I was a kid and I had piano lessons until I was 15.  

Which comes first when you’re producing – the sound or the idea?

The idea, 100% of the time. I always start with melodies and chords because that’s what I know and am comfortable with. The sound design comes afterwards.

Does your material feature any collaborations?

It doesn’t at the moment. I work best on my own because that’s when I feel most relaxed and able to ‘zone out’ more. Of course that could change and there are so many artists that I’d like to collaborate with if the opportunity presented itself.

What’s on your current playlist?

So much stuff – I’m a big fan of the latest 17 Steps release by Polymod, and the new Spencer Parker stuff. Also everything DJ Haus puts out on his label UTTU – Elliot Adamson’s remix of ‘Move It’ by Waze & Odyssey is top of my playlist. There are loads of others that I can’t remember off the top of my head as well!

What techniques do you experiment with to get your original sound?

I think if there’s anything unique about my sound it comes from the melodic content rather than the sound design. It’s nothing crazy, I just sit and mess around on a piano until I get something I like.

Take us through a day in the recording studio.

I normally start by opening really old projects to see if there’s anything that stands out  – nothing normally does but it’s good for a laugh to go back 3 years and listen to the stuff I was making. Then I just open Ableton onto a completely blank canvas and start either programming drums or messing around on a piano. After that there isn’t really a process I go through – just drink an unholy amount of coffee and hope something good happens.

Was there a specific moment in your life where you thought, “this is what I want to do”?

Not particularly, it was a gradual realisation throughout uni – a lot of stuff throughout university made me stressed and anxious, dance music was a kind of remedy to that. When I realised it was a viable career as well I committed 100% to making music, although I only started sending music out at the beginning of last year.

Any emerging artists on your radar?

Themba has just released an EP on Knee Deep In Sound which I love. Theo Kottis as well – he’s well established really but he’s got an album coming out in June which I can’t wait for – there are plenty of others who I can’t remember the names of, I’m shit with names.

What gets your creative juices flowing?

Mostly listening to amazing music and thinking ‘fuck I want to make stuff like that’.

Take us through your collection of gear, tech or software that accompanies your creative expression.

I produce completely in the box – Ableton and a few plugins but to be honest I mostly use the stock Ableton plugins just for ease of use. Ableton’s new synth Wavetable is wicked as well. In terms of hardware I only have a keyboard controller, which I couldn’t live without.  

How have you refined your craft since you entered the industry?

I think the best way to do that is to constantly listen to music and spend as much time as possible producing. The refinement and evolution happens naturally from there.

Breakdown the news for us: what can we expect from you this year?

I’ve had three releases in 2018, and there’ll be at least one more before the end of the year, as well as one or two remixes. The approach is definitely quality of quantity though – I only want to put out music that I’m happy with, and only on labels I’m a fan of. In terms of gigs, I’m in Southampton on June 9th with Del-30 and Mele which I’m buzzing for.

Order ‘Life Coach’ by Will Easton

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