W&W
How do you choose the tracks you play during a set?
We try to read the crowd's energy and mood and take it from there. We also learned over the years which tracks usually work well in certain countries or cities. We actually have a database of every tracklist we've ever played. When we return to a specific place or event, we try to do our homework and play favorites from our last show there but also bring 50-70% of new material to keep things interesting and fresh for the crowd. For every set, we fully prepare what we think would be the best track selection, but we often find ourselves having to change it on the fly because we cannot fully predict the crowd's vibe beforehand.
Can you describe your creative process when mixing tracks?
When it comes to mixing tracks while live DJ'ing, we try to keep the energy constantly flowing. We call our mixing technique a 'power mix', because we try to blend in the most important parts of tracks in a very dynamic mix, which consists of quick and short transitions without losing the crowd's attention. When it comes to mixing our produc- tions in the studio, we prefer a loud dynamic, and powerful mixdown. A producer's mixdown is like a signature, a lot of times, you can hear who a song is pro- duced by purely off of that.
What do you think is the most challenging aspect of mixing live?
Reading the crowd and main- taining the right energy can be challenging. You have to adapt quickly to their reactions while staying true to your style. Some- times you feel like a song has to be played at a certain time even though you know it doesn't fit where you currently are in the set because of its tempo or key. Trying to find a creative way to make it work can be challeng- ing!
How do you read and respond to a crowd during a perfor- mance?
We look at people and if they're singing along, if they dance or smile, then we know we're on the right track. If not, then we have to try something else! Ward looks more at the individual people and selects them to see if they're enjoying themselves. Willem looks more at the overall energy of the crowd to see if the connection to the music is stay- ing strong. It's another example of how we work together during our live performance to keep the energy flowing. We've seen a big change in the way people react to our performance in recent years! Even though people are jumping, dancing, and smiling, there are a lot more moments when phones come out. But we remind ourselves that these are moments that people want to re-live over and over, and if they're filming it means it's a moment they want to keep.
How do you handle difficult situations, like technical issues during a set?
We stay calm and remember that unforeseen issues happen. Anything can go wrong, espe- cially with larger productions, and we are lucky enough to work with professional people and teams that are usually quick to identify the problem and help sort it out. Often, engaging with the crowd and keeping the energy up can override technical difficulties.
What do you think have been the biggest changes in the DJ industry over the past few years?
Technology has transformed how we produce music and perform shows, all these inven- tions in software and hardware is making it easier for new artists to enter the scene, which creates more competition and can also cause over-saturation.
But this can also be a good thing, forcing people to in- novate and push things to new limits, since it's harder to stand out. The rise of social media makes it easier than ever before to reach new people, making it an extremely powerful tool to showcase your art.
How do you think you can shape and influence the EDM world? What impact do you hope to make with your music?
We aim to make dance music fun for people, to make our shows a time to really live in the moment and enjoy. We hope to spread positivity and unity, we understand that people come to our shows to let go and escape their nor- mal lives. Our purpose is to make them feel that in every moment that they are there, they are having the best time they possibly can.
A 田式
DJayGEAR