ARTIST FOCUS: wAFF
In 2012, his track Jo Johnson off his Rainbows EP, put UK producer and DJ wAFF on the radar. Since then he’s been slinging out hit after hit, and has a schedule that is utterly relentless. wAFF has dropped bomb hits on Cocoon and Hot Creations, as well as being a resident at the iconic Ibiza’s nightclub – DC-10. Notably, he’s the only British artist to record for three techno hubs; Cocoon, Drumcode and Desolat. wAFF approaches music with unlimited enthusiasm and attention to detail, making him the DJ he is today.
Back when wAFF was just kick starting his career, he was igniting the flames of the underground dance scene in his native Hull. His ‘Koala’ parties in Leeds became a huge hit and gave him a widely respected initial springboard to move things forward with his career. With that came, being part of Jamie Jones’s Paradise Crew since 2012, when they had their first season together at Ibiza’s DC-10. He also regularly recorded for Jones’s Hot Creations imprint with tunes such as his debut EP ‘Rainbows’, which included bangers like ‘Sick Pleasure’ and ‘Kidney Punch’ in 2016 and Fat Gash’ in 2015 – all played by DJs spanning from Patrick Topping to Marco Carola.
In 2014, wAFF recorded the EP ‘Freeks’ for Cocoon Records – It contained the much-hammered hypno-thumping classic, ‘Groover’. His urgent nine-minute techno-tinted floor-stomper ‘Vibration Z’ was released under Drumcode Records in the same year.
wAFF hit hard in 2017, releasing ‘Wormhole’ EP on Matthias Tanzmann’s Moon Harbour Records, which was a much-remixed gem. He also collaborated with Berlin DJ-producer Santé, for the mesmeric ‘Interferenz’ on Avotre label and with Russ Yallop on the bass-bouncing, sampledelic ‘Snakecharmer’ EP for Riva Starr’s Snatch! Records. wAFF’s studio work has caught the attention of other key labels as well – in 2018, he grew much closer to Loco Dice and Martin Buttrich’s label ‘Desolat’ and that shot out monster track releases such as, ‘Bondage’, ‘Space’ and ‘Hanzz Sup’.
With a surfeit of new tracks queued up for both Moon Harbour and Solid Grooves, as well as collaborations with a list of heavyweights in the pipelines – taking wAFF’s profile from a force to a force to be reckoned with, based purely on his music rather than attendant hype. Being a master at his art, he’s also been in demand for guest productions; his recent re-work of Matt Tolfrey’s ‘Jazz Hands’ cemented his relationship with Elrow. His other recent tracks that have gotten massive love from DJs include his mixes of Birupa’s ‘Party Non-Stop’ (for Desolat) and Butch’s ‘Bepsi’ (for Watergate); They’re the latest in a long-line of remixes that includes Groove Armada’s ‘Final Shakedown’, De La Swing’s ‘Give Me Time’, Darius Syrossian’s ‘Mischief Brew’, Fur Coats’ ‘There’s No Time’, Hot Since 82’s ‘Trains and Planes. Elleot’s ‘Ke’Kadeki’, Ezikie’s ‘The Women From Balkan’ and Leftwing and Kody’s ‘I Wanna Be’ (featuring Robert Owens).
With such a killer repertoire in his artillery, it’s surprising that wAFFs focus is far wider than his music. With a background in acting and dancing, he’s expressed his longing to return to dance one day. He’s also been quite outspoken about the short-lived aspects of clubland and how it doesn’t interest him, by far he’s more interested in his own personal development. Which definitely does show, with him being a vegan for years now and his ongoing interest in the Japanese healing art of reiki.
This particular side of wAFF is at the core of who he is, but it runs parallel to his life behind the decks and in the studio. He is, after all, a DJ-producer who’s played them all; from Lost Beach in Ecuador to Fabric in London, from the Warung Beach Club in Brazil to the epic Tomorrow land Festival to Electric Daisy Carnival in Japan. Looked up to as a heavyweight by his peers, as well as his fans, wAFF’s reputation may be well-rooted, but his approach to everything (as in everything) is as fresh and exciting as when he was just kicking starting his career.
The colorful personality and profound mastermind will be touching down in Bali, and you can find him behind the decks at The Vault on November 29th. Before you strap on your dancing shoes and find yourself skipping to The Vault to see him live, we’ve riled up 5 of wAFF’s hits – from his break-out track to his most popular track of all time! Click play!
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Most played song on Youtube
wAFF – Fat Gash
Most played song on Spotify
wAFF – Groover
Break out Track
wAFF – Jo Johnson (Rainbows EP)
Most Recent Release -2019
wAFF – Sunmood (Sunmood EP)
Notable MONSTER track release
wAFF – Bondage (Original Mix)
Catch this music genius sling out bangers behind the decks at The Vault on November 29th – Don’t catch FOMO and lock it down in your calendar now!
