The method in wAFF's madness

Image: wAFF

Following a massive surge in success following the release of his instantly recognisable 'Jo Johnson' track in 2012, wAFF's personality, ear for brilliant music and technical ability has taken him to the top of his game, and the demand for him is monumental. 

Top off his skills with a passionate work ethic and the releases just continue to make their way onto house and techno's most prestigious labels including Jamie Jones' revered Hot Creations imprint and Sven Vath's Cocoon Recordings. 

His ability to inject fun and energy into his productions and his sets has made him a firm favourite with ravers across the world, and his personal connection with his fans and his genuine love for the scene has secured his reputation for the long run. We caught up with the man himself ahead of his festival appearances this summer. 

Hi mate, it's been a while since we last caught up with you. How's life treating you?

Life's been hectic and crazy fun as always. I recently just got back from Miami where I spent nearly 2 weeks living it large. We had Paradise which was wicked and recently had BPM too which was the best thing I've done in a long time. I kind of enjoyed it more than Ibiza, well I did enjoy it more actually.

I guess it was just new to me and all the parties were so good, it was all very exciting. Plus the Paradise party we had was ridiculous, not seen a vibe as good as that for a long time and the venue was on some sort of island through the jungle. It was unreal. 

You're playing Outbreak Festival this May in Leicestershire, are you looking forward to it?

Yeah I cant wait, I've seen that I'm playing on the Outbreak stage too with Jamie Jones and Patrick Topping so that will be really good. I love playing festivals, there's a certain energy and everybody is in high spirits, of course I'm looking forward to it.

How do your festival sets differ from your club sets? 

Well it just depends with what set time you get, and also with festivals you usually play to a much bigger crowd and it's usually outdoor too so there's certain tracks that work better than others. I will always play my style and with festivals I like to play tunes that have a lot of energy and sometimes have a carnival vibe.

I just go with what I feel and how I think the crowd is feeling, but it's usually more house and summer vibes I go for if it's day time when I play, if it was later I'd be more inclined to be playing techno.

I can't say how its different to how I play in a club as I play big room music in a club still but it all just depends on the vibe and the people I'm playing to in the end I guess otherwise I'd literally just be playing techno all the time. 

What else have you got lined up this summer?

Well I'm doing Paradise again at DC10 in Ibiza all through the summer, I have got some pretty special releases lined up that I cant mention right now, I wish I could but in case anything was to fall through I wouldn't want to say just yet. But if all goes ahead they're going to be wicked.

I've also been asked to do the closing sunrise set at Exit Festival alongside some amazing artists which I'm really really looking forward to. I've also got a gig in South Africa with the Paradise crew soon which I'm also really excited for, were all gonna do a Safari and go cage diving with great white sharks so that will be pretty mental.

Hot Creations and the Paradise events seem to have a close knit community, have you guys become like family?

Yeah we're all just like a family. They're all my best friends and we're all very close. We travel the world together and spend all our time together when we're away or at home so yeah were just like a family. They are the most lovely and friendly people you could ever meet so I became really close to everyone very quick once they took me on.

We're loving the Freeks EP on Cocoon Recordings (listen above), did you have the label in mind when you created the tracks?

Thank you, and no I never have a label in mind to be honest when I'm making music. if I do, it blocks me out and makes me unable to make anything. I have to be completely in the moment and just be me.

I made 'Groover' years ago in Ibiza at a villa party that we were having and it happened within the space of an hour. As for 'Freeks', one of my mates showed me the vocal that goes through the track a while ago and I was really inspired by it so I just tried to make something around it. As soon as I get a hook or inspiration from something I'm away and can make music really easily.

Your humour and personality is glaringly apparently when you DJ and across social media. In an industry where the music and lifestyle is taken seriously, how do you ensure having fun comes first? 

Ha, well in reality I'm proper stupid and have the maddest sense of humour. Nothing is serious to me at all. Of course, I have to take certain thing serious, but yeah I just enjoy my life and the goodness life has to give. Anything that is slightly daft or random I love it and I just think it's important to just be yourself so people can relate to you and understand you as a person.

I'm really forward and honest and want people to see how stupid my life is. You need to have fun with whatever you do in your life, it keeps you healthy and helps you heal. If you can stay positive, even when things are bad, its only temporary anyway and will pass and you can make every situation a positive. Just be a proper muppet like me and you should be sound!

Finally, a hypothetical question. You have the power to curate your ultimate party. You can play alongside any artist from past or present. Who would join you on the line up, where would it take place and what track would define the evening?

Hmm, it's a tough one as theres so many mint DJs. But I'd have to have Matthew Johnson live, Jamie Jones, The Martinez Brothers, Ben Klock & Marcel Dettmann (playing b2b for like 20 hours in room 2), Marcel Fengler, Markus Suckut, DVS1, Joseph Capriati, Marco Carola, Loco Dice & Luciano, Ame & Dixon.

To have all them at one party would be mint, there are loads more but there's no point in mentioning everyone. To choose a track,   I have no idea what would define the evening, but 'Return of the Zombie Bikers' by Matthew Johnson always does it for me at the right time. And the Marcel Fengler Emersion Remix of MOS's 'Lost Digits'. They both get me buzzing. 

Head here to see wAFF's upcoming gigs. 

Tickets are no longer available for this event