Street Tracks bosses Waze & Odyssey come to us fresh from the madness of their recent North American tour. Despite hitting Miami, California, San Francisco, Calgary and Montreal in quick succession the boys haven’t stopped to look around. Stepping straight up on Steve Lawler’s VIVa MUSiC, they’ve delivered a fiery new three tracker with distinct tech edge to it. W&O have shared an exclusive snippet from the release just for When We Dip readers, in addition to catching up post-tour, we ran through all the action, the Brooklyn way of life and their current musical exploits.
WWD: Starting off with a hot topic! Cajun or hot sauce?
Hot sauce and chicken wings, that’s what it’s about.
WWD: You’re fresh off a North American tour, have you been in recovery mode recently?
Not really so much, we hit the studio straight away and feeling pretty good to be honest. We’ve been away for 2 weeks so there’s loads to catch up on.
WWD: What was the most memorable night from the trip?
Oh wow, tough question
Not to sit on the fence but each night was different and loads of fun. We got to meet and hang out with some real cool cats.
If we had to choose it might be beyond wonderland in California – a wicked, huge festival vibe and we we djed with Kink, Patrick Topping & Armand Van Helden, that was pretty special as we had some friends out there to enjoy it with so we had a little party.
WWD: You spent some time in Brooklyn & NYC, is it somewhere that inspires you guys?
Definitely, there are some wicked people doing some really great things or there. The states in general is really popping, there’s a real underground scene that has been there for years, it’s just growing and it’s getting bigger but also people are changing the game out there, the warehouse parties in LA are amazing for example. We played a warehouse party in Brooklyn too for Rinsed and that was great – so it’s really nice to see that and be playing in a mad venue rather than a club.
NYC is great for record shopping, catching up with friends, seeing some art, going to a club, it’s stimulating as hell and then you can come home with new ideas or fresh perspectives. Managed to check out Kenny Dope & Butch DJing on the Friday, which was pretty special.
WWD: On the topic of food, best place/dish you ate while traveling?
There’s a Reuben sandwich that sticks in the head we had in LA. That was amazing. Kim Ann Foxman we met for coffee when we were in town and she suggested the Bee Sting pizza at Robertas in Brooklyn which was real fire.
WWD: You’re getting back to business quickly. You have an upcoming release on ViVa stepping away from ‘Street Tracks’ this time with a very techy feel. How did the EP come about?
Sometimes you just catch a mood, or a feeling and these tracks were made for our sets, then we tested them out and it all went from there. Great to have Huxley on the remix package he’s turned out a fine job.
WWD: Being the head honchos at the well established Street Tracks. What have you been looking for in new artists for the label? Do you try to strike a balance between lesser known talents and those that are more established?
We definitely try and showcase artists breaking through, but we also get sent music from more established acts. There’s no rhyme or reason to it other than how it sounds. If it’s a track we’re digging then we put it out. We love supporting new talent and hopefully offering them advice or a chat if they want to pick our brain. This is more than just a label really.
We like variety in the sound and so try and showcase the breadth of our musical tastes through the releases on the label. We really broke out of the box with the Lancelot release, people like XL recordings and Bicep picked up on that one so we were really pleased that we could release something like “Mover”. We know ourselves that we like variety, we just want to put out good varied music for any occasion, you might play it in the club or at the after party or on your night out when you’re getting ready. It’s just about good electronic music.
WWD: In your mind, where do you hope to take Street Tracks over the next 12 months?
For us it’s about keeping doing what we doing for the next 10 years. Next year we will be hitting our 30th release. We can’t wait.
WWD: When it comes to networking & constructing connections what advice would you give to young artists trying to build a crew of their own?
It’s about hanging out with people you feel comfortable with and doing what you love. It’s all about connection and engagement and every act finds their crews of people they kick it with.
The music really is the key focus. Hit the studio and mess about and see who passed by / you gel with.
WWD: Are Waze & Odyssey excited about electronic music in 2016?
It’s a great time. There might be a lot more music and it can feel overwhelming but if you got your bag you know where to look. Find your space and rock it out, dance floor rules apply.
WWD: You’ve picked up some new analog gear recently, will we be hearing its sounds in some upcoming productions?
We’ve already integrated some of the kit we have been buying so you’ve been hearing it a little while in there but it’s definitely mixed up the way we write music and while there is some great digital gear out there like WAVES, the old gear gives us the sound we love and have listened to for years in old records.
WWD: Before we leave you, what else have you got coming up on the horizon?
Busy summer with gigs in UK & abroad for El Row, we are making our Debut at Ants Ibiza, Eastern Electrics, Secret Garden Party, Glastonbury, LoveBox, X-festival, ruis festival, and loads more, we will be back out in the states again too and using our downtime to hit the studio.
Follow: @wazeandodyssey // @vivamusic