Over the past few years, Dutch duo W&W have been making a lot of noise in the dance music scene. Starting in 2007, Willem van Hanegem and Ward van der Harst teamed up to produce a sound that combines melodic trance with four-on-the-floor beats. Their sound was quickly was recognized by big names in the dance industry such as Armin van Buuren and Tiësto. The guys have already started off 2014 with a big bang by having their latest single “Bigfoot” reached #1 on Beatport. With remixes of Gareth Emery, Krewella, Zedd, and Dash Berlin, W&W has proven they are an unstoppable force in the industry. Check out what the guys had to say about producing tracks and what they have in store for the future.
Congratulations on having “Bigfoot” reach #1 on Beatport! From start to finish, typically how long does it take to make and perfect a track?
Thank you very much! We are super happy with that! Usually our basic idea and theme for a new track is done pretty quickly. We then take a lot of time to test the new material out in our shows. We really want the tracks to be detailed to perfection in our minds. Some take two weeks, some take two months.
You’ve remixed tracks from Zedd to Gareth Emery. Which remix has been the most challenging?
Remixing a song is always a challenge. We are very picky in remixes that we want to do but when we go for it, we have an idea in mind right away of what we would like it to be. Our remix for Armin’s “This Is What It Feels Like” was a perfect example of that.
How has your music evolved overtime?
We started out more trance and slowly progressed into having a more electro and house sound. It really just developed into what it is today. We didn’t make actual choices then suddenly decide to change our sound. As we were touring more, we felt that we got a better feel of what works on big stages rather than what works while at home or in the car. We always make music we love and that works best for our performances.
Ultra Music Festival Miami is just around the corner, this year W&W are on the mainstage, any comments / anticipation?
We are super excited! After playing the A S tate Of Trance stage last year we are honored to play to massive Miami main stage. South Beach is a special place with dance fans from across the globe. We can’t wait to meet fans and see our music friends.
Do you have any preshow rituals?
No, not really, we just like to relax in the locker room with a beer. When we arrive at the venue, we always go and have a look at the crowd to get a feel.
I’m sure some fans you’ve come in contact with are wild. Do you have any crazy fan stories?
We love our fans! They give us so much energy that makes us want to work even harder. There are crazy stories of course, but they are not fit to share with the media hahaha!
If you could switch lives with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?
Anything that is not behind a desk all day will work for us! We get that question a lot but we really don’t know. Maybe fisherman!
It seems like the dance music scene has a slight obsession with cats. So I gotta ask, what are your thoughts and feelings about cats?
We have nothing with cats. We don’t have any pets so we can’t relate to it. Cool animals though! 🙂
What can we expect to hear next? Any new collabs in the making? Who is someone you would love to work with in the future?
We are working on some new music at the moment. We’ll be dropping a new collab with Blasterjaxx next month and have a couple of other collabs in the making which we’ll share with you soon.
Like the rest of the dance world, W&W are gearing up for prime spots at this year’s Winter Music Conference. Appearing at Ultra Music Festival and the fan favorite Dj Mag Pool party, this energetic genre-blending duo have made an impression at the top. Make sure to catch these big room tracks from the dutch producers.
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