Will Dark are two New York based brothers who have found their releases on established label homes like
Anjunadeep, The Gardens of Babylon, Nazca, and trueColors in the past. Hope We caught up with them recently to find out whats good with them right now, and how much of an influence the NYC scene had on them growing up…
Hey Wild Dark, how are you, what’s good and bad in your world right now?
What’s good DHL! All is well here in NY!
The good, we are happy, healthy, and continue to reach for the stars. The music is flowing, and we’re very excited that our “Then After” remix EP is about to be released.
In regards to the “bad”, we have come to a significant fork in the road, one which we have been traveling down together for 25 years. To make sure we cover all grounds, Ryan has decided to choose the path which leads down to family, home and the studio. His face will be missed behind the booth, but his love and energy will remain fully present in Wild Darks music. Someday, maybe these two paths will melt back into one. That would be exciting 🙂
When, where and how did you first get into electronic music?
Simultaneously we developed a passion for electronic music back in the mid 90s. In 98’ we picked up Gemini 500 belt drives and a handful of records. Ryan was heavy into the NYC Rave scene, while I (Corey) was more of a clubber. We eventually found common ground, and started to frequent Twilo and Vinyl religiously together. We’d go to see Danny Tenaglia, Sasha & Digweed, Danny Howells, Steve Lawler, Lee Burridge … basically the whole Global Underground series roster. In the early 2000’s we dove into Reason & Cubase, dabbling in music production for roughly a decade. It was 2010 when we decided to focus the majority of our attention in the studio and turn things up.
How much of an influence has the New York scene been?
The blood of the New York Scene definitely runs through our veins. New York has certainly influenced our sound very much. NYC was always about the drums, and it’s pretty common in our music, that we focus heavily on our drum programming, regardless of the genre or sub genre it falls into.
When did you first meet and why work together?
We first met the day Ryan popped out of our mother’s belly.. I (Corey) didn’t like him much back then, the kid was always crying, and he demanded all the attention :/
Joking aside, we have a strong bond and will always remain the best of friends and have each other backs. Creatively in regards to music, we are sonically in-sync. We both share an immense passion and appreciation for the musical journey we jumped on so long ago, and will continue to travel down.
Who does what? Do you each have your own jobs in the studio?
We both contribute equal parts. Collaboratively we balance each others strengths and weaknesses. Our process as of late has been to individually start something fresh, work the vibe until it seems full, sometimes over saturated with ideas, and then send the full session over to the other to have at it. This way is a lot of fun for us and has sped up the process from start to finish.
What are the best and worst bits of working in a duo?
The positives outweigh the negatives. As brothers it has allowed us to share many quality life experiences together. From traveling around the globe, to creating music and amazing memories together, so it’s been nice to have someone you love and trust right next to you to lean on when life throws you lemons.
One of the challenges we used to face in our earlier years, was definitely while in the studio together. Two creative minds working simultaneously can be difficult. Only one can be behind the wheel and that made it tough for us to both get our ideas out in sessions.
What inspired the the new release on trueColors?
The original “Then After EP” was a big success for us back in 2017. It was supported by many influential taste makers, and caught the attention of several quality labels. As mentioned above, roughly two years ago we discussed with Gene (trueColors), the idea of creating a “Then After “remix EP . We got the green light and he gave us free reign to choose the artists we wanted to remix our tunes. We chose great artists and friends of ours to do us the honours. Robbie Akbal, Unders, Los Suruba Nhii, and Inamo all delivered magic.
This EP is special for us for many reasons and tugs on our heartstrings. The original “Then After” EP featured the late, great, incredibly talented vocalist, Alex Who? We are forever grateful to have captured such powerful creative moments that will live on with our music.
What gear was used, do you care about that sort of stuff?
We’re not so focused on gear, but more so on the actual sound choices we use.
What else have you got coming up?
We’ve been writing tons of original music and remixes as of late. We also have an LP in the works with our frequent collab partner Ariaano (16BL/Cubicolor) that we’re super excited about. In the near future release wise, we did two different version remixes for Noraj Cue coming out on Happy Camper Records, and an EP with Ariaano coming out on the Audiofly’s Supernature Records. We’ve finished up some additional collaborations with Nhii, and just did a super cool collaboration with our friends El Mundo & Zazou that we will likely release on their label, Quetame Records.
Wild Dark “Then After Remixes” feat. Inámo, Los Suruba, Alex Who?, Nhii, Robbie Akbal, Unders is out now on trueColors
Grab it here
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