In the midst of celebrating its 10 year anniversary, the Dirtybird label has welcomed a new member to the family. Will Clarke made his debut with “Badness,” which was featured on the Dirtybird 10 compilation album, and now he is set to release his first EP The Boogie Woogie on March 31 on iTunes and on Beatport. Fusing the influences of his hometown Bristol, England and his previous residency in Ibiza, Will’s EP fuses bass and house for a fresh, groovy sound. Check out the album preview below as we turn the spotlight over to Will and how he got involved with Dirtybird, more on his EP and his path from a DJ to producer.
You are Dirtybird’s newest member and were scouted by Claude VonStroke himself. How did you get on his radar, and how did you become part of the Dirtybird crew?
I was actually talking to Barclay (Claude VonStroke) the other day about this. Originally I thought it was through my release “Big Booty/Drop It” on Worthy’s Anabatic. However he said he got an email from my management, checked a few of the tracks and was into “Badness’’.
You made your Dirtybird debut with “Badness,” which appears on Dirtybird 10, and now you’re releasing your first EP The Boogie Woogie with them too. Could you tell us about the two tracks, “The Boogie Woogie” and “The Goog”?
It all seems a bit crazy really because if I’m really honest, each of the tracks took me around an hour to start and finish. I sent them through to my manager and we just thought we would send through to Barclay with a bunch of other tracks. When I got the email saying Barclay is digging Boogie Woogie/Goog I was like… REALLY. I learnt from that day onwards that simplicity is the key.
What’s it been like to be apart of the Dirtybird family and be among artists that have had an influence on you?
It’s pretty crazy. I don’t want to sound like a freak but honestly this is something I have been working towards for over 5 years. They are a great team to work with and I feel honoured to be part of the crew. Roll on the future, I’m looking forward to meeting them all as well, as I only met Barclay over Skype and a few of the other label guys and girls over email.
How did your interest in music come about, and what led you to pursue a career as a producer?
I love these types of questions and I always want to think up of some über cool story, but there really isn’t. I’ve always been bought up around music with my mum being an amazing singer and my dad having a great taste in music, mainly punk rock. However, he is pretty unmusical; you should watch him dance [laughs]. However, my brother got me into house music with his classy CD Dance Mania 95 when I was about 5 or 6. In fact, I still have that laying about somewhere. From then on I started to DJ with my first set at the age of 13 in a local Bristol club. I went to Ibiza when I was 16 to play, and then it all moved on from there. I started playing around with production at 16 but I decided to take it seriously at 18. Now I’m 24 things are taking shape nicely.
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Your roots are in Bristol, and you previously earned yourself a residency in Ibiza’s Kanya. How did those two scenes influence your sound as a producer?
Bristol is for sure the bass capital of the UK for me with lots of producers writing alternative bass music, so I’m pretty sure that I’ve taken a firm amount of influence from there. With Ibiza it’s quite interesting because I learnt where I want to go with music and where I don’t want to go. I learnt that it’s about entertaining whilst having fun and truly believing in what I do as an artist. When you play a track in Ibiza, if it goes down well, then you know you’re onto a winner. If it doesn’t, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
In addition to playing in Ibiza as a teen, more recently, you’ve gone on to tour in Australia and play gigs in the UK. From a DJ’s perspective, how has the house scene — with regards to both sound and crowd interest and reception — evolved throughout the years, and from country to country?
Personally I feel that the house scene is pretty amazing right now. In the UK there is good house music being played on daytime radio, and every club is filled with young clubbers asking for good house music. Australia is a cool place on the other side of the world. There are some unreal promoters that have sweet parties in the most random of towns and cities and I loved it. However, I would like to say the award to best dancers goes to America, you yanks have some serious moves.
What are some new projects you’ve have planned for the rest of the year?
I’ve got a few projects under go, I’ve got a couple of remixes coming out soon. One will be a free giveaway so keep your eyes out for that. Also working on a new EP for Dirtybird which is nearly complete. I’m not to sure what I can and can’t say so I’ll stop there before I let the cat out the bag. However, thanks for having me — it’s been fun.
