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DJ Will Wee’s roots are in the West-African Togo, but he was born in the French Calais. During ADE 2016 we met in the JD Williams Whiskey Bar in Amsterdam. I was immediately attracted by his techhouse energy. Not long after, William Ayivi a.k.a. Will Wee told me about his first gig. ”I prepared the set down to the smallest detail.”
“My first major booking was in Lille, in the north of France. I was 27 and went by the name DJ Will. I was thrilled and so excited to be able to play alongside Amine Edge & Dance from the Cuff-label. At the same time, I was very apprehensive to know if the audience would appreciate my set. There were two thousand people in front of me!”
Leeway
“I had prepared the set down to the smallest detail. I started a week before the gig with that. Of course, I had left some elbow room for myself, so I could add other tracks if I wanted to. Every night is different, so that leeway is important to me. Fortunately, I was well supported, from close friends to people who had been following my career for a long time. They all came to see and hear me play.”
Copy
“I taught myself how to mix. I listened a lot to sets of others and watched them playing. In those days, Dave Clarke was my favorite, so it’s fair to say that he was my mentor. I’m a huge fan of his technical skills. Therefore, I tried to exactly copy his mixing style, as well as his way to introduce a new track in a set: the scratch, the cut, the effects, de transitions, etcetera.”
Interaction
“That first time I predominantly wanted to impress myself. Not some girl, I was single at that point. I wanted to reach new heights in the electronic music world. I lived and still live for the music. Quite some time has gone by since that first gig, but I still remember that the public appreciated my music style, that mostly is directed towards house and techhouse. The interaction with the crowd was amazing!”
“The most important thing I learned from this debut, is that I need to have faith in myself. That’s what I would like to tell young DJS: there’s nothing wrong with dreaming, as long as you really believe in them yourself! If you believe, everything is possible. It’s important to handle all your projects with great conviction, hard work and lots of love. Then, nothing is out of your reach. Many DJs started out with nothing and still reached the top.”
This interview is originally published in November 2016 on DJMag.nl.