Exclusive Interview: Willy Joy

A new name is hitting the game…

Touring with some of the filthiest names in the biz, Willy Joy has come out with BANGERS. If you’ve listened to his music, you know there’s nothing bleak, no WEAK SHIT! But of course, you can’t be weak if you’re getting your twonk on for the Twonk Di Nation tour – check out the exclusive interview with Willy in NYC.

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: You're starting to blow up all over! Now, what's it like touring all over for the TWONK DI NATION‬ tour?

This tour has an awesome group of people. A bus tour can either be the best or the worst thing in the world because you're in a really small space with a lot of folks in close proximity. If there are any tensions they tend to get aggravated very quickly. Luckily I love all these guys and we're like a little family. The shows have been great, Webster Hall in NYC has been the highlight so far, slammed from start to finish!

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: What's the craziest thing you've seen on tour so far?

I can't tell you. Really, I've been sworn to secrecy. :)

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: "WEAK SHIT, WEAK SHIT, WEAK SHIT," I'm loving how filthy this track is. It goes so hard. How long did it take you produce this track?

"Weak Shit" came together pretty quickly! Once I started figuring out I could warp the sample to the rhythm I wanted everything else fell into place. The lead is a simple melody but the sound itself took a while to make - it was a soft synth that I bounced to audio and processed pretty heavily from there. I had a blast making this, I love the bounce it has.

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: What was going through your mind as you were creating it?

I was just trying to make a big tune for the festivals that didn't feel like all the other tunes I was hearing. I guess it was a reaction to all the boring stuff that's getting a lot of play out there. No more weak shit allowed!

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: Everyone has their story to why they wanted to become a producer. What was yours?

I was a DJ for a long time before I was a producer, but I've always made music one way or another. I played trumpet as a kid and sang in a metal band in high school. Once I was DJing full time, it just made sense to start producing too. When you're in front of a big crowd you want to be able to make the performance as personal and interesting as possible, and the best way to do that is by giving them something unique that you actually made.

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: If you could headline your own tour, who would you have on there? To make this interesting, I'm going to say you can't pick anyone from the Twonk Di Nation tour either!!

Love this question. I'd probably reach out to some people outside of my usual circle to try to put together something no one's ever seen before. I like to hear lots of different kinds of music over the course of a night. From innovative homies like Boombox Cartel, to someone playing different sounds like Uproot Andy, maybe a stand up comedian... why not?! I get bored easily if you can't tell, haha.

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: What would you say your spirit animal is?

Do we really need to wonder? I'm bout dem BIRDS!

AUTHOR CREDIT: KIMBERLY PHAN