Quickie With A DJ: Walden

Tell me about your new single
Walden: A vocal track called "Thursday," coming out on Big Beat, so hopefully by the end of the month we can get that out. Its a bit commercial, but I am really excited about it.

Inspiration for track?
Walden: What happened was, we had recorded the vocals written first for "Ciaco," and while the vocals were really good, so was "Ciaco." I did not want to put out a vocal version of Ciaco, I’d rather use the vocal for something else. So doing that I decided to build a new song around the vocal and that is how "Thursday" was born.

What Are Your Summer plans?
Walden: A bit of everything I think, inside of this year it has been sort of a month off month on kind of think. I come here for a month, or few weeks, and then head back to Australia for studio time. I work on new material and just chill, recuperate, and hopefully get some new material. Then I head back here again.

Favorite place in the states?
Walden: I am a big fan of New York, I like playing at Pacha. Miami was pretty cool too, I really enjoyed that. Also, Canada has been one of the best so far. Toronto and Montreal are sick. They have some great clubs in those cities. In Toronto I played Union which is awesome with really nice people. The site of the club has LED walls and its quite new I think.

Ever been denied from clubs?
Walden: Well yeah. I am 19 and in Miami I got turned down from a club and I showed the guard my ID and they knew who I was but we had to wait to get confirmation from the club manager because I was playing that night.In San Francisco I got turned away a few times. But I understand because the clubs need to be strict about that sort of thing.

Who did you see perform at your first show?
Walden: The first proper show I saw was Swedish House Mafia at fussion Music Festival because I had only just turned 18 when the festival was happening. I went right away and it was a crazy time for my first experience.

Favorite album at the moment.
Walden: Well, at the moment, Daft Punk, because it is cool because they’ve used real instruments which is something they haven’t done much of before, but you can still tell its them. It still has that signature Daft Punk feel. The album feels very diverse very funky very different a bit of a fresh thing for the music industry.

Your inspiration to start producing?
Walden: Nothing in particular, just electronic music in general. When I went to the powerhouse museum and I got my first program and then that was my introduction to electronic music and producing. And from there I went from happy hardcore to hard trance to experimental to techno and then to house. That is sort of how I transitioned.

Any other genres besides house you want to produce.
Walden: I like drum and bass and I have tried making some of that but I wouldn’t mind making some chill out electronic stuff. I love house music because it is just so diverse in the kinds of moods, feels, and sub-genres within house. You can do a lot so I feel like I will be producing house for quite a while.

What is it like playing back home?
Walden: I love playing in Sydney where all my school friends would come out which is really cool that they come out and support. Australia is alright, the scene in Sydney is probably the best. I like Brisbane as well.

Who do you want to collab with?
Walden: Axwell, I have been familiar with his productions for a long time. I would love to produce with someone like Fedde La Grande, who uses really funky rhythmic sounds, he was actually one of the artists that first got me interested in house when I first heard ‘Put Your Hands Up For Detroit.' When that came out I had never heard anything quite like it before so collaborating with him would be really cool.

Staying in australia as your base or looking to relocate?
Walden: I don’t know yet, I still love Australia. I wouldn’t mind moving to New York actually.

Check out Walden's EP "Machine Land" on Beatport, and stay tuned for his newest track "Thursday" to be released later this month.