We interviewed Wax Motif before his set at Lollapalooza, and we talked about his Divided Souls record label, House of Wax Radio, and playing at EDC.
Wax Motif is an iconic name in the modern house music scene. Making regular appearances at major festivals and collaborating with artists like Malaa, Diplo, and Diddy, Wax Motif is in a lane of his own when it comes to electronic music.
He has experimented with many house music influenced styles over his career, which now spans over a decade long. In 2022, he released his debut album, House of Wax. Wax Motif also hosts a bi-weekly radio show of the same name, and his record label Divided Souls releases cutting edge music by artists from around the world.
2023 has been another successful year for Wax Motif, with highlights including a mainstage slot at EDC Las Vegas and his debut at Bonnaroo. He returned to Lollapalooza for the first time since 2017 for another set at Perry’s, the famous EDM stage at the downtown Chicago festival. We talked to Wax Motif just before his 3:30 PM set time about his label, festival season, new music, and more.
Watch our full interview with Wax Motif at Lollapalooza below!
So, we’re here at Lollapalooza today before your set at Perry’s. Lolla is one of my favorite festivals (I saw you feel the same way) – what are you most looking forward to today?
The crowd! The energy is a lot higher here. Especially because it’s all ages. It’s also cool to be around other sorts of music rather than just dance music all the time.
You last played at Lollapalooza in 2017. How do you think your sound has changed since then? How have your DJ sets evolved over the last 5-6 years?
I think my sound now is a little more mature. I was pretty young back then, and as I’ve grown over the years, so has my style. I also think I was in a different point of my career where I was more focused on crowd reactions and response. Now, having a more established catalog and more songs I can play, I feel like I can take a few more risks since I’m in a better place in my career.
You just played Beach House and also made appearances at Bonnaroo and Nocturnal Wonderland earlier this summer. What are some of your favorite memories from this festival season so far?
They’ve all been pretty good! Bonnaroo was pretty cool, just because that’s another non dance-centered festival. Nocturnal at the main stage was awesome. EDC Las Vegas this year at the main stage was a big highlight as well.
Last year, I saw your closing set at EDC Orlando at Stereo Bloom. That was like my favorite set of the weekend…that was lit.
I think that was one of my favorites as well. We kinda went for the smaller stage – it was a bit scary competing against some of the people that were closing, but we packed it out!
Let’s talk about your newest single, “Otherside” with Malaa. I saw you played b2b with them at EDC Las Vegas this year as well. How did you guys start working together, and what are some of your favorite elements of that track?
The Malaa thing has been such a long time coming. Him and I have pretty similar sounds and a similar fanbase. We both kinda came up at the same time. This has been one of those things that probably should have happened years earlier!
It came together really easily. We had always talked about doing collabs, but we never really sent each other concrete ideas. We decided to do the b2b, and that’s when we decided to step up our collab efforts and make a legit attempt at it. We sent some ideas back and forth, and that’s where we landed. I’m happy with the track, and I’m glad we got to debut it during that set and give people something exclusive.
And that was at Kinetic Field? How do you like playing that stage? It’s huge.
It’s amazing. I do think big stages have a disadvantage, cause it’s pretty disconnected. It’s hard to tell what’s really going off. But when you’re staring at like 50,000 people, it’s pretty insane. It felt like a dream. It went so quick, and even when I think back on the moments, I kinda don’t feel like I was in that body when I’m watching the content from a third person view.
Another one of your recent singles is “Lo Que Soy” featuring Kura. That one came out on Insomniac Records. What has it been like working with Insomniac and having their support?
It’s been good! They’re obviously a huge player in the booking space. But they also help me run the backend of my label, and I do my radio show with them. It helps when it’s all one team doing all of that, and we can build goals around music and shows at the same time. It feels very cohesive, and they’re very supportive.
Tell us a little bit more about your Divided Souls Records collective. What are some elements you look for in new music, and what’s some advice you have for upcoming producers looking to get signed?
I get asked this question all the time. I think the normal response is to give something that you thinks fits in the catalog. For me, it’s a little different. I really want to support and play everything we release. It doesn’t have to be a particular style, but I have to gravitate towards it to where I want to play it in my sets. I want to demo it and test it out, give them feedback and just feel excited about the stuff we’re putting out. I think you can lost in that a little bit when you’re just trying to keep up with a schedule. But now, we’re like 50 releases deep, and I just want to slow it down a little and focus on the things I love.
So in terms of what people should send me, it’s a pretty difficult question. I would say send me as much as you can, because the one that you don’t think I’ll like is the one I’m probably gonna like. I’m a little weird like that. It’s just gotta be something weird that captures me, and maybe I‘ll gravitate towards it. So take a risk and send me the risky shit.
I saw your most recent release was from Basura Boyz, right? They’re from Chicago.
They’ve been making some really good tunes lately! That one came through my team.
Last year you released your debut album, House of Wax. Looking back at the process of creating and releasing your first album, what’s something that you’re particularly proud of?
Probably the songs that aren’t so popular on there. People expect a certain sound from me, which I hope I delivered on some of the songs. But with an album, you also want to take some risks and do some things for yourself. I think songs like “Waiting” and “Live For The Night”, which aren’t as club-focused, but have really good songwriting and musicality, are what I’m most proud of. Making music is weird because I feel like most people don’t make it for other people. If you’re a musician, you’re usually making the song at home by yourself and you’re deciding if you want to continue.
So I think a lot of making music for me is making it for myself. As long as I like it, that’s cool with me. I try not to worry about what other people like too much. My album is all songs that I really love personally. That’s what I wanted to show everyone – my own taste and my own skill.
You also post House of Wax Radio every two weeks. What do you enjoy most about releasing those mixes and what kind of music do you usually include in them?
It’s everything. It’ll be deep, weird cuts. There will also be a lot of new releases or stuff that’s about to come out that we get from friends. It’s really just my taste in music…whatever I like, it goes in. It could be disco house or it could be heavy techno. I think what we wanna do is represent a whole spectrum of dance music. Everyone is so genre-focused or singular minded. I feel like techno and deep house aren’t that far apart. For some people, it’s a huge barrier. I just try to include the best music regardless of genre.
You were born in Australia and now you’re based in LA. How do you think your heritage influences your music, and what do you like most about the American dance music scene?
I’m Chinese, so I think the #1 thing from my heritage is to work super hard and put in 100% effort, and it’ll pan out. My parents really taught me to have a good work ethic. I’m not really from a musical family, so all of that had to come from me. It comes down to hard work and just being a good person.
What I like about America is that everyone has so much energy here. From the young kids to the middle-aged people. People like to party and go out and they’re not afraid to show it. In Europe, everyone’s very conservative. Even if you play a big festival, you don’t always see crowds go that crazy. But out here, even at small stuff like a frat party, people go crazy.
I like that there’s a lot more cities than where I’m from, and a lot more people. Tastes can be wider. In Australia, when something’s big, everyone is into that. Here there’s a lot more people, and I feel like a lot more styles can be popular at once.
You’re also playing a show at Concord Music Hall tonight for an official Lollapalooza afterparty. You tour a lot for festivals and play plenty of late night shows as well. What are some ways you stay healthy and energetic when you’re always on the road?
I’ve really turned all that on in the last year because I was starting to struggle. Now, we go to the gym every time we land. Apart from that, I try to eat better. It’s hard not to eat shitty food on the road, but I make sure I have all of my vitamins and daily supplements. That and exercise are so important.
What do you have planned for the rest of this year? What are some shows or new music releases that you’re looking forward to?
We’re about to post a new song in a few weeks, which I’m super excited about. I haven’t really felt this excited about a single in a while, which feels weird to say, but this one just came together really well with the singer and the beat.
And for the rest of this year, we’re going to start a US tour. It’s about 25 dates, and it has some big shows like Shrine Ballroom in LA, Knockdown Center in NY, and Mission Ballroom in Denver. I’m hyper focused on making that experience really good right now and finalizing stage setups and visuals. And dialing in moments of the set which I feel will be cool, like the intro. It’s a lot of fine touring for the tour right now, because I just want this tour to rock.
Lastly, what excites you most for the future of dance music as a whole?
I think creativity’s been going up recently. I also think it’s much harder for young kids getting started nowadays. Because of that, they’re not just more creative musically, but also better on social media. It’s more of a complete package now. Before you could just be good in the studio, but now you have to do everything, and it makes them super strong. You’re starting to see how everyone is like their own unit now, whereas generations before them had ghost producers and huge teams. I think it makes whoever’s coming up really worth paying attention to.
Article: @michael__premier
Photo/video: @benleahyy
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