Since its inception W.T. Records has been turning heads with EP’s from a spread of established artists and fresh faced débutantes. Recently Igloo Magazine caught up with W.T. Burns to gain some insight into this Brooklyn based artist and his burgeoning label.
William Thomas Burns, aka DJ Speculator aka Grackle, has been involved in electronic music for several years. With releases on Strange Life Records, L.I.E.S. and Echovolt, as well as collaboration projects such as Smackulator and Galaxy Toobin, Burns has established himself with the electronic faithful. In 2009 Burns decided a label was the way to go; W.T. Records was born. Since its inception W.T. Records has been turning heads with EP’s from a spread of established artists and fresh faced débutantes. Recently Igloo Magazine caught up with W.T. Burns to gain some insight into this Brooklyn based artist and his burgeoning label.
Robbie Geoghegan / Igloo :: Can you tell us when and how you got interested in electronic music?
William Thomas Burns :: Well… like a good American I watched a lot of MTV and listened to the radio as a kid growing up in the 80’s. and I heard it there. Break-dancing was a big then too. I didn’t get into the weirder stuff until I was like 15 or 16 and I heard Kraftwerk “Radioactivity” by accident and then it got deeper with Throbbing Gristle and Chris and Cosey and stuff like that. But I was more an indie rocker and weirdo music collector… like Stereolab, Magnetic Fields, and Palace Brothers. I wasn’t going to raves or anything. I didn’t listen to proper dance music till I moved to NYC in 1999, then it just sort of happened. I was always a record collector and had synths around, but in NYC the disco and house records just find you.
Igloo :: I remember when the Smackulator 12” came out. How did you end up collaborating with Danny Wolfers (Legowelt)?
WTB :: I used to help this record distributor in Brooklyn and they wanted to book the Bunker team. I ended up driving them around the U.S. and booking a lot of the shows. We did it a few times and then I just went over there a few times too. Then I became friends with all those guys. It just sort of happened one day, Danny and I were listening to a lot of Dance Mania and he had a DR660 and yeah, we just thought of stupid lyrics. The whole process of making the music was like two days and then Guy Tavarressaid he wanted to release it without even hearing it. Maybe he should have listened first.
Igloo :: What have you been up to of late? Any releases on the horizon? How was touring Europe?
WTB :: Well, I just got back from touring Europe. It was pretty great. Lots of nice people and nice places. It feels good to be able to travel and get a little money just to play records for people. I mean, these people let you into their home and do everything they can to make you comfortable. If anyone ever has the chance to do it, I’d recommend it. It is really a great way to travel and meet people and discover new things.
Umm.. lately.. the Willie Burns record I made for LIES came out.. and I guess that is doing OK despite how weird it is. Since I got back I just go to the studio every night. Lately I have just been making commercial 90’s style house. I might already have a label for it.. but I don’t want to jinx it.. but that is going good. Also I think I found a home for a lot of of my older tracks and weirdo synth stuff I have been making. The label is called Emotional Response and it is based in London, so hopefully that stuff sees the light of day.
Other than that just trying to find a way to pay for the two new WT releases that are coming out (working at the pool and the record store) and looking for new stuff.
Igloo :: When, and why, did you decide to start up W.T. Records?
WTB :: Well it kind of was always in the back of my head, but I think mostly cos $tinkworx has this great track, “MKB,” and it wasn’t being released anywhere. And I thought it should be released. And that’s it.
Igloo :: What would you say are the core influences of W.T. Records?
WTB :: Richard Branson. Haha, want to start an empire. I don’t know. In a way I wanted to release functional DJ records, but then I have kind of strayed from that with the Model Man record and the upcoming one from Momentform. So now I just want to release music that I think people should hear. It’s cool if it can be for the DJ, but that isn’t the most important thing. I am open to release any kind of music as long as I like it. I think the main thing is to be open minded.
Igloo :: W.T. has already unearthed some new talent. Is giving unheard artists a platform to release from part of W.T.’s aim? How did you come across such artists?
It feels good to be able to travel and get a little money just to play records for people. I mean, these people let you into their home and do everything they can to make you comfortable. If anyone ever has the chance to do it, I’d recommend it. It is really a great way to travel and meet people and discover new things.
WTB :: Well, $tinkworx I met a long time ago on the Globaldarkness forum and Kinoeye is a friend of his from North Carolina, so that happened. Hunee I met when I was playing at Rio in Berlin and just became friends with him. Entro Senstre I met on Myspace and got a demo CD from him. Overdose (Model Man) I met from booking a tour for them and he also lived on my couch for three months. Pagan Future (Sir Stephen) I met on a tour in New Orleans, but don’t really remember that and he sent some demos that he wanted me to give to Strangelife and Strangelife didn’t like them, so I intercepted them. Alex Israel sent me some demos and I told him some mean things about them probably and then I went back six months later and realized they were great tracks. So yeah, the two newest artists are both from Paris. They are just friends of friends. I always just ask people to give me tracks when they tell me they make music. I always get a feeling when I think someone would be good at it. It’s weird. I don’t really go out looking for unheard of people. There isn’t really a plan or system I just see what happens.
Igloo :: Brooklyn seems to be a good spot for music at the minute, like the minimal synth resurgence by labels like Minimal Wave and Wierd. Is there the same excitement in NY around electronics, electro, house and the sounds of W.T.?
WTB :: Hmm.. well. 10 years ago you couldn’t play house or techno at parties and get people to dance (well the ones that I went to). The disco thing was around for a while. but now the young kinds will get down to some techno or acid or whatever. It doesn’t have to be the latest disco edits anymore. That being said, I don’t know if it is as exciting as it looks on Facebook. But yeah, there does seem to be a lot going on. And the thing I always like about NYC (or the U.S. in general) vs. Europe is that you can play all types of stuff at a party, it doesn’t have to be one genre. So a lot of the people that go to the Wierd party will also be at a party with techno or acid. So yeah, there is a lot of crossover and everyone seems to know each other and be friendly enough.
Igloo :: What advice would you give to the wide eyed novice flirting with starting up their own label?
WTB :: I don’t know. Be prepared to lose money and most importantly, make sure you can have a finished product you are happy with and proud of.
Igloo :: What does the future hold for W.T. Records?
WTB :: I am gonna keep releasing music until I don’t find anymore or get bored, or bankrupt.
For more information about WT Records, visit wtrecords.net.
