Get to Know the Funky Vibes of WAVES

We caught up with rising duo WAVES to talk about their debut release on Ultra Records and what their goals are for the future.

Fresh out of Canada with groovy tracks dripping in beach vibes, electronic duo WAVES is quickly making a name for themselves in the scene. Since first meeting as teenagers and producing on their own, the two eventually joined forces and dedicated their lives to making music. Since becoming a regular act at Muskoka’s KEE to Bala, WAVES found themselves working with Northside Management and gaining attention from other artists as well.

This past month, WAVES made their debut on Ultra Records with “Mr. Wilson” featuring vocals Benton an uplifting beach jam sure to get your feet moving. Gathering inspiration from summers on the lake, the feeling of nostalgia, and their hero Owen Wilson, these two came at us full force with this tune that’s accompanied by a funky music video to further make you say “Wow.”

In the midst of their busy schedule, we were lucky enough to chat with them about what is going on with them. You can listen to their brand new single “Mr. Wilson” on Spotify or your favorite streaming platform. Be sure to keep reading to get into the mind of WAVES and listen to their exclusive guest mix!

Stream EDMID Guest Mix 295 || WAVES on SoundCloud:

Hi Waves, thank you so much for joining us today! Before we dive into your recent single, let’s turn back the clock a bit. Who were some of your earliest musical influences in the electronic music scene, and how did you two figure out you shared a passion for it?

Hey, thanks for having us it is a pleasure to be doing this! Some of our earliest musical influences that really sparked our interest in dance music are Avicii, Tiesto, and Calvin Harris. We used to both be solo artists/DJ’s and we got booked for the same show and really hit it off. Since then, we stayed in touch and shortly after decided to join forces to become a duo.

While many artists have attended college during the earliest years of their careers, you chose to move straight into DJing instead. What led to this decision? Do you feel that it has made the early stages of your journey easier than if you were juggling your time?

Yes, choosing music over school has 100% helped us along our journey. We both really wanted to make this into a career ever since we started. I (Frankie) was at university when I decided to drop out to pursue music with Spencer full-time. It wasn’t easy to explain to our friends and family at the time, but from that point on we both took a leap of faith and were able to focus on music as much as possible and we’ve never looked back since.

Last month saw you gift the world with a taste of your tropical sound in the form of “Mr. Wilson” with Benton. What was the process like creating this track and how did you two come together with Benton to make this magic happen?

We met Benton through Instagram and he’s a young passionate musician, just like ourselves so we hit it off instantly. Funny enough we wrote this song with him a couple of years ago and after kicking it on a few FaceTime sessions we thought it would be hilarious, but also kind of cool to write a funky house song about the legend, Owen Wilson.

While you both said you were inspired by Owen Wilson when creating this track on Twitter, it was made even more clear with the music video. When did you first fall in love with this actor and which movie of his is your favorite?

We are both big fans of Owen Wilson ever since we watched Wedding Crashers back in the day. He’s been in so many legendary movies and we felt like he was one of those actors who wasn’t spoken about enough. His epic “WOW” makes for a great drop line as well. If we had to pick our favorite movies of his would-be Wedding Crashers and Hall Pass.

This single also marks a major milestone in your career, signing with Ultra Music. What does it feel like to have taken this next step, and how do you feel it will impact your future growth as artists?

Ever since we started this project, we have been looking for a home for our music. We have always been strong on the show and live performance side, but we have held back from releasing too much music before we found the right label for us. Now being signed to a label like Ultra Music with so much experience and expertise, really fills that hole we have been missing for years and makes us much more confident to take that next step as artists.

On New Year’s Eve Weekend you’ll be taking the stage at the debut edition of Countdown Campout in Florida. While it’s still a few months out, do you have any surprises in store for those who are catching your set?

Oh yes, we are super stoked about this show on New Year’s Eve and even though it’s still a few months out, we can promise we will be playing some new music and live mashups we have been working on. The lineup has some legendary artists on it, so we are pumped to be a part of it.

What words of advice do you have for other artists who are currently rising through the ranks of the scene?

The best advice we can give is to NEVER give up if you truly want it. As cliché as it sounds, it is the main reason we are still going after it today, because we never gave up. There are many ups and downs as an up-and-coming artist and there have been lots of times where we could’ve given up and stopped fighting for it, but we can truly say we have never once even considered that option. Like we said before, we have wanted to make this into a long-term career since we started, and we won’t stop until we get there.

Finally, with 2021 coming to a close, what goals do you both hope to achieve in the new year?

Since 2021 has been a bit of a weird year with the pandemic still lingering amongst us, we hope to have a full year of touring and releasing music in 2022. COVID-19 has delayed some stuff for us, but with that hopefully being behind us now, we want to grow as much as possible and show the world who WAVES really is.