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Interview by Carol Wright | Photos Courtesy of LPR Agency

We got to chat with house-pop DJ WIESE about his song “Hear Me” and how music got him through the lockdown.

When did you discover your passion for DJing and creating music?

I have always been interested in music and I have been playing instruments and making music since I was a little kid. I guess I was always the annoying guy who wanted to take control of the music at parties and gatherings and the joy of seeing the positive response has always been greater than the fear of the opposite. In the beginning, I threw myself into deep water and did smaller gigs, perhaps without quite knowing what I was doing, and gradually this has given me experience and confidence to do bigger shows. I cannot remember any exact moment when I decided to pursue a musical career, but I have always tried to set achievable goals and worked hard to reach them. And as time has passed, I guess it has just happened to develop into some kind of a career.

During the height of the pandemic and shutdowns did you find yourself turning to music to get through it?

Living by myself during the lockdown, music has definitely kept me company. Both as a listener finding joy in exploring new artists but also because I have had the time and energy to write and record new songs myself. My latest single “Hear Me” is a good example of a song that was written during the pandemic and both the lyrics and the sound reflect our urge to take back our lives again. It is telling a story about what lockdown has done to us as human beings, our ability to be close to each other, and our need to explore things the way we used to.

Tell our readers about your song “Hear Me.” What was the collaborative process like between you and Erin Jarvis?

As mentioned, the lyrics touch on the freedom after post-lockdown confinement and the excitement at the prospect of travel and adventure coming back into full swing. The arrangement and sound are also tailored to reflect this. The start of the song is relatively chill and waiting, symbolizing the time of the lockdown. The vibe of the build-up symbolizes the time with expectations just before society reopens, while the drop itself explodes in colors and life – which symbolizes the opening and time thereafter. After a year in lockdown and finally starting to see things opening up again, the vibe I felt was uplifting, energetic, and happy.

Erin Jarvis was brought on to the song through my co-producer Conner Edmunds aka Callen. They are both located in Nashville, so we’ve had some great video-sessions to record Erin’s vocals. Her voice was exactly what I was looking for; tender yet powerful. Like Conner, she’s a true professional and I will definitely work with both of them again. 

How creatively involved were you in the music video for “Hear Me?”

As with everything else, I was largely involved in the music video as well. This involves everything from who will perform the job, the creative process at the idea stage, as well as input and feedback from the first draft to the finished version. It is of course time-consuming, at the same time I get it the way I want and in line with my artistic direction. It is however very instructive and inspiring, and even though I always have the last word, it does not mean that we always end up with my ideas and input. I am very humble and will always take into consideration the opinion of other professionals.

When you’re working on songs do you often think about visuals that can accompany a song?

When I write and make music, this is what I focus on there and then. The visual expression is usually designed after the music is in place, which applies to both cover art, music video, and promotional material afterward. Of course, there is some overlap in between, where the music is almost finished and you start thinking about the visuals, but I do not want to say that the visuals have any particular impact on the music itself.

What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?

I am not sure if I have any good answers to this one, but generally, regardless of what you are doing in life or trying to accomplish, you must believe in yourself, be persistent and not let anyone tell you are not good enough. Instead, try to use any resistance as motivation and fuel to prove to the critics that they are wrong.