FMB MIXTAPE 265 |VAN WILKINS (320 DOWNLOAD)
FMB MIXTAPE 265 | VAN WILKINS (iTUNES)
On this weeks Feel My Bicep mixtape, we welcome Van Wilkins. Van Wilkins is a 24-year-old DJ and producer from the South of England, known for weaving together Breakbeat, House, Dub, Electro, Techno, and everything in between. Tapping into the resurgence of UK Garage and Breaks, Van’s built a steady following with his instinctive selections and rhythm-led style. He’s played sets at Drumsheds, Keep Hush, and toured with Interplanetary Criminal, with a BBC Dancefloor Moment shout adding to the momentum. Outside the booth, he’s explored more experimental ground too — including an interactive music installation that handed creative control over to the audience.
Let’s catch up…
I’ve been getting premasters in for releases this summer, which means spending far too long on snare drums that are chipping away at my sanity — even though i keep reminding myself that no one can hear the difference between the couple decibel adjustments.
I also recently joined Demand Artists booking agency, which I’m super excited about. I’ve also been working on a score for a climbing documentary that should be released soon — had a tonne of fun deconstructing my music into pretty drones. Logic has a brilliant function where I can drag video into my project, so I can produce live on the spot whilst watching the video.
This mix was recorded from my studio at home on my trusty Pioneer XDJ RX3’s with a green tea in hand. It’s made up entirely of unreleased original productions by me. I’ve always found myself switching between making club-focused tracks and more emotive, melodic stuff, and this mix brings both sides together in one place.
A lot of it came together while I was sat in various cafés in Bali on rainy afternoons — Headphones in, trying my best not to stare as soaked customers came in, ringing out their ponchos and drip-drying before finding a seat. That atmosphere definitely fed into the mood of some of the tracks in the first half.
Up Next…
I’ve got a release coming in August with Nervous Records, which I’m really looking forward to. There’s also a track landing soon with Outhouse Sounds on the 2nd of August— my first proper go at a techno release. And as mentioned, I’ve been working on the score for a climbing documentary, which pairs my music with some really beautiful scenery. Sat on tonnes of unreleased music so hopefully lots more releases soon!
Thank you for inviting me. Big supporter of the show, so it has been an honour guesting for it.
Tracklist:
- By me – Van Wilkins
- Project Change – Van Wilkins
- Rock Garden – Van Wilkins
- Focus – Van Wilkins
- Your face – Van Wilkins
- Blushing – Van Wilkins
- Stay Here – Van Wilkins
- Keeping you close – Van Wilkins
- Modular Tool – Van Wilkins
- Tokächi – Van Wilkins & Mattik
- You – Van Wilkins & Oldboy
- Untitled – Van Wilkins
- Surface siren – Van Wilkins
- Breath – Van Wilkins (Nervous Records)
- Compute – Van Wilkins
- Fix – Van Wilkins & ???
- Percussive mannerisms – Van Wilkins
- Front Left – Van Wilkins
- Shinaño – Van Wilkins & Mattik
