Get to know: Wehbba
We chat to the Brazilian selector before touching down in Kings Cross on 31st March...
Arguably one of Brazil's most emblematic electronic producers, Wehbba returns to Egg LDN on Saturday, 31st March alongside Thomas Schumacher, Cosmic Boys and more. No stranger to taking the reigns of the Middle Floor, Wehbba remains a solid fixture on the clubs booking agenda.
Since developing a distinct sound packed with rolling grooves, high octane rhythms and an array of warbling percussion, Wehbba’s profile has undoubtedly grown over the last few years. The likes of Laurent Garnier, John Digweed and Danny Tenaglia are included in his discography of remixes and collaborators, as well as garnering support from legendary techno collective, Underground Resistance.
With a heavy touring schedule spanning long-running institutions from Laroc, Brazil to Spybar, Chicago, we caught up with the Brazilian selector to delve into his latest ‘Eclipse’ EP and more, before touching down in Kings Cross…
Where in the world are you right now and what are you up to at the moment?
I am in Barcelona, taking this interview while sipping a cup of Absinia Mocca from a local speciality coffee roaster.
Your latest EP ‘Eclipse’ was just released on Drumcode, what’s the theme behind the production?
Eclipse was the result of a long selective process that took place over the course of 2017, all tracks were made separately and then thoroughly road-tested, by both me and Adam Beyer, until we agreed on a package that felt just right and that would properly represent my first venture with the label.
I actually came up with the musical parts of Eclipse while having a walk around Hollywood in February 2017, around the time there was a solar eclipse, I rushed back to the apartment to sketch every part and every sound, but it was much later in the year that I’ve decided I was ready to make a track out of those parts. Glasswerk and Framework were even done in 2016! Then Protocol was completely conceived in my home studio in Barcelona.
You’re based in Barcelona at the moment, where are the best spots for crate digging and making the most of the electronic music scene over there?
I don’t go record shopping as much as I’d like to, as I buy a lot online, but when I do, I go to Discos Paradiso, a great place for all sorts of electronic music but also Jazz, Soul, etc.. And sometimes I visit a record shop right around the corner from my place that has everything, with a very suggestive name: 10000 Discos… I go there just to get some fresh inspiration most of the time.
Is there a certain track that you associate with your early days of living in São Paulo, Brazil and if so, why?
Wow, that’s a tough one. There’s a list of them, but for the sake of exemplifying let’s go with a classic bossa nova tune from the master Joao Gilberto called “Sampa” – quite possibly the city’s most traditional anthem, which describes all its flaws and all its glory in a very poetic way.
Finally, leave us with your ideal desert island items - only three - should you suddenly find yourself in such a precarious situation?
1) A portable coffee maker – coffee is my life’s fuel. Am I allowed a stash of beans too?
2) My hummingbird acoustic guitar - to strum some Bob Marley….it is an island after all isn’t it?
3) A boat, you know…in case I wanna sail back to civilization.