hen I first interviewed Ethan Snoreck, also known as Whethan, I was working at a prominent music blog that focused on big name artists and there was barely any room for interviews for bedroom producers, let alone 16-year-old kids. I interviewed him anyway because I saw his future and the funny thing is it came true.
After we conducted an interview over email and Facebook messages, it had already started. This wasn't his first interview but this was his first interaction with mainstream EDM news. In the next week, Snoreck was in the studio with Ellie Goulding, then Skrillex and I could continue to name-drop. My most heartwarming experience came when I was covering Summer Set 2015 and while attending the Zeds Dead set, the Canadian duo dropped Whethan's initial banger, and it was the same song that made me want to interview Snoreck in the first place. At this stage of his career, I had to tell him that his song was dropped but by now he would probably be backstage at the festival. Snoreck has risen to a monumental status.
It's a bit odd for me because I scroll through his instagram and see friends of mine who are infatuated with his music and style. I see utterly romantic photos with star figures within the scene and it is a true marvel. It is progress. It is manifestation, it is dreams becoming reality. At one point in our short friendship (it was hard to keep in touch as he became famous) he told me of a little scuffle he had with his parents. His parents were upset because he had spent all night in the studio with Louis the Child and he wasn't focusing on school. He messaged me in distress and I simply told him that at a certain point his musical creation will be beyond his parent's opinion, beyond society's opinion, this was a true young artist experiencing his own potential. Check out Whethan's first interview with a big blog below, his answers will inspire you!
---------
Ethan Snoreck had no clue that ”messing around with iPad apps” would lead him to produce a track with over a million aggregate plays. The Chicagoan producer just turned 16 last May but his musical interest was first sparked when he began rapping with his friend Trevor in 6th and 7th grade. From there he began listening to electronic legends such as Daft Punk, Skrillex, and Deadmau5 who opened his eyes to an area of music which he would soon become well accustomed, electronic music. Snoreck further expanded his knowledge in the vast array of modern electronic genres and gravitated towards original pioneers that he saw were improving the genre such as Flume, Odesza, and Porter Robinson.
Snoreck then began to create music for himself and transformed into Wheathin as he remixed a Wheat Thin commercial to prove to his friends that he could make music. The first track posted to the Wheathin Soundcloud was a remix of Mssingno’s XE3 and quickly received hundreds of thousands of plays along with comparisons to talented artists such as Flume due to the future bass sound of the track. Recently the track was posted on a prominent page and surpassed a million plays.
What do you see for the future of electronic music? It’s hard to say what the next wave of electronic music will be but I see a lot more originality in what people do. Everyone will have something or some sound that they call their own.
If you could collaborate with any artists, who would it be? If I could collaborate with anyone, it would be Flume for sure. To me, he has been the most influential artist I have ever heard and he will continue to amaze me.
What message do you want your music to send? The message I want my music to propel is to feel happy, want to dance but still have chills.
Where is Wheathin headed and what does it mean? Wheathin has no direction except moving forward and the name Wheathin comes from my real name ”Ethan”. A few friends were messing around and just happen to say ”Wheathin” and the name stuck. Also I just like Wheat Thins."
What are you doing when you’re not making music? Outside of music I live day to day like everyone else. I go to school, hang with friends and play hockey but I am always thinking about music.
The original interview was conducted by myself on August 1, 2015 on Edm Chicago.
