Features
Q&A with Olivier Weiter
“I’m working with the Waves bundle a lot, which has some great plugins for EQ-ing, reverbs and delays.” Oliver Weiter reveals some of his favorite production gear, his passion for cooking, and some career advice for aspiring producers.
WHY DANCE MUSIC?
Dance music is for me a way to express myself, and for a lot of people its a way of life, and a way to forget their daily stressful life. It’s a lifestyle. Dance music is for me the answer for everything.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO MAKE MUSIC?
My biggest inspiration is my family, my best friends and during my gigs, I also get a lot of inspiration from the dance floor as well as other artists. Besides this, I’m getting a lot of inspiration from nature, the earth and the universe.
FESTIVALS OR NIGHTCLUBS?
I prefer both, I like dirty sweaty long nights in a club but also love to play at open air festivals in the sun. It really depends on my state of mind.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE OF THE STUDIO?
What I love to do most besides working in the studio is cooking. For me cooking food is a way to relax and some kind of meditation also. I love good food, and love to prepare dishes for my friends.
WHAT’S NEXT ON THE HORIZON?
This summer season a lot of new music is coming out, besides my releases I have a lot of nice shows coming up, the festival season has started so its time for some open air madness!
WHAT WAS THE BEST GIG YOU’VE EVER PLAYED?
The best gig I ever played was my first WEITER solo show in Paradiso (a venue in Amsterdam), the vibe was amazing, and it was special in all ways. To be honest, I try to make every gig where I play some kind of special.
WHAT’S THE WORST THING ABOUT MAKING MUSIC?
The worst thing about making music is the fact that you don’t see a lot of sunlight while being in the studio for days. Sometimes you just need some vitamin D!
DO YOU PREFER DIGITAL OR VINYL WHEN DJING?
I prefer both digital and vinyl, a good combination of USB sticks with vinyl! But vinyl is still number one for me.
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE PRODUCERS? WHY?
Eelke Kleijn, Mind Against, Hunter & Game, Maceo Plex and Tale of us. Because they all have their own signature sound. I love the dirty basslines from Maceo combined with this vocoder style, the melodies from Eelke and the deepness from Mind Against, Hunter & Game and Tale of Us. Besides that, I think Eelke Kleijn is one of the most talented producers around, not only dance music, but also for film & commercials.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE BLOGS OR SITES?
Resident advisor, Vice and Wunderground music. I also love to visit Musictech, a great website with reviews and tutorials about new plugins, software and hardware devices.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLUGINS?
Im working with the “Waves” bundle a lot, which has some great plugins for EQ-ing, reeverbs and delays. The Fabfilter series are also great. I’m using some great Rob Papen VST’s, I really like the Subboombass for my basslines and the Predator for my synth-sounds
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN A TRACK IS FINISHED?
It’s hard to say when a track is finished, but when I think it is, I play it a couple of times and watch the reaction of the crowd. When that’s okay for me, I decide whether its finished or not. Sometimes you just have to put the track away, and let it rest for a couple of weeks. Otherwise, you’re loosing the original idea and vibe of the track.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SOFTWARE AND/OR STUDIO GEAR?
My favourite DAW is Ableton live 9. I’m currently testing the new Beta version and its getting better and better. Im also really looking forward to the new DAW called “Bitwig”, which has some great features. My favorite studio gear has to me my Maschine controller, and my Arturia Analog Lab keyboard with the Arturia VST Bundle for the sounds.
IF YOU WEREN’T PRODUCING MUSIC WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU DO?
I think I would have been opening a restaurant or a grand cafe, something like that. But I try not to think about that because my main focus is DJ-ing and producing music.
WHAT KIND OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO UP AND COMING PRODUCERS?
Stay true to yourself, don’t try to copy the tracks who are in the “Beatport top 100”, and make hours and hours in the studio. Promote your music on sound cloud, play the tracks everywhere and don’t give up when you don’t get an answer from a label. Keep sending tracks, but only if you think they are really good. Don’t be satisfied too quick, because there are so many people who are producing music at the moment, so the competition is massive!
You can follow Oliver on his SoundCloud page.