[Saints News] A Wit.u Interview

[DFRT13]

  a wit. u interview  

Inspiration & Individuality

 

Heather Powell

 

A few days ago, I had the freedom of looking over Los Santos' emerging movie with a scene with a review of their newest title - Monkey Business. The quality and content of the movie and review aside, what captivated me the most was the effort and dedication those working on the movie had put into it. However, we're not here to discuss the movie industry once more; instead, in my search for something new to report on, I came across Owen Davies - on FaceBrowser, the local social media platform. While I do admit, at a personal level, that the genre of his music does not necessarily resonate with me - what did, once more, captivate me, was the amount of effort Owen, under his alias - "wit.u" put into his art, simply out of his own heart and passion for music. I reached out, and earlier today, I got a chance to talk with him. I took the liberty of asking Owen seven questions, all of which seemed the most relevant for the interview. Here's the full interview, moderately edited for grammatical reasons and, more importantly, fully uncensored:

 

 

Given the release of your newest album, "Love" - I'd like to ask; so far, how it's done in terms of sales - and could you describe the recording process for us? Were there any extraordinary situations?

 

"Love" has done better than I thought it would, despite only being my second album ever. I never really thought it'd sell as much as it did - and people are still buying my vinyl, limited edition records and even my digital-sets. In conclusion, sales are great. I couldn't be happier with how it's going. As for the other question, the recording process was pretty tiring. I had far too many days with no sleep. The first three days I felt kicked out of reality and kept pumping myself full of red-bull and just smoked non-stop. I knew I had to get it done. Whether or not there were any complications or extraordinary situations, however? I'd say either the lack of sleep or the many samples I had to go through in order to get the perfect vibe for the album.

 

Do you have any assistance behind the scenes you'd like to note; or do you do everything by yourself, from the mixing to the producing?

 

 

I had no assistance behind the scenes whatsoever, everything I did and do, it is from scratch, from using samples, loops, various things I made, all by using my SP-404 and other live mixers. Ableton is beautiful for this sort of stuff. Though I do have a lot of back up and love coming from those at Pipeline, especially my manager and my beautiful girlfriend Aurora.

 

The album's name is "Love" - as is aforementioned; this begs the question: does the album's title, or overall, the whole album, have any underlying meaning you'd care to share with us?

 

To be honest, yeah... yeah it does have a fuck ton of meaning behind it, not even underlying at all. From the day I moved here - I used to get beaten, pushed over, yelled at, shit... you name it. I was lost. I remember, during my first week here, I saw an officer get shot down right in front of me just outside of some strip club. It was fucked up.  There's so much hate, so much neglect, so much war going on inside a city that has such beautiful people, amazing talents and mindsets.  There's too much hate going around, but too little love, I'd love to change that, somehow, in my own little way. I have nothing but love to everyone out in Los Santos.

 

Do you have any plans to sign with a record label in the near future; or do you plan to continue to self-publish on audio platforms?

 

I'm currently on contract with one of my best buddies, Cam Vance, who's also my manager - and helps me get my shit out there. The Pipeline isn't a label, but it's a family that's helped me get out there through events and whatnot.  As for having a label? I'm not sure, I was in a label for the first three days and quit the contract due to the fact that they stole half of my income and nearly ruined my life when I was growing. So, to be honest, I'd rather just do it myself and publish my own shit. When the right people come, well, it'll all happen in due time.

 

 

Do you have any plans for the future? Any possible collaborations with other artists you'd like to hint at, or future album releases?

 

I have big plans for the future, I want to hold some charity events, depends on how big I grow as an artist. I mean absolutely no offense to anyone in the city or anyone around, at all; maybe I just haven't seen them yet or maybe I haven't really been around the right circles, but... I have no intention or even ambition to collaborate with anyone unless they're a rapper. Everything I've seen so far are just DJs who sit there and hit next on the fucking play-pad and get mad cash, if I see someone who actually puts time into making samples, loops and chopping their lyrics and then playing that shit live and smacking them buttons on stage, well, I'd love to collab with THAT sort of person. As for an album release, there's going to be plenty more in the future - I can promise everybody that much.

 

Getting into more personal territory - do you take after anyone in specific, in terms of musical influence? And what got you into making music - was it just your passion for the art?

 

This one bites. It really does. I have no reason to take after anyone but myself - every artist should be unique. You shouldn't try to copy someone else's flow, in my opinion. As long as you got that one little tweak or new vibe inside a track, you can call that special. I first started making music when I was either fourteen or fifteen; except I didn't really get too into it back then. I was just, like, starting. I didn't get too into it until I was, like, seventeen or eighteen.  What got me into it, however, was all I really did was like, play video-games and listen to beats. Like, I had really long... long days of skipping school and just listening to music, getting stoned and playing video-games. And then I started finding out about hip hop instrumental tracks - and then I discovered artists like Flying Lotus, J Dilla, Samiyam, and all the Brainfeeder dudes.  It was just... so damn different from anything else I had ever heard, like... Samiyam was sampling video games and stuff - little samples and different portions of his tracks, it was just... so original and the flow was so deep and cool that you could even feel the emotion behind it. That was the first time I had heard music without vocals - and I hooked right from the start. I ended up trying to do it myself; after all, all I was doing was playing video-games and listening to music - why not? What really got me into my passion for music, though, was the emotion, the vibe, the love, connection and originality. Everyone thinks hip-hop is just a trashy way to throw about words and hate, trying to harm and spit about crime - I'd argue. There's a lot of emotion and meaning to every track, it's not as brutal as some think. 

 

Topping this off; do you have any suggestions or advice you'd care to share for future, aspiring artists?

 

I have a few words, of course.  If you want to become something, let's say, a rapper, music producer, painter or a famous artist, generally speaking. Don't spill your mind into just one genre or one thing. When you're going about your passions and hobbies, delve into each root; into each art. Then, find the root you like best and go hard and never look back. There's always going to be someone better than you, someone, who's working harder than you. But that doesn't mean you should get discouraged or walk away, because you could be one little step away from making it to the big case. As for suggestions, if you want to make beats - or anything to do with hip hop, don't rush it.  Look at all the different music applications, start with something free online - and just get the hang of it with your keyboard and a shitty mic. Learn to keep your fingers nimble, learn to tap rotations and most of all, and I can't fret this enough - keep it original, don't rip-off someone else's idea. Do your own thing.

 

 

And with that concluded - I, too, suggest everyone to try their hardest and do their best at whichever art they're prolific at. This type of, well, a combination of dedication and charisma is always a joy to observe, be it within the music industry, movie industry, or any type of activity you've got passion for.

 

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Edited October 29, 2019 by DFRT13

[cryybabyycryy]

Username: BritBrit

Comment:

I am so proud of you Owen, has been a wild ride watching you grow! ❤️

 

[Zug]

Username : Wit.u

Comment : I've never in my life thought I'd be this lucky to get an interview. Thank you so much Britney