Around, around again, The Funk Hunters whisk up from their magic, and with wind under their wings, they bring us unforgettable experiences. From face-melting Red Rocks sets to swirling the soulful atmosphere at festivals, we count on them.
Today we have Dunks and Nick sharing meaningful moments from their first run of Westwood in the Wild festival at the Malkin Bowl in their hometown of Vancouver, what’s brewing for Westwood Recording‘s Shambhala 2025 takeover, and the production techniques they explored in the studio for their latest offering with K Theory, ‘This Is The Sound.’ We also dive deeper into their realm of funk through Midnight Agency and get insight in how The Funk Hunters find their music.
The Funk Hunters Interview
What was the moment you knew Westwood in the Wild festival was officially on? What were some critical steps in making the festival a success? What was a highlight from the weekend?
As a new Dad, a major highlight of the whole weekend was just getting to have my son there for his first ever festival! He’s only 7 months old, but one day I’ll be able to show him photos of him side stage with me or backstage wearing his little headphones and getting to experience his first festival. My wife surprised us at the end of our set when we took a crowd photo and brought him onto stage. I’ll always remember that feeling.
Everyone keeps asking us about next year. I don’t have the answer yet, but trust us we are working on it!
Our team and all the artists had the most incredible time. The whole weekend was a huge success, the venue was so beautiful to host people in, and seeing it all come together with such an iconic lineup was really a proud feeling. I sure hope Westwood In the Wild becomes an annual event or even better, something we can tour to other markets soon too!
Westwood in the Wild Festival
What are some production techniques you experimented with for ‘This is the Sound’ and what else have you been experimenting with in the studio lately?
We love drum & bass, been playing it forever, but so much of the DnB we find is super heavy or maybe too liquidy; we wanted to make something that was funky, but still bangs.
The production in this one is all about a big 808 sub that carries the low end, punchy drums, clean mixdown.
Honestly, we’ve been loving working across all genres lately. I’ve been spending a ton of time in the studio working on our next album and there’s house, dnb, dubstep, hiphop, midtempo, and everything in between. It’s a real reflection of how diverse our musical tastes are. We’re just really trying to find that balance of how can it work on the dance floor, at a club or festival, but also still be something you want to listen to at home or in the car, even buy on a future vinyl!!!
The golden question, how are you finding music to mix into your sets?
I think the challenge of finding new, interesting, exciting, unique music has become harder and harder these days just because of the sheer volume of new music being released everyday. We really do look everywhere.
In a way, that’s where the concept of “Funk Hunting” came from for us, hunting down funky tunes in all the genres we like to play for our sets.
It used to be buying vinyl and getting rare edits or remixes from artists that other DJs didn’t yet have and today it’s still very much the same, but there’s even more places to look – and a lot more new music to sift through. But, we try and stay as tapped in as we can and follow the artists we love across all platforms.
At times, we find music on Bandcamp or Soundcloud that aren’t official releases. Other times we are getting sent promos from DJs or other labels early on before the songs come out, and sometimes we just find a new song we love from Spotify or see a clip on socials and go buy it from Beatport like everyone else!
There’s really no one source, it’s a constant search. As DJs, it’s as if we are always on tour, year round – we’re always finding new music, making new edits, and playing out new tunes. It’s what keeps it fresh and exciting and brings us back to the how and why we started on this journey in the first place. Sharing good music and vibes with people around the world has always been whats it’s about!
Shambhala Music Festival, will you all be doing another Westwood Recordings Takeover? Or which other artists from the label will be there this year? Any other details about upcoming events or releases through Westwood Recordings you can share yet?
Yes! Westwood is back Friday night in The Fractal Forest, our home away from home, the funkiest place on earth. It’s always such an honor to kick off the weekend with our Friday night takeover.
This year’s lineup is huge; our friends Big Gigantic are joining us this year which we are stoked for, the legend Opiuo makes his return, and we’ll be hosting an insane lineup of Westwood favs like The Funk Hunters, Stickybuds, K+Lab, Smalltown DJs, No Thanks, Joanna Magik, Mood Swing & Chevy Bass, Burchill. 10 hrs straight! More details to come very soon!
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Are you all still accepting artists onto the Midnight Agency? What do you find attractive about artists?
Of course – as a bookings agency we are always on the lookout for new talent. It’s exciting to work with a roster across almost every genre, so there’s really no limits. Some of our artists are already established and touring internationally and just looking for dedicated representation in Canada.
We also have new developing acts that are joining us at the start of their journey. I’d always encourage artists to reach out to agents/agencies, find an agent that reps similar acts to you, and get yourself on their radar. Let them know who you are and that you are growing, your tour history, and what’s coming down the pipeline in terms of new music, tours, and festival plays. Ask them to consider you for support slots or tour packages and go from there as you develop a relationship. It won’t always happen overnight, but a lot of artists we’ve signed to the agency over the years have started this way. It’s about believing in each other and feeling like it’s the right fit for growing your career.
