At only 19 years old, Whethan (Ethan Snoreck) has been making a name for himself with his infectious, eclectic music. Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Whethan embarked on a solo career much earlier than many of his contemporaries. Before playing an epic set at Firefly Music Festival 2018, the talented DJ took some time to talk with us.
Whethan shared how he came to realize that he wanted to create dance music, and spoke about what it is like working with big name acts like Flux Pavilion.
Can you talk a bit about when you realized that you wanted to pursue music?
At about the age of 13 years old, I was messing around with GarageBand for a bit, and I eventually ended up getting Ableton. I started to make music every single day, and that was a huge factor, just realizing that it was something that I wanted to do everyday.
Did you always want to pursue dance music, or did you dabble in other genres initially?
I started listening to Daft Punk and I was really into everything they were doing. When I really started to make music, I was inspired by Skrillex. I started out making really hard bass music.
Are there any DJs or artists that particularly inspired you to pursue music?
Skrillex for sure. I credit him because when I was younger, his work made me realize that I wanted to create music. Calvin Harris, too.
Are there any DJs or vocalists that you hope to work with in the future?
A: So many. Two of my personal favorites that I would love to work with are Tame Impala and Mac Demarco.
Would you ever do something with another genre mixed in with EDM?
I’m starting to work on something like that right now, but I haven’t done much like that yet. It’s sort of a new direction for me.
Can you talk a bit about what it was like working with Flux Pavilion and MAX on your song ‘Savage’?
That was a crazy record, it goes back a long time ago. It was a super old demo that I had, originally, with only a little bit of a drop. Flux hit me up through the internet and asked to work on something. It was really exciting, since I was so young and he was such an inspiration.
I ended up sending him the demo and he sent his interpretation of it, and we found a common ground. I met MAX around that same time, too, I had remixed one of his songs. He came to Chicago [to provide vocals] and ‘Savage’ ended up being produced.
Which Firefly artist would you enjoy seeing if you had the chance to catch them live?
I definitely want to catch MGMT live soon.
Do you have any major projects you’re currently working on?
Not any projects per se, but definitely new singles.
Q: How would you say it is managing everyday life, and being so young, but attaining so much fame and success?
A: I like to credit it a lot to the people around me, it’s really easy to feel like you have to do it all, but I just try to stay focused on the music and have fun, too!
Check out more of Whethan’s awesome music on Soundcloud and Spotify, and be sure to get your tickets to his upcoming tour.
Follow Whethan: Facebook | Instagram | Official Website | Twitter
