In advance of this weekend's scorcher we caught up with Mr Sonny Wharton, a man who without doubt is one of the UK's hottest emerging house DJs. Recently signed to Serious management and now sitting along side Judge Jules, Trophy Twins, Oliver Lang and Eddie Halliwell. This guy has recently just completed two solo world tours and is also known for his infectious performance and remarkable technical wizardry, often using up to four CDJ's!
A Renaissance resident, Sonny's rise to stardom has not gone unnoticed with numerous guest mixes for Radio 1 & Ministry of Sound Radio as well as festival gigs at Godskitchen, Global Gathering, Tribal Weekender, The Whicker Man Festival & Glastonbury. This man is Hot Property! Don't miss him at his debut for Audio London this Sunday 23rd July at The White House.
So, we've been hearing lots about your turntable-trickery recently - but who was the first DJ who really amazed you?
The first DJ I listened to was Carl Cox - it was a really bad quality copy of an old MTV show filmed @ The Eclipse in Coventry. I was blown away by the whole thing and from that moment on wanted to be a DJ!
You first achieved fame by winning a DJMag mixtape competition. What was on the tape and why do you think they chose you as their winner?
Funnily enough it was the first ever 3deck (Technics - I had no CDJs at this point!) mix that id ever recorded and I did it purely to take out to Ibiza with me for the summer, I saw the competition in DJMag and thought it was worth a shot as my mix seemed to fit the criteria of what they asked for. I think that having the advantage of being able to use the 3rd deck for acapellas and loops in the mix gave me the edge over some other entries. When I got the phone call to say I'd won and would be playing Renaissance Opening @ Amnesia I was in shock - I couldn't believe it!!
Please could you try and define the Sonny Wharton sound for us...however you see fit!
This is something I'm asked a lot - I find it a really hard question to answer as I don't think I can pin it down, I play house music will allsorts thrown in and try and convey as much energy as possible in the mix! For anyone still not sure tune in to my radio show every Thursday 11pm-1am www.pulseradio.net or come down this Sunday to the Whitehouse ;o)
You frequently use up to 4 decks and an FX unit in your sets. What creative wizardry can you conjure up using this kit?
I like to put as much into a set as possible hence the need for 3or4 CDJs. With the CDJ1000 I can bring in and take out loops at will use the CDJs like a drum kit with the cue buttons firing off samples and generally try to create a show for people to enjoy rather than a DJ in the corner hiding behind the decks. Be warned though I can get a bit carried away sometimes and break everything - on my China tour I broke 4CDjs & 2mixers in only 3weeks!!
Is there any other DJ technology you've had your eyes on?
There's so much available at the moment its hard to choose though I see it as being very healthy for the scene - it's making people up their game and put that extra effort in. Companies like Pioneer, Allen & Heath and Ecler are really pushing the boundaries as far as equipment goes and programmes like Ableton & Final Scratch are opening up a whole new ball game - its great!
When did you sign to the Serious DJ Management agency? Did you feel pretty humbled to be in the company of world-renowned talent such as Umek and Norman Jay?
I had a meeting with Serious in May to discuss signing and its exactly what I've been working towards for the last 3years, It's a hard game on your own and with a lot of hard work and some great friends in the industry I've got a lot further than I ever thought possible so to now be working with such a professional team and have the backing to take things to the next level for me is amazing!!
You've had a few tracks and remixes out so far, mostly collaborating with an outfit called Mangotrasher. Who are they and how do you feel the end results have turned out?
Mangotrasher is the alter ego of a very good friend, I've known him on and off since I was young and we hooked up again about 2years ago to get into the studio and make some tracks - on a solo tip he's featured in the likes of Danny Howells & Paul Oakenfolds charts and toured as far as Japan over the years so he's no stranger to the scene. As far as end results go I'm really pleased with how we're sounding and we're really starting to find our own style now!
The electro sound has fully taken over the world now, with variants on the sound appearing at all sorts of nights across the world. Do you think we have reached overkill point?
It will definitely get to that stage as it happens with everything - moderation is the key in all walks of life and its no different with music. In retrospect I think the whole electro sound has blurred a lot of boundaries and opened a lot of peoples ears to new music which is very healthy - many DJs are playing styles from house to breaks to techno in the same breath without even thinking that it might compromise their pigeonholed style, it going back to how it used to be - the underground is back with a vengeance!
You work with the DJ-technology company Ecler. What exactly do you do with them and what are they best known for?
One of my first mixers was an Ecler SMAC04 and I've been a fan of their mixers ever since - the build quality is second to none and I genuinely believe in their products - I approached them to get involved and they invited me to play for them @ last years Plasa Event in London to showcase one of their new mixers - the NUO5. After the demo I signed up with their Pro Team to promote their products worldwide at various shows and exhibitions.
What's the most impressive piece of Ecler kit you have witnessed or used? What do you feel sets them aside from other companies?
I'm loving their NUO5 mixer - it's got 5channels and all the effects of a DJM600 & Xone62 thrown into one machine... you can personalise the effect parameters via a Midi interface and id say this is a major factor that puts it at top of the game!! Another key thing is I've regularly broken other leading mixers and I've yet to damage my Ecler - this alone is a big plus for me!!!
You will be down in London on July 23rd for a cheeky little Sunday afternoon party called Audio at The Whitehouse. Are you usually kicking back and taking it easy at this time of the weekend?
Haha Sundays are just another working day for me so as much as id love to be lounging around id probably be on the computer spamming peoples inboxes with more promotional junk mail about my website and gigs!!
Do you find that the weekends seem to be a bit more...hardcore during the summer?
Definitely - when the sun's out people don't want to head home and relax so much, summertime is party party party with places like Ibiza thriving on that very fact. Last weekend I played the Berlin Love Parade with over 1million people dancing in the sunshine all day long - events like that certainly define hardcore and make a DJs weekend all the more spectacular!
You've been playing all across the world recently - but how have your experiences playing in London been so far?
London is always fun - one of my first big gigs was in London and I made a lot of friends there so I love coming back down to play and hooking up with everyone. Its great that in one city there's so many different walks of life all partying on the same dancefloors - for me that helps make a great atmosphere and gives me more excuse to push boundaries that little bit further, bring on Sunday!!
Interview by Benz
New Online Mix: http://www.flatspin.co.uk/mp3/sonnywharton.mp3
Website: http://www.sonnywharton.com/index.php
