INTERVIEW: We Sat Down with Wenzday & Kaysin To Chat About Their Latest Release on Repopulate Mars.

Hey Wenzday and Kaysin, welcome to Music is 4 Lovers! How are things with both of you?

Wenzday: Things have been absolutely amazing. I am so excited that I got to kick off the year by making my Repopulate Mars debut with “Your Fantasy.” Beyond that, I am excited to be on the road for my own solo shows, supporting Walker & Royce on their tour and joining the Night Bass family for the 10-year anniversary tour in March. 

Nick: Things have been great for me as well! Very excited to be releasing this record with Wenzday & Haylee Wood. Otherwise, I’ve just been focusing on wrapping up more records – I’m really excited about all of the stuff I’m putting out this year. My shows start ramping up in March as well, so it will be great to be back on the road to play and test a bunch of new music out.

How did you first meet and decide to collaborate together?

Wenzday: This release has actually been about a year in the making. Kaysin and I are really good friends, and we have seen and supported each other at shows for so long now, so I think the collaboration was just a natural next step. I really think he and I vibe together in the studio and onstage, and this collaboration is the perfect combination of both our styles.

Nick: As Taylor said, it felt like a very natural next step for us both. I find that the best collabs in music happen when you vibe with the other person organically first. Taylor and I are really good friends, which came in handy as we went back and forth working on the record. I definitely prefer to work on music with people that I get along with outside of music—the final product always seems to come together more naturally!

 Tell us about your latest single, ‘Your Fantasy’ on Repopulate Mars. What inspired it, and what were the creative processes behind it?

Wenzday: Personally, I wanted to write a club banger that would be a staple song in my sets with someone I respect as an artist and who I consider a great friend and ally in the scene!

The song started with a project file that I had of a song originally intended to be a solo release. I invited Kaysin to my studio in Los Angeles, and he had a folder of some original vocals from Haylee Wood, and we got cooking from there. Once we decided to aim for Repopulate Mars as the target home, Lee Foss was also super involved with the release and pretty much heard every iteration of the song giving us feedback. Working directly with an artist who owns and operates a label is so cool because you get feedback in real-time from someone who is consistently playing out and has his ear to the scene. 

Nick: Taylor and I wanted to get together and make a record, and I vibed with the idea she had started, and we built off of that! I had been saving this Haylee vocal specifically for the right track as I thought it was really cool – and it turned out that this record was the perfect fit for us. We went back and forth, changing and improving the record over months and months until we felt it was perfect and ready to release. As Taylor said – Lee was very helpful with feedback on the record with us. He often gets involved with the tunes we release on our label to ensure they are as good as possible. Shout out to Lee Foss!

You also work with DJ, producer, and vocalist, Haylee Wood on the release. What’s your relationship with her and what impact do her vocals have on the record?

Nick: Haylee is one of my really good friends, and she provided me with a really awesome folder of original vocals. I loved the one we ended up using – it was the perfect fit! Haylee and I have also produced other records together as well – just recently, we released ‘Off My Mind’ on Thrive. She’s a very talented producer and vocalist! And I know I’ll definitely be working with her on more stuff in the future. 

Wenzday: I actually hadn’t met Haylee until the song was pretty much finished. She is so cool and easy to work with, and I’ve been a fan of her based on previous releases. I have to hand it to Nick for cultivating such a great relationship with her and getting her on this track because, to me, a strong vocal is what makes a record stand out and stand the test of time.

Kaysin, day to day, you work as A&R at the label, as well as at sister imprints South Of Saturn and North Of Neptune. How did you get into this, and how do you balance it with your own DJ/production career? 

Nick: I got into it about seven years ago in a very organic way. Lee and I were both playing Groove Cruise, and we ended up hitting it off and hanging out the entire time. Towards the end of the cruise, he told me about a record label he had just started (I think there had only been four releases so far) and asked if I wanted to help him with it. I started out doing a bunch of different things for the label but ended up as the full-time (and only) A&R. It can be difficult at times to balance both out – but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being a producer makes me a much better A&R. I feel it lets me have a deeper understanding of the music we get submitted and the needs of the artists along the process of signing and releasing a record. Also, the connections I have made while working at the label have definitely benefited my Kaysin project. They go hand in hand, and I love doing them both!

Wenzday, you co-founded your own hit bass label, 40oz Cult. What can you tell about launching a label and your own experience of this?

Wenzday: I think, first and foremost, the fact that Nick and I both run labels outside of our own artist projects is what has made us such great friends. We both are such open books about what has worked for us and other artists in terms of releases, takeover shows, etc., so we both came into this collaboration with a million ideas on how we wanted to roll everything out and promote the record. In the electronic dance scene, there are so many genres and nuances, but at the end of the day, everyone has the same goal: have fun and make incredible art that reaches the target fans. 40oz Cult initially began as a merchandise company in collaboration with my brother Dack Janiels, so we worked for years to listen to our fans and our community in order to cultivate an authentic label with a dedicated fan base. This allows us, very similarly to Repopulate Mars, to keep our ears to the underground for what new sounds and artists are emerging. I am so excited that 40oz Cult is so much more than a “bass label” because, over the years, we have been able to develop and support artists in a variety of genres and give them a platform where they feel supported. 

Do you have any plans to work together in the future?

Nick: 100%! As I said earlier, I feel the best collaborations happen when you vibe with someone outside of music. Taylor is one of my best friends, and we hang out all the time. I know for a fact that this is the first of many tunes we will make together. We have also discussed trying to get some shows together—maybe even a tour! Stay tuned because there will be plenty more tracks coming from us in the future.

Wenzday: Absolutely! I think Kaysin and I were just talking about how this is the first of many collaborations. I think it’s so important to find allies and friends in the entertainment industry and hold them close. In my opinion, an artist is only as good as the people you surround yourself with, and I am excited to see what we can collaborate on in the future! I mean, Nick, who knows, maybe a crossover 40oz Repopulate moment is on the horizon.

Lastly, are there any up-and-coming DJs/producers on your radar right now? 

Nick: There are a ton! Working at a label and being a music producer definitely keeps my ear to the ground on who is coming up and putting out great tunes. A few of the people I’m really digging lately are: Local Singles, ZOF, DOUG!, BURNR, N2N, Alex Culross, Darren After, Galo, Blank Sense, ETA, Malcolm Zeller, Galo, RAFI, and AIMMIA. I could go on and on – there are so many talented producers putting out incredible music right now. I love to see it!

Wenzday: I definitely want to take this moment to highlight some of the incredible female and LGBTQ+ acts that are absolutely crushing it right now—shoutout to VNSSA, Kaleena Zanders, Miss Dre, Baby Weight, and Rae Cola.

Follow :
Wenzday Instagram | Soundcloud | Facebook | Website
Kaysin Instagram | Soundcloud | Facebook