WIWEK
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Wiwek Mahabali started his musical journey in a humble home in IJsselstein, the Netherlands, where he grew up between 2 worlds. His dad emigrated from the former Dutch colony 'Suriname' and he sang and played Indian folk music, his proud heritage. Wiwek was imbued with distinctly unwestern sounds and rhythms before he ever thought about making music. He made his first beat on a Playstation One, switched to FL Studio shortly after that, and started to refine his skillset in countless lonely hours of nightly sweat until the different facets of him combined into a marvellous genre he invented almost overnight. He called it Jungle Terror. It's a high-octane sound fueled by Indian-inspired rhythms colliding with the high-energy dynamics of modern synths and production techniques.
His early singles “Angry Birdz” and “On Your Mark” (with Gregor Salto) didn’t sound like any other record being made at the time, and soon these records found its way to sets by A-list DJs. Wiwek made a promise to himself early in his career not to attend a music festival until he played one. In 2015 he made good on his word, as he played ULTRA, now sharing the stage with the same A-listers he once looked up to. During this debut, “On Your Mark” was critically acclaimed, found it’s way to many sets, and was the most played track of Ultra that year. A Twitter DM to Skrillex, who was already playing his tracks, turned into a professional relationship. In 2016 Skrillex’ label OWSLA released Wiwek’s EP The Free and Rebellious, which included a collaboration between the two (“Killa”) and also served as the soundtrack to the short film Still in the Cage that the pair produced, and premiered in August to a massive crowd at the Ace Hotel in Downtown LA.
Wiwek’s next EP Drum Nation, solidified his position. Blending ecstatic polyrhythms, exotic animal sounds and subtle nods to his musical upbringing, combining contemporary Dutch house and tribal drums into his own distinct sound. Drum Nation is an inspired expression of Wiwek’s vision and in a class of its own.
In 2018 he released the compilation album THE SAGA on Yellow Claw’s BARONG FAMILY imprint. It’s a collection of the best work from previous releases, bundled with some new tunes, specially made for his growing army of fans.