Interview
Reefer and Remixes: Wuki talks Sabrina Carpenter, Los Angeles vs. Denver and more at North Coast Music Festival 2026
Ask anybody for an EDM remix of an all-time classic and there’s a good chance they pull out a Wuki tune, EDM House Network catches up with him.
Co-signed by Skrillex, Diplo, Valentino Khan, and more, Wuki has become one of the forerunners of viral dance music remixes, blending genres in the trap, house music, and electro scenes. Now, EDMHouseNetwork sat down with the electronic music icon after his headline show at North Coast Music Festival, to talk his love for weed, his early inspirations and more. Check out the full interview below:
Q: How does North Coast – just kind of the atmosphere – compare to some of the other festivals that you played at, and how does that kind of change your set list and plan as you go through?
A: Man, that’s a good question. So I never really know if I should go like houseier or bassier, bass year in Chicago. I feel like they like everything. So, really, at the end of the day, I just do me. I don’t really like think about it too much. I don’t even plan my sets these days. I just go up and I just like I have a bunch of shit to go to and I like I play. I don’t know, but um, I mean the vibe in North Coast is awesome. Like, it’s uh like it seems like it just keeps growing every year, and like people just I could tell people love it, and like yeah, it’s just it’s probably one of the dopest festivals in America.
Q: You’ve put your own touch on a lot of iconic records. “Ain’t it fun,” “Sunshine,” and now “Eye of the Tiger.” How is the creative process different from touching an iconic record like that and creating your own original track? And what’s kind of enriching about each?
A: I mean, I try to always like stay true to the song when I remix, and like keep the song intact. Like a lot of remixers, they’ll like take the like you could take a sample and just totally flip it so it doesn’t even sound like the song, right? Basically what I try to do is make a dance floor ready version of the song, and so I like to keep parts of it intact and like try and use the parts that are like most iconic and like use them in a way that is ready for the dance floor. That’s my goal when I remix. So yeah, I mean, and when it when it hits right, and I hit one that works really well, it’s hard to describe it. It’s just a really great feeling when I get the approval from the original artist, I get all the labels on board. I get all the writers on board. Fucking Smokey Robinson shouting me out for sunshine, like that’s crazy, you know. So yeah, it’s super cool, super rewarding, and I love that I just get to be like created this own path for myself, basically.
Q: Going from Denver to Los Angeles, what’s kind of different about those two EDM scenes? And do you think the change in scenery has kind of changed your sound or style at all, based on the environment in each city?
A: Not really. I do, I just do my thing now. I mean, I think, I think obviously Denver is more bassy, more heady, more. You know, I mean, I don’t even want to say that because like House is really big in Denver too. Like Dom Dolla did Red Rocks, Chris Lake did Red Rocks, I think. And so, I mean, obviously, dubstep’s probably bigger there. Like, I’m sure Subtronics could do seven nights at Red Rocks if you wanted to. But I don’t know. I think I kind of just stick to my own thing anyway. I’m not too influenced. I mean, these days I just really like being in the sunshine and enjoying the sun. So I tend to make like brighter music when I’m in the West Coast stuff like that.
Q: I know you started off with your electronic rock band in the early 2010s. How do you kind of take that sound and blend that into the artist that you are now?
A: I don’t know. I mean, I guess I always liked like energetic music. Like even when I was like before I was in the band, I was in like rock, like heavy rock bands, like like metal and stuff like that. So I always like stuff that like pump me up, and I think that has kind of been the common thread with everything. I don’t make, I do make some chill music, but for the most part, it’s all pretty energetic.
Q: Which record of yours would you say you kind of stepped outside of your comfort zone with most, and what about it particularly was challenging for you?
A: Man, that’s a good question. Oh, I got it. I just did a remix for Majid Jordan. I don’t know if you know who they are. They just had like a new album right now, and I I know Jordan. I know the one guy, and so he sent me the stems, and it’s definitely way different than something I usually do. But I love them so much that I wanted to make it work, so I ended up making this kind of like deep tech thing that is like usually not something I make, but so that came out pretty cool though. I think.
Q: I know R&B is kind of one of your early passions, some of the inspiration. Majid Jordan specifically. Have you taken any of those elements from non EDM artists and blended it into your music and if so, how?
A: I mean, I think I’m a pop music junkie. Like, I love pop music, so I’m always looking for like earworms and like, like, kind of like things that will…
Q: Any particular artists?
A: I love Katy Perry. I know she gets a lot of hate now, but I love Katy Perry, and I love, I really like Sabrina Carpenter too. I think she’s great. And so I don’t know. I think I’m always, the way I kind of produce music is I’m trying to make a hook. Like I’m always trying to find like a good hook to use. And to me, like it’s not all about the sound design and stuff. Like it just has to hit and like fill that role really well, but it’s got to have a good hook, no matter what.
Q: Also, from Denver to LA, I gotta ask, who’s got the better weed?
A: Oh man, dude, it’s all so good now. Honestly, I’m at the point where I need I need meds again. Yeah, all the weed is too good. So I don’t know. It’s I think Denver though, because, this is the real reason why Denver weed is better, is because it’s drier. So you get more bang for your buck, and you get it like you get it, and it like all like breaks up, and then like I like that, and then you like pack a bowl and it like rips really hard.
Q: Pick four DJs: dream blunt rotation.
A: Tiesto, Carl Cox, Sara Landry, and Subtronics.
Q: Any records that people should be watching out for coming out?
A: It’s actually going to be me a collab with Notorious BIG, which is fucking nuts. I did a remix of “Big Papa,” and it got really big online, so they’re we’re putting that out. Officially cleared. Should be in like the next two months. And then I also have a remix for Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.” That’s coming out like literally next month.
Be sure to stay up to date here on EDM House Network as we continue to bring you the latest news on new releases and artist interviews from festivals around the world.
