Will Holland interview

Written by JLina7687 on 23 May 2012 in News
Will Holland interview

With four Mixmag 'Compilation of the Month' awards along with countless Tune of the Month accolades and the coveted 'Future Hero' status from the worlds biggest dance music magazine Mixmag, at just 28 Will Holland, owner of the World renowned Enhanced is regarded as one of the most influential young stars today.

Will recently released the fifth installment of his 'Digitally Enhanced' compilation, which is the main topic of our recent conversation with him.

Hello Will! How are you? Are we all recovered from being in A State of Yellow at A State of Trance's 550 party at Brabanthallen of Den Bosch? What were the festivities like this past year? What were your favourite moments?

Great thank you! That was an amazing event - was thrilled to be a part of it and play there. I recently did an Enhanced tour in Indonesia which was also fantastic, and Digital Society's 5th Birthday in January was also a highlight.

"Digitally Enhanced Volume Five" is a new and recent release. Congratulations on the milestone! The repertoire for it is outstanding. How long did it take to come up with the tracklist and mix it?

Thank you! It's a long process, starting from several months before release where we ask our artists to start making the productions for the release and holding tracks back or arranging remixes. Then comes the fun part of playing around with the tracks and seeing what works in the mixes best, before finalising the mixes.

What makes the "Digitally Enhanced" compilation series different than all the rest?

It's very personal to Enhanced and you can only hear the music on these releases before you can hear it / buy it anywhere else; it's the looking glass into each year for Enhanced, and features the fantastic artists we have on our labels.

What were your criteria when you were choosing which tracks to put on the compilation?

We always want to showcase as many of our artists as possible, and the whole 'Enhanced' sound, building from progressive to peak time. I'm really happy with this 5th Edition - so many tracks that I love across the two discs.

Which tracks of the 29 stand out the most for you?

Every single one is special to me - it's cut down from about 60 odd tracks to make the final 29, so I have to be incredibly picky about the tracks and how they work together. I think it's the whole album that delivers that special feeling which is what making a release like this is all about. A few tracks that I've been playing for sometime are Beat Service's 'Mars,' 'Retrograde' from Norin & Rad, Audien's 'The Reach,' as well as the offerings from Sequentia, Suncatcher and Estiva that really stand out for me.

Your production with Jeza "Every Heartbeat" is the album's premiere track. It's absolutely beautiful! You and Jeza work so effortlessly together it seems and the collaboration was truly a match made in heaven. Do you have any future plans to continue working with this songstress?

Firstly, thank you!! We do seem to have come up with a couple of releases that really have struck a chord with people. I love working with Jess, she's so easy to get along with, and a fun and positive person so it makes the whole process a lot easier; a she's also a perfectionist which is a big reason why she's doing so well after such a short time in the scene. Every Heartbeat is a continuation of the story told through Start Again, and the story hasn't really met its conclusion yet, so perhaps there might be another chapter on the way!

You're quite the Jack of All Trades to say the very least and a busy one mind you. You run Enhanced Music, you're a DJ, also a producer, and co-own Assured Artists. Your efforts are commendable with how you contribute to the Electronic Dance Music industry. Having such a busy schedule, your time management skills must be extraordinary. What's the secret?

I need more time! I tweeted the other day that I could do with an 8 day week; people thought I meant so I could have a three day weekend; but it's quite the opposite - every week it gets to Thursday night and I really could do with another couple of days before the weekend. I love doing what I do so I don't mind working day, night and weekends if need be, but it's important to have time off as well. I have a couple of great guys working for me at Enhanced who we couldn't do everything we do without, and a lot of it is about delegation... although it would be handy to clone myself!

How do you spend your down time?

Normal stuff really- I love to spend time with friends, chill out or cook. I always like to watch films or get stuck into a decent TV series - I'm currently working through Breaking Bad which is superb. As well as this I like to go to the gym and play football or tennis, and of course go to see a major love of my live, Arsenal. Snowboarding once a year is a must for me as well.

Will Holland

Which Enhanced artists should we look out for in the coming years?

Well I think you all know the main guys by now, but keep an eye out for The Madison and Eximinds who are both pretty fresh but absolutely on fire.

The U.K. at large is full of various impressionable and renowned clubs, stadiums, and more. Where did you experience your first event? Who spun at it? With your conquests of nightlife entertainment of the EDM sense, which venue is your favourite to let your hair down in?

My first events I can really recall were ones I put on with my friends when I was very young. My first major DJ gig (after playing a lot around the Midlands area in the UK for a couple of years) was the 'superclub' Passion. It was the club that I went to nearly every Saturday night with all my friends for a couple of years, so to play there was amazing and I was on before Above & Beyond. Luckily I've been back to play many times over the years - most recently last month where we had an Enhanced event!

I've had some pretty unforgettable nights in Ibiza over the years - so for an all in one experience I'd say that's a great place to go.

What can we expect to hear from your production projects, with your upcoming tour, works with the label, and the agency for the rest of 2012?

I'm working on a new single which I hope to have out this summer. Enhanced has some big album releases coming from UK Superclub 'The Gallery, Tritonal's hugely anticipated Remixed album, as well as some other album projects and about four single releases a week over next couple of months. We also have our first event in Ibiza this summer - that will be announced very soon!

Thank you for your time, Will! Any message to the TrancePodium readers?

Thanks for interviewing me! Thanks for the great support from your readers and I hope they enjoy the album!



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