Whitley
DJ | Producer
Whitley is a Glaswegian producer, DJ and co-founder of the infamous Voight-Kampff collective, label and podcast series. The aim of the platform is to ‘bring a tougher industrialised techno sound’ straight out from the collective’s surroundings of the Scottish shires. The imprint has stormed through the techno circuit of the UK with a heap of boisterous releases from new talent like Non:Plus, Duellist & iFormat, Plexøs & more. VK tracks have done the rounds in sets by Perc, Rebekah, SNTS, Manni Dee and SPFDJ amongst others which has helped to get the sound of Voight-Kampff out to a wider audience.
The next VK release comes in the form of a V/A out later this month and will be split into three parts with tracks from Umbraid, Ceili, Jish & Midlands League, Jan Vercauteren, Rune Bagge & many more. Half of the proceeds will go to Ayrshire Samaritans (a local mental health charity).
Whitley himself has released multiple tracks on the label and has played throughout London and Glasgow covering Corsica Studios, La Cheetah Club and the odd secret location. Having just begun to take bookings outside of the UK, the below photo was taken after a gig in Sweden which Whitley tells us more about…
Where was this photo taken and why did you pick it?
This photo was taken at X, Malmö in February. I picked it because it was a significant night for me since it was my first gig outside of the UK. The music vibe that night was fast, hard and trancey - I opened with a set full of a variety of tracks covering a lot of stuff I’d been liking recently, with some old school techno and even some gabber tracks mixed in. Philipp Drube came on after and fired it up even more with a set full of techno and trance, and then we went to Copenhagen to finish the night off at Endurance which was insane.
What are you listening to at the moment if you’re working from home or if you’re still working out in the world, do you have a soundtrack to accompany your journey?
I’m listening to a lot of Scandinavian stuff at the moment (as usual) because there is so much amazing music coming out of that region right now and even more labels & collectives are popping up. Labels like Ute and Bodycount are some of the newer labels that I’ve been listening to that have some nice unique sounds and all of the DJs within their collectives are insane too. I’ve been out of work due to being a self-employed IT contractor so I’ve had a lot more time to find new music and listen to sets than I did before.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious, do you have a go-to track or style of music that significantly lifts your spirits?
I usually match my moods with a style of music that accompanies how I’m feeling although when I’m out of balance, I try to play something more mellow and soothing to make it a little easier. It usually ends up being Aphex Twin, Autechre, Gunna or Travis Scott - I’m a creature of habit and I listen to the same stuff all the time. Sometimes some Northern Electronics stuff if I’m going for more of an ambient sound.
How do you intend on celebrating once we’re out the other side?
I intend on making up for all of the time I’ve spent in the house by any means possible really, mostly seeing friends and going out a lot. I want to get back across to more places outside of the UK which I was planning to do this summer. I didn’t get enough time to really experience Copenhagen so I’d like to go there again and of course throw as many Voight-Kampff nights in Glasgow and all over as possible.
Any tips on how to look after your mind and body during this slightly stressful time?
Keep productive is the main one. Even if your sleeping pattern messes up a bit, make sure you’re making productive use of your time if you’re in the house, it’s so easy to just lay about and let your mental health slip when you’re doing nothing all day. Use the time to get stuff done that you’ve been meaning to for a while like finishing old tracks etc.
Listen to Whitley’s latest podcast for Crude, Berlin here and follow him below for upcoming releases on Civil Unrest and Substantiv: