Artist: Wehbba
Album: Square Two
Label: Tronic
Release Date: 20/05/2013
Brazilian musical export, Rodolfo Wehba (Wehbba to your playlist), has proven beyond reasonable doubt with his second album 'Square Two' that he knows how to arrange the bleeps and ticks of dance music into a polished final product that wins your attention and holds it. He's used a techno and house framework to roll a diverse collection of musical influences into this long-player which, whilst not always completely cohesive, is full of character and dance floor energy.
The most intense and dark moments are as vibrant as the relaxed and sunny ones; in 'Think Tank,' for example, find yourself lulled into a false sense of security during two and half minutes of warm up style clicks and splats, after which point a deep and twisted synth punches through the sound-scape, instantly taking you to a dark and dirty corner of a laser-soaked dance floor. Then, with only one track as a buffer zone, we're enjoying the chilled vibes of Home, the chugging guitar and slow kick sitting very comfortably at a sunny afternoon barbeque.
There's a little taste of everything between these beats, from the chunky deep house bass line of On You to the cheese-tastic saxophone solo snuck in during album closer Ruff Jam. Given how perfectly Wehbba's eclectic sounds fit on the White Isle, it was surprising to discover that we have an Ibiza Virgin on our hands (see interview below). He'll be making his Ibiza debut at Sankeys on the 25th of June and certainly Spotlight will be there with a Hierbas inauguration ceremony at the ready!
Here's what the man himself had to say to Spotlight about his latest release.
Which studio album was harder for you to make - first or second?
"The first was a bit more difficult, as I'd put a lot of pressure on myself and committed to the process of making the album 100%, not even flying out for gigs during that period. I've learnt from that and used it to my advantage on this second one, which came out more naturally, and I had the chance to properly play out all the tracks for a while and try different things on them before I could call it 'finished.'"
Does the album sound the way you might have expected before you began, or has it changed a lot during the process?
"I think the overall result is pretty much what I'd expected, this album was an attempt to showcase my direction and vision in 2013 and beyond, and I think I've managed to do that as I've intended to, although many of the tracks went through radical changes, especially "Think Tank", what you hear on the album is about version 5 or something like that."
Have you been playing album tracks to your crowds, if so how has the reaction been?
"Yes, for a few months now, and I'm completely satisfied with the results, it has got to a point where I'm actually very anxious to drop them to a crowd when I'm playing, like those key tracks you hold on to drop when things start to cool down or when you want to make a huge impact, and I feel that way about my tracks from this album, it just feels great, people react to most of them like they've been out for months and they all know them!"
What do you love about making your own music?
"The freedom and the challenge - I think that's what keeps me motivated as well, and it will probably never change."
What are your plans regarding Ibiza this summer?
"I'll be making my debut in the island on 25th June at Sankeys for the Tronic party, and I'm really looking forward to that, as I've never even been to Ibiza, which I'm even a little bit ashamed of. Hopefully, something else will come about before the end of the summer, so I'll keep you all posted!"
Tracklist
01.Glider
02.Attitude
03.On You
04.Clockwork
05.Backlash
06.Think Tank
07.What We Do
08.Home
09.Whatever
10.No Face No Problem
11.Common Ground (Album Version)
12.Ruff Jam feat. Jon Dixon and D'Sean Jones
