Exclusive interview with 'WERMZER'

DJ/Producer/Rapper/Writer/Wildly Creative/Dopest Geek You’ll Ever Meet Wermzer, who is from Mobile, Alabama, continues to carve out a niche for himself in the world of electronic music. Wermzer developed his own distinctive sound that falls somewhere between heavy hybrid electronic trap and inventively lyrical southern hip-hop by fusing his love of all things hip-hop with hard hitting bass music. Wermzer takes pride in his ability to rock a crowd. He has more than 12 years of experience behind the decks, more than half of which was spent learning the art of producing his own music. This seasoned artist continues to take the Gulf Coast, the Southeast, and eventually the entire world by storm with his Madness while keeping in mind his goal of bridging the gap between hip-hop and EDM.
The high-energy trap song “H.E.O” (High energy only) is the third original song I’ve released this year in an effort to revive the excitement and energy of EDM. “H.E.O,” which has seen continued growth and success across all platforms, will be the last song before my debut EP is ready. Bring your most vigor, and get ready for madness. Check out the song and the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

WERMZER: I started DJing 13 years ago when I was 18. It was mostly hip-hop when I started, but after I heard bass music for the first time I was in love and immediately started adding it to my library. When I started producing my own music a few years later the goal was to combine the two

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

WERMZER: No formal training. Everything I’ve learned is from the internet and just doing it myself until I figure it out. Huge shoutout to YouTube

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘WERMZER’?

WERMZER: Like I said earlier, it all started with hip-hop. Artists like Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Biggie, Outkast and Mac Miller are all huge influences. Electronic artists like Borgore, Eprom, Eliminate, TNGHT (Hudson Mowhawke and Lunice) and RL Grime all still have a huge impact on the way I create music and I’m constantly looking to them for inspiration.

As far as the name ‘Wermzer,’ when I was a kid my friends used to call me Wormy because I was short and skinny. When I was choosing my DJ/artist name I added the ‘-zer’ to make it sound futuristic and electronic sounding and changed the spelling to resemble my real name, Jeremy. Wermzer was born and soon after I saw the movie “Revenge of the Nerds” for the first time. The short nerd who’s good with computers is named Wormser, so it stuck after that.

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

WERMZER: My music falls directly in the middle of hip-hop and edm. Very drum driven with thick, distorted 808s combined with the energy and danceability of electronic music. I’ve recently started doing my own vocals too, which is fun and adds to my personal brand of Madness.

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which you describe as Madness?
**WERMZER**:
Anything I heard that made my head nod or got me excited I wanted to create it. I remember how I felt the first time I went to an EDM event in my city and that excitement is what I want to replicate in my music. Now, I listen to a lot of different types of music. If I hear something I like I might try to recreate it or find a way to make it work in something I’m already working on. I’m always looking for a way to surprise the listener with something new. I never want to be referred to as predictable or boring.

6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative and entertainment?

WERMZER:

Great question! Being an artist definitely gives me a platform. I mainly use my voice to let people know it’s cool to be weird. Everybody has something they’re geeky about, for me it’s music, Star Wars and sneakers, and if it makes you happy then that’s super dope and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about it. You should enjoy the things that make you happy no matter how strange or geeky other people think it is.

7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

WERMZER:

If me 13 years ago could see me now, he’d be super proud of everything I’ve accomplished. I’m releasing music on a regular basis, playing shows and festivals all across the country and I’ve met more people through music than I ever would have imagined. I’m happy with how much I have done. But the goal is to one day be a full time artist and travel the world playing music. I’m not quite there yet so there’s still more work to be done.

8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do you usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

WERMZER:

It’s usually different each time, but if I have an idea and can’t get to my studio right at that moment, I’ll pull out my phone and open up my voice memos and beatbox out the idea so I can listen to it later. Sometimes it’s a melody or drum pattern that I think sounds interesting or I’ll just say something like “The letter of the day song on Sesame Street might mix well with this other song.” I have a few music friends I’ll send songs I’m working on to. I’d definitely like to meet more like minded artists to work with though.

9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

WERMZER: there’s been plenty of challenges. I think the most difficult thing is learning to stay motivated after dealing with rejection. You hear “no” enough times you start to wonder if what you’re doing is even worth it. What I have learned is that you have to remember you are doing this because you enjoy it. Sure you want other people to listen and share what you created, but ultimately it’s if you’re happy with what you created that matters most. If you took an idea you had and learned how to properly execute it to the point you turned it into something real and that you like, nothing anybody else says about it matters.

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

WERMZER: I recently played Dancefestopia in Kansas and it was the biggest festival line up I’ve ever been on. Traveling 300 miles to play at a major festival and then finding out that people I had never met before knew my music and came to see me play was amazing. I can’t wait for more experiences like that.