Wesley Black

by the partae
Where are you currently based? Perth, Western Australia How did you first start playing music? I started making it after years of story writing and eventually poetry, but my first opportunity to really play live was thanks to GOAT 6K at The Bird. What's been happening recently and how has your Covid experience been? Covid slowed down the release of many visual stuff like the OUTLAW! Music Video for one, but gave me time to create heaps of innovative music and really experiment. I made heaps of music and watched a lot of movies too, which are usually my biggest inspiration for music Your single and video 'Outlaw' are out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting? The whole track and visuals were inspired by a short story I wrote ages ago called You Can’t Run From The Outlaw! where Wesley Black was a character who had to overcome vices and a bad conscience to become the best version of himself. The visual themes include a masked gang, a masquerade mask and a passenger seated Wesley, all working towards his journey in becoming the Outlaw- the alpha male, the best version of me How did you go about writing Outlaw? Inspired heavily by my short story, I wrote OUTLAW! as something positive and aggressive. It’s a track that reflects my un-anxious side, to say the least, which in a sense is the polar opposite to RED! This song is about achieving your highest heights and challenging yourself to the fullest. Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with? As I do with most of my tracks, I scout beats from a collection of Soundcloud trap producers. Once leased, I take my stems down to Shake Down Studios and record it, and then take it down to Boy Banks who co-produced and mixed and mastered this one. He is going to be mixing my entire EP, he really knows my sound. How did you approach the recording process? A lot of tea and a lot of energy. I rewatched Eyes Wide Shut before I recorded it, because that was such a big influence on this track, and helped me get into the whole Wesley Black character- I brought a lot of rage and energy to the session, and went hard on the ad-libs What influenced the video concept? The video was mainly inspired by my short story I wrote in my late teens about Wesley Black and the Outlaw, a neo-Western, where Wesley Black succumbs to his vices before turning around and standing on his own two feet. It’s just a cool revenge story I wrote, and a lot of visuals were also inspired by Eyes Wide Shut Where did you film and who did you work with? Justplay Media shot this one, and I directed and edited it myself using my storyboard I created a while back. We went all over the place, the red room scenes were shot in a sea container in Rockingham, the tea party were shot at a friends parents house and the horse scenes were shot at Sandeli Park. Everyone was super helpful. How has the creation of the video differed from your previous video's? In a lot of ways, it’s tied together. OUTLAW! features a lot of references to previous music videos, but it feels like a whole new level. I tried a lot of guerilla effects like crashing a car and using car mounts, but the lighting and camera movements feel much more cinematic, and the storyline works really well. Who are you listening to at the moment? A lot of Dominic Fike, Smino and Travis Scott. A strange mix, but they all offer something I’m really liking at the moment. What do you like to do away from music? Write stories, watch films and watch wrestling. All of these things inspire my music in the long run anyway. What's planned for 2021? A project I’m super proud of. The hardest tracks I can possibly do- it’s a whole new sound and i’m aiming to make a new subgenre off the backend of it. After that, I wanna try releasing something acoustic and raw. A whole variety this year. Favourite food and place to hangout? Haloumi cheese is the best. I love Asian and European food, Formosa Garden is sick too. Wesley is playing has a show this Friday 5th at Milk Bar in Perth FB - https://www.facebook.com/wesleyblacktv/ IG - https://www.instagram.com/wesleyblacktv/ TWITTER - https://twitter.com/wesleyblacktv
Where are you currently based?
 
Perth, Western Australia
 
How did you first start playing music?
 
I started making it after years of story writing and eventually poetry, but my first opportunity to really play live was thanks to GOAT 6K at The Bird.
 
What’s been happening recently and how has your Covid experience been?
 
Covid slowed down the release of many visual stuff like the OUTLAW! Music Video for one, but gave me time to create heaps of innovative music and really experiment. I made heaps of music and watched a lot of movies too, which are usually my biggest inspiration for music
 
Your single and video ‘Outlaw’ are out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
 
The whole track and visuals were inspired by a short story I wrote ages ago called You Can’t Run From The Outlaw! where Wesley Black was a character who had to overcome vices and a bad conscience to become the best version of himself. The visual themes include a masked gang, a masquerade mask and a passenger seated Wesley, all working towards his journey in becoming the Outlaw- the alpha male, the best version of me
 
How did you go about writing Outlaw?
 
Inspired heavily by my short story, I wrote OUTLAW! as something positive and aggressive. It’s a track that reflects my un-anxious side, to say the least, which in a sense is the polar opposite to RED! This song is about achieving your highest heights and challenging yourself to the fullest.
 
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?
 
As I do with most of my tracks, I scout beats from a collection of Soundcloud trap producers. Once leased, I take my stems down to Shake Down Studios and record it, and then take it down to Boy Banks who co-produced and mixed and mastered this one. He is going to be mixing my entire EP, he really knows my sound.
 
How did you approach the recording process?
 
A lot of tea and a lot of energy. I rewatched Eyes Wide Shut before I recorded it, because that was such a big influence on this track, and helped me get into the whole Wesley Black character- I brought a lot of rage and energy to the session, and went hard on the ad-libs
 
What influenced the video concept?
 
The video was mainly inspired by my short story I wrote in my late teens about Wesley Black and the Outlaw, a neo-Western, where Wesley Black succumbs to his vices before turning around and standing on his own two feet. It’s just a cool revenge story I wrote, and a lot of visuals were also inspired by Eyes Wide Shut
 
Where did you film and who did you work with?
Justplay Media shot this one, and I directed and edited it myself using my storyboard I created a while back. We went all over the place, the red room scenes were shot in a sea container in Rockingham, the tea party were shot at a friends parents house and the horse scenes were shot at Sandeli Park. Everyone was super helpful.
How has the creation of the video differed from your previous video’s?
 
In a lot of ways, it’s tied together. OUTLAW! features a lot of references to previous music videos, but it feels like a whole new level. I tried a lot of guerilla effects like crashing a car and using car mounts, but the lighting and camera movements feel much more cinematic, and the storyline works really well.
 
Who are you listening to at the moment?
 
A lot of Dominic Fike, Smino and Travis Scott. A strange mix, but they all offer something I’m really liking at the moment.
 
What do you like to do away from music?
 
Write stories, watch films and watch wrestling. All of these things inspire my music in the long run anyway.
 
What’s planned for 2021?
 
A project I’m super proud of. The hardest tracks I can possibly do- it’s a whole new sound and i’m aiming to make a new subgenre off the backend of it. After that, I wanna try releasing something acoustic and raw. A whole variety this year.
 
Favourite food and place to hangout?
 

Haloumi cheese is the best. I love Asian and European food, Formosa Garden is sick too.

 

 

Wesley is playing has a show this Friday 5th at Milk Bar in Perth

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