You may have heard us playing Golden Lights by Wandour recently on Phoenix FM – but who is Wandour? We caught up with him to find out …
Tell us a little bit about your yourself?
Hello, I’m Ken. Indonesian born, London based electronic music producer making lush electronic music under the “Wandour” moniker.
When did you first start to develop a passion for music?
My mum and dad like to collect records, so growing up in Indonesia I listened to diverse pool of music. Only from middle school I’m hooked to music, especially electronic music. One summer holiday, one of my school mate big brother bring over this really nice mixtape of trance, house and garage that get my passion for music burning ever since. From that day I’m obsessed with that dreamy and lush sounding synth, which inspire me to make music of my own. I tried to fiddle with early version of fruity loops back then, trying to make Paul van Dyk’s trance sounding track, but it didn’t go anywhere. Not until my late 30’s that I went back for my music passion, this time really learning and digging into music production aspect professionally.
Which artists did you listen to while growing up?
I listen to a lot of trance when I grow up, mixed with some old disco and synth-pop collection from my dad’s. So I listen from Pet Shop Boys, Bee Gees, ABBA, to Armin van Bureen, Paul Van Dyk, Ferry Corsten and Tiesto.
How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard you before?
Personally I think my music is just a blend of music I liked to hear when I was a kid. I’m trying to inject some of disco, some of blues, a little bit of synth pop into more dominant four by four house beat, and make it sounding more melodic and lush.
What music have you recorded and released to date?
I have released couple singles and two EP so far. A three track melodic house downtempo EP titled “Apriori”, and two track synthwave inspired melodic house EP “Voyage to Afterlife”. With my latest track “Golden Lights”, I kinda fiddle with blending melodic house and synth-wave, creating this interesting smooth chill house-y synth-y vibe that not just your standard four by four house track. It kinda sum up my musical journey of trying to find the right blend of sound.
Which artists do you enjoy listening to at the moment – and do they influence your work?
Right now I listen to a lot of UK based artist such as Four Tet, Bicep, Disclosure. After I moved to London couple years ago, I’m drawn into the world of Garage and Jungle which massively influence and open up my sonic palette.
Who would your dream collaboration be with?
It would be Four Tet. I actually started to listen to him when I was studying in collage back in the U.S. He’s one of the reason that make me considering moving across the pond to London, to get exposed more to British side of electronic music, which sparks my passion again for creating electronic music.
What are your plans for the future?
Hopefully, create more music!
Where can we find out more about you?
You can find me on SoundCloud, Instagram and Facebook.
