Hannah Wants is a DJ at the forefront of new sound coming out of the UK. Various genre titles have been thrown up, Heavy House or House and Bass or even New Form Bass Line, whatever you call it Wants is at the forefront of a fresh new sound that combines big bass sounds with a house beat.
Hailing from Birmingham the DJ has been working hard at her craft for over a decade and has had a sudden rush of popularity in the last 12 months which has led to her first Australian tour. Alongside her work as a DJ she’s also released a stack of her own productions often collaborating with fellow DJ Chris Lorenzo.
I read that you’re a self taught DJ – how do you go about learning to DJ?
I am indeed! DJ’ing was something I’d always wanted to do since a young age and I received a pair of Numark belt drive vinyl decks for my birthday when I was 16. I literally didn’t know a thing but just locked myself away and taught myself through trial and error.
I’d always recommend teaching yourself as much as you can because it means you acquire your own unique DJ / mixing style which I think is essential to make it as a credible DJ nowadays. Then it’s a case of practise, practise, practise!
I’ve actually had messages off people asking me why they’re not getting booked and that they’ve been DJ’ing for just two months… I didn’t get my first paid booking until I’d been DJ’ing around five years! It takes years and years to master the art of DJ’ing, music and playing to a crowd so just be patient, act professionally and consistently and be ready take your chance when it comes.
Learning to DJ was definitely the best thing I ever did!
What songs do you love at the moment?
That’s always a hard question… ‘I Entr’ by Secondcity is massive for me at the moment and I listened to the NicFanciulli remix of ‘This Place’ again after about six months of not hearing it and I’ve fell back in love with it!
Your mixes on Soundcloud include some laid back minimal sounds – are your live shows the same?
My sets definitely aren’t laid back… My Soundcloud mix tapes allow me to put together an 80-minute mix of music that I’m feeling and show my complete sound and what I’m about. My live sets however are an energetic mix of house, bass and garage and aimed completely for the dance floor!
How did you meet you brother from another mother Chris Lorenzo?
I’ve known Chris for a good few years now. We met just through music – both DJ’s from Birmingham and playing at the same events. Then I started to visit his studio, make music together and learn production from him. He’s seriously one talented guy and great to work with!
Tell us about your new track ‘You Love Me’.
Chris and I had made a couple of more ‘housier’ tracks prior to this so our aim was to go back and make a big bass line banger designed for the clubs. We sampled a tiny bit of the amazing Missy Elliot and ended up with ‘You Love Me’. Annie Mac has just released it on her Soundcloud as part of her FMM series!
You’ve released heaps of your own productions online for free, is a CD something you have planned for the future?
An album is something we have talked about for in the future but we are both so busy with our own DJ schedules that fitting the time in to do this at the moment would be very difficult. At the moment we have a few really great remixes that are due out shortly and we’ll be back in the studio together in February after my Oz tour.
Your heading to Australia soon, what are you looking forward to?
Well I’ve never been to Australia before so I’m looking forward to everything – especially the tan! It’s nice to be leaving England in winter and heading for the sun in Australia!
I’m looking forward to experiencing the culture, the food, all of the different cities I’m flying to and playing in and I definitely can’t wait to party and see what the clubs are about!
Hannah Wants plays Parker Nightclub on January 31. Grab your tickets from Boomtick.
