Michael Woods Talks Brand New Single And Collab with Armin Van Buuren In Exclusive Interview

We had the pleasure the sit down with Michael Woods over Miami Music Week and talk about the past, present, and future of the EDM scene. Having spent over 16 years dabbling with electronic music, Michael Woods has seen and experienced the progress behind what we perceive as mainstream EDM music now. His very own label Diffused Music, which is heavily oriented around techno, has been constantly putting out quality work by Alex Madden, Dave Winnel, Michael Woods himself, and many more. Check out the interview below:

WRY: How does the music industry differ in the UK than in the US or the Netherlands?

MW: The electronic dance music scene in the UK and Netherlands seems to be a few steps ahead, in the sense that the UK seems to pioneer the way forward for new electronic dance music but having said that, seeing that the world is a lot more connected due to the internet the gap between the 2 is definitely closing.

WRY: Can you tell us a little about the creation process of your newest single with Andrea Martin?

MW: I happened to be working with Andrea Martin in some recording studios in LA, we were jamming away working on some music and suddenly I played what is now the main piano riff. She loved it and had me loop it over and over, to which she started humming a melody, then finally the lyrics came out and bam! “Sleep” was born!:

WRY: We saw you went to the shooting range with Steve Aoki a couple days ago. What does your life look like outside of the studio, any favorite past-times?

MW: If I’m out of the studio I’m usually sleeping, travelling or eating pizza – those things alone seem to take up most of my time. I do however one of my hobbies outside of music is keeping fit so I do like to go on hikes, runs and get to the gym as often as possible.

WRY: There has been talk that paid music downloads (beatport etc) is decreasing and may soon be a thing of the past and streaming sites like Spotify, Soundcloud, Youtube will dominate the scene. What are your thoughts on the matter and how will it affect the industry?

MW: Yes, steaming is now on the increase as it provides the end user the ability to listen to, pretty much, any song they wish to at any time they want, and usually only requires a small subscription fee or for the listener to listen to an advert. There are services soon going to be in place who ensures all artists get their proper share of music royalties when their music is streamed so all in all, I think this is a great situation where everybody wins.

WRY: What do you think about the current music scene and how do you think it will progress in the next few years?

MW: The current music scene is very vibrant right now with so many new producers and DJs coming onto the scene – the problem is where “anyone” can make a track now with the help of a laptop, a lot of music is starting to sound the same; producers are becoming more and more aware of this so I think there are interesting times ahead where music-makers will be pulling out all the stops to make sure their music sounds unique and stands out from the crowd.

WRY: What can we expect from Michael Woods in the remaining 2016? Do you have any interesting collaborations coming up?

MW: I’m currently working on a whole bunch of new material, material which sounds like nothing I’ve ever made before and I think people are really going to love it. I’m also working on a few collaborations, one being with Armin Van Buuren – so stay tuned for more music for 2016.

WRY: What are some of the greatest tracks you have heard submitted through Diffused Music and what do you look for in a track to incorporate in your episodes?

MW: There have been many great tracks submitted to Diffused Music and by some extremely talented producers from all over the world. What I look for when selecting music is usually something which strays away from the norm, something which stands out a little I and I love when producers aren’t afraid to take risks when it comes to new ideas.

WRY: How do you feel your career has developed over the last few years, any highlights?

MW: I’ve been in the industry for 16 years now and I like to think I’ve been perfecting my sound over that time, but I’m still learning as I go as production techniques are always becoming more and more advanced. There’s been many memorable moments but one has to be waking up on a Sunday afternoon to find out that one of my productions had just gone straight in at #1 in the official UK charts, the record being “Changed The Way You Kissed Me” which I produced for Example.

WRY: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to share some insights with us, good luck with your future endeavors!

Check out Michael Woods’ brand new single “Take My Love” below. Out now on Beatport.