When the Coronavirus shut us down, clubs and festivals ceased, and everyone was essentially forced inside with no definitive end in sight, DJ Times wondered: How is our tribe coping? How are DJs getting by? So, we sent out our “Coronavirus Questionnaire” to DJ/producers from all musical genres to find out.
During this period, DJ Times will continue presenting the questionnaire responses from talented music-makers from all over the world. Here’s our latest entry, this time from Scotland, the Glasgow-based electronic talent Wuh Oh (aka Peter Ferguson).
What’s it like where you’re living? Were you locked down? How did you spend most of your time?
Right now, I’m living in my childhood home in Bathgate, a wee town between Edinburgh and Glasgow. I decided to go be with my parents again when lockdown started and my four brothers did the same, so it’s been like a flashback to our school days! I spend most days making music and then, at night, me and my brothers congregate and watch a crappy Adam Sandler movie or some trash reality TV.
Did you lose important gigs, or income-producing work? I was booked to play all the major festivals in the U.K., as well as doing some shows in the states and across Europe. All the cancellations were a pain in the ass, but it’s meant I’ve had to figure out different ways of reaching people and, ultimately, it’s lead to me being more productive creatively.
Are you doing anything now that can or will produce music-related income? Have you learned anything in the downtime? I’ve been producing a bunch of remixes for other artists that will be coming in the next few months. I’ve also got a “versus-style” collab with another producer – who I have to keep secret right now – dropping soon. I’ve learned to just keep moving, regardless of what bizarre obstacles the universe throws down. I can’t cope with stagnating musically and, so, I try to keep myself motivated by making music I can look forward to sharing with the world, even if it won’t see the light of day for ages.
What are you doing now that’s ultimately constructive to your music life/career? For example, any releases during this period? My latest single is “Softstyle. I always try to stay four or five singles ahead of what’s released, so I’ve been working on a string of singles for next year. My first album is dropping on vinyl later this year, so I’ve also been gearing up for that, perfecting the artwork and finishing music videos for a couple of the tunes on there.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve realized during this period of social distancing? I’ve realized just how much of a recluse I’ve always been! Obviously, there are some people I miss deeply, but generally speaking I’ve been completely fine hiding away from the outside world. It was a surprisingly smooth transition.
Have you done anything online recently? Twitch, Facebook, YouTube streams? Have you seen any DJ video streams that impressed you? I realized the DJ-set-streaming thing got super over-saturated very fast, so I decided I didn’t want to do anything like that. I’ve never found DJ videos very exciting. Some artists I like got involved with A.G. Cook’s “Appleville,” which was more visually eclectic than simply sticking DJs in front of a green screen to play tunes: a major cop out I’ve been guilty of before!
Any theme tunes recommended for the moment? “I Touch Myself” by Divinyls is a stone-cold classic. She’s keeping her hands to herself.
Any advice on staying sane & relatively positive through this situation? Just focus on today. Oh, and listen to Myd’s remix of “Softstyle” by Wuh Oh – it’s out now on Softstyle/RCA Records.
To check out more Life in Lockdown interviews, click here.
