Frankie Wah dove into dance music somewhat late in life. Formerly a footballer and bodybuilder, it wasn’t until 2017 that he dropped his debut single, “House Party.” He’s made up for lost time, though, if his trajectory since then is any indication.




Case in point: the caliber of artists on his growing list of collaborators in the past two years alone. Frankie’s music speaks for itself — and it always will — but it certainly doesn’t hurt that tastemakers at the highest level of the industry have cosigned on his talent in the studio.




More importantly, his club-ready brand of melodic house music has proven to mesh well with the styles of these world-renowned acts. Below are six such tracks that have resulted from Frankie Wah’s high-profile collaborations since the end of 2020.




1. Sasha and Franky Wah - Haunted

When longtime progressive household name (see what we did there?) Sasha joins forces with an up-and-coming artist, the world stops and listens. The dusty broken beat and reverbed melodies of “Haunted” holds the listener captive throughout its seven-minute duration, subtly building tension by introducing symphonic elements near the halfway mark.




2. Cristoph, Franky Wah, and Artche - The World You See

Cinematic sound design frames a sterling vocal in “The World You See” by Cristoph, Frankie Wah, and Artche. Released only a few months after “Haunted,” it proved Frankie versatile enough to collaborate with artists representing both the past and future of progressive house.




3. Lee Foss and Franky Wah - Name Of Love ft. SPNCR

Frankie Wah’s collaboration with Lee Foss signaled something of a departure from the chugging tech house rhythms characteristic of the latter artist’s output. SPNCR’s radio-ready vocal sets the tone in “Name Of Love,” whose soft melodies suit it well as a closing track for DJ sets.




4. Carl Cox and Franky Wah - We Are One

Is there a stronger endorsement than getting enlisted to work on a track alongside dance music titan Carl Cox? We can’t think of one. After a chill-inducing spoken word sample delivered by the British house and techno icon himself, “We Are One” drops into equally uplifting lead synths set off by an infectiously danceable breakbeat.




5. Franky Wah and Pete Tong - Out of the Blue ft. Jules Buckley

Closing out the end of 2021 was Frankie Wah’s collaboration with Pete Tong, a DJ, producer, and broadcast journalist who played no small role in introducing house music to the U.K. in the ’80s. “Out of the Blue” featuring Jules Buckley is defined by big, trance-inspired synths and soothing atmospheres.




6. Carl Cox and Franky Wah - See the Sun Rising

If it seems odd that we included two separate Carl Cox collaborations on this list, keep in mind how much you have to impress an artist at his level to compel him to work with you a second time. His second joint effort with Franky, “See the Sun Rising,” melds the galloping percussion of techno with fittingly futuristic chords.




“I’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with Carl on a record prior to this one, so to work on a second track is just a testament to how smooth the writing process between us is,” Wah told Dancing Astronaut. “I visited his home last year and he mentioned he had an album coming out but I had no idea he’d ask me to be a part of it, so when the opportunity came, I was honored.”



From Sasha to Carl Cox: 6 of Frankie Wah’s Biggest Collabs

United Kingdom

Artche

IMS Dalt Vila

Spain

Dalt Vila

In 2018 Artche floored melodic house fans with his stunning vocals for Christoph’s “Voice of Silence.”  His silky voice and heart-piercing lyrics melted over Christoph’s emotive sonics. The two Newcastle, UK artists formed a firm bond and continue to flex the boundaries of their combined talents with releases like “The World You See,” featuring the talents of Franky Wah. Remarkably, Artche never struck out to become a vocalist. It was a hidden talent realized in frustration. 

“It was born out of impatience for getting other singers to sing on the tracks and like, trying to find good ones. And the hardest bit is trying to find a good writer,” he tells me. The process of honing talent out of a sense of immediacy is one that Burn has mastered.

He prefers to work quickly. So in a moment of frustration, he recorded vocals for a demo purely as a placeholder and sent it to his manager. He thought it was rubbish, but his manager convinced him that there was potential. 

It’s not just his velvety voice that compels listeners to stream his tracks in the millions. He is a talented writer as well. The introspective lyrics from the 2021 chart smasher on Pryda Recordings, “The World You See,” illuminate the painful aftermath of a break-up.

“Rub the tears from my face. Scratch my eyes more than I take. One mistake. Share my heart, you watch it beat. I feel the pain, knock me off my feet, I'm on my knees.”

He’s humble when I ask where the talent to write reflective and relatable prose stems from. “This is another thing that was born out of desperation. I'm just winging it the whole time.”

He tells me, “The World You See,” is one of his most personal and meaningful songs. “I’d literally just broken up with my ex like two weeks before making [it]. I moved from Manchester because it was already locked down. So, I had to move back in my parent’s. So, I'm moving on studio in the spare room. And yeah, just kind of like used that experience to write about that.”

It came out surprisingly quickly for a song on a label as large as Pryda. While he's used to waiting for up to two years for songs to release, “The World You See” was written and released in less than a year. It’s a powerful COVID age anthem and its impact was monumental. “I think the most emotional ones are though,” he explains. “I think that one kind of resonated with a lot of people.”

When the conversation turns to his musical background, it becomes clear how he harnesses the power of melody so readily. He admits that he’s loved every musical style. From his early love of pop-punk to the first time he heard Snoop Dogg’s seminal “Gin and Juice,” he’s always been captivated by good storytelling. He learned to DJ with hip hop records on a pair of shitty belt drive turntables, just like so many DJs did in the late ’90s and early aughts.

His life changed when he heard a recording of Tiesto at Dutch Dimensions 2002. Halfway through the six-hour mix, Tiesto drops “Voyage” by Yahel and Eyal Barkhan. Artche became an instant trance fan. He's DJed and produced many forms of dance music, but trance holds a special place in his heart.

“I think that I still have those kinds of influences in my music, right with the melodies and stuff.” 

He’s happy that progressive and trance have made their way back to the forefront of dance music. After ten years, he’s found his way back to his roots.

He tells me that he doesn’t necessarily have a clear-cut lane. “I've liked all different kinds of music, always make every every kind of music,” he says. His surplus of beats and lengthy release cycles of other labels led him to launch his own imprint 

. In a given week, he’ll go from writing hard techno to elegant breaks. Yusual is an outlet for his usual style but in some unusual ways. It also means tracks come out on his schedule and with his visual aesthetic intact.

His recently released track “Waves” is a great example. Snappy breaks beautifully undercut its sophisticated undulating synths. Releasing it on his label meant he had complete creative control. The simple yet compelling music video features dancer 

 performing an impassioned contemporary solo. Shot, directed, and produced by Burn "Waves" is further evidence of his homespun talent. 

Artche - Waves

Artche - Waves

Yusual

Released: 06.08.21

Download: https://www.beatport.com/track/waves/15508916
Stream: https://sptfy.com/artche-waves

Artche  - Waves

Yusual is becoming more than a self-release platform. He's even more excited at the opportunity to push the talents of other artists. 

“So the next release will be somebody else called Emiliano DeMarco. That's the first guy I've actually signed… [Yusual] was initially just for my own music. But I always get amazing promos. So I just thought, you know what, I'll put out that I'm accepting demos. The one that Emiliano sent me wasn't actually a demo. So he just sent it to my promo address. But I was like, ‘I need this track!'"

Artche is the consummate creative. As he continues to add artistic endeavors to his portfolio, it’s evident that he encompasses a founding tenant of dance music culture. The fierce DIY spirit that propelled the architects of techno and house to create a sub-culture from discarded drum machines and inside abandoned warehouses lives on in Artche’s multi-talented efforts.

Gray Area Spotlight: Artche

Artche's emotionally driving and introspective vocals captivate progressive house fans the world over. We'll talk about how he became a vocalist out of a sense of frustration nearly 10 years after he started producing music.

Read the full spotlight: https://grayarea.co/artists/artche

▪️Follow Artche▪️
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/artchemusic/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/artchemusic
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/artchemusic/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/75urDDpUkt0jMdQgVx3XFV?si=50oJQu0bR3u0gYUSLeQPtA&dl_branch=1
Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/artchemusic
Beatport - https://www.beatport.com/artist/artche/695948

Connect with Gray Area:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/entergrayarea/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/enterGrayArea
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/entergrayarea
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3nGJIfQ
Website - https://grayarea.co

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:00 - Newcastle/Cristoph
03:10 - Doing his own vocals
08:33 - Musical background
13:20 - Learning on turntables
14:37 - His label
18:45 - Music video making
20:58 - Tinnitus/hearing damage
27:00 - Meditation
28:53 - Producer/studio talk
35:13 - What excites him about the future of dance music

#grayarea #artche #housemusic

Gray Area Interview: Artche

In 2018 Artche floored melodic house fans with his stunning vocals for Christoph’s “Voice of Silence.”  His silky voice and heart-piercing lyrics melted over Christoph’s emotive sonics. The two Newcastle, UK artists formed a firm bond and continue to flex the boundaries of their combined talents with releases like “The World You See,” featuring the talents of Franky Wah. Remarkably, Artche never struck out to become a vocalist. It was a hidden talent realized in frustration. 

“It was born out of impatience for getting other singers to sing on the tracks and like, trying to find good ones. And the hardest bit is trying to find a good writer,” he tells me. The process of honing talent out of a sense of immediacy is one that Burn has mastered.

He prefers to work quickly. So in a moment of frustration, he recorded vocals for a demo purely as a placeholder and sent it to his manager. He thought it was rubbish, but his manager convinced him that there was potential. 

It’s not just his velvety voice that compels listeners to stream his tracks in the millions. He is a talented writer as well. The introspective lyrics from the 2021 chart smasher on Pryda Recordings, “The World You See,” illuminate the painful aftermath of a break-up.

“Rub the tears from my face. Scratch my eyes more than I take. One mistake. Share my heart, you watch it beat. I feel the pain, knock me off my feet, I'm on my knees.”

He’s humble when I ask where the talent to write reflective and relatable prose stems from. “This is another thing that was born out of desperation. I'm just winging it the whole time.”

He tells me, “The World You See,” is one of his most personal and meaningful songs. “I’d literally just broken up with my ex like two weeks before making [it]. I moved from Manchester because it was already locked down. So, I had to move back in my parent’s. So, I'm moving on studio in the spare room. And yeah, just kind of like used that experience to write about that.”

It came out surprisingly quickly for a song on a label as large as Pryda. While he's used to waiting for up to two years for songs to release, “The World You See” was written and released in less than a year. It’s a powerful COVID age anthem and its impact was monumental. “I think the most emotional ones are though,” he explains. “I think that one kind of resonated with a lot of people.”

When the conversation turns to his musical background, it becomes clear how he harnesses the power of melody so readily. He admits that he’s loved every musical style. From his early love of pop-punk to the first time he heard Snoop Dogg’s seminal “Gin and Juice,” he’s always been captivated by good storytelling. He learned to DJ with hip hop records on a pair of shitty belt drive turntables, just like so many DJs did in the late ’90s and early aughts.

His life changed when he heard a recording of Tiesto at Dutch Dimensions 2002. Halfway through the six-hour mix, Tiesto drops “Voyage” by Yahel and Eyal Barkhan. Artche became an instant trance fan. He's DJed and produced many forms of dance music, but trance holds a special place in his heart.

“I think that I still have those kinds of influences in my music, right with the melodies and stuff.” 

He’s happy that progressive and trance have made their way back to the forefront of dance music. After ten years, he’s found his way back to his roots.

He tells me that he doesn’t necessarily have a clear-cut lane. “I've liked all different kinds of music, always make every every kind of music,” he says. His surplus of beats and lengthy release cycles of other labels led him to launch his own imprint Yusual. In a given week, he’ll go from writing hard techno to elegant breaks. Yusual is an outlet for his usual style but in some unusual ways. It also means tracks come out on his schedule and with his visual aesthetic intact.

His recently released track “Waves” is a great example. Snappy breaks beautifully undercut its sophisticated undulating synths. Releasing it on his label meant he had complete creative control. The simple yet compelling music video features dancer Carly Jo Naylor performing an impassioned contemporary solo. Shot, directed, and produced by Burn "Waves" is further evidence of his homespun talent. 

Yusual is becoming more than a self-release platform. He's even more excited at the opportunity to push the talents of other artists. 

“So the next release will be somebody else called Emiliano DeMarco. That's the first guy I've actually signed… [Yusual] was initially just for my own music. But I always get amazing promos. So I just thought, you know what, I'll put out that I'm accepting demos. The one that Emiliano sent me wasn't actually a demo. So he just sent it to my promo address. But I was like, ‘I need this track!'"

Artche is the consummate creative. As he continues to add artistic endeavors to his portfolio, it’s evident that he encompasses a founding tenant of dance music culture. The fierce DIY spirit that propelled the architects of techno and house to create a sub-culture from discarded drum machines and inside abandoned warehouses lives on in Artche’s multi-talented efforts.

Artche

Articles

John Cameron