image: Fresh To Death
In recent years, Sonny Wharton has risen to become one of the UK’s brightest house music talents, releasing hit records on Size, Toolroom, Spinnin’ and Skint, as well as his own highly-regarded label, Whartone, which has hosted the likes of Paul Thomas, Will Clarke and Sick Elektrik, among many others.
Described by Shapeshifters as: “one of the most prolific producers out there,” his array of impressive and eclectic original material, along with a raft of remixes for a broad scope of artists including Frankie Knuckles and The Temper Trap, has garnered praise from titans such as Pete Tong, Steve Angello, Roger Sanchez, Mark Knight and, perhaps most notably, Fatboy Slim, who named him as producer of the year in 2012.
Having got his foot in the door by winning DJ Mag’s Terraced House mixtape competition, Sonny bagged slots at the opening and closing parties for Renaissance at Amnesia, before beginning a weekly residency at the infamous Manumission in the early noughties. Since then he’s gone on to play sell out shows at Space, Pacha and Ministry Of Sound, while also continuing to grace the decks at smaller, local venues, much to the appreciation of his fans. A regular on the festival circuit, he’s been seen everywhere from V Festival to Global Gathering.
The last two years have been huge for Sonny – in 2012 his release ‘Runnin’ hit Number 1 in the DMC Buzz Chart, and he was given the honour of mixing the very first edition of Skint’s ‘Back To The Boutique’ series, for which he collaborated with Fatboy Slim and X-Press 2. This year his track ‘Raindance’ was chosen by Carl Cox and subsequently voted by Radio 1 listeners as their most-loved Ibiza anthem of 2013, beating off competition from Hot Natured and Avicii.
Grace Price-Salisbury caught up with Sonny for a quick chat to find out what these recent heady times have been like for the lad from mid-Wales.
Can you remember what went through your head when you found out you had won the DJ Mag mixtape competition?
It was really surreal to be honest, I’d almost not answered the call as it was an unknown number and I was out in Ibiza at the time without much credit left on my pay-and-go phone! I just remember wondering if it was all actually happening and couldn’t quite believe I was going to be playing the Amnesia Terrace for Renaissance!
When you first started out, what was your biggest ambition – to be successful as a producer or as a DJ?
To be a DJ. I’d never really even considered production, I just enjoyed the DJing side of it. Back then it didn’t matter if you’d got a big track out or not, people were booked on the merit of being able to DJ. Obviously things have changed somewhat now and it’s the exact opposite these days, but as this situation evolved I learnt to produce and now get to really enjoy both making and playing music every day.
What or who would you say were some of your earlier dance music influences?
Carl Cox, Danny Tenaglia, X-Press 2, Superchumbo, The Prodigy, Altern 8, Underworld, Leftfield – the list could go on forever!
What made you want to start your own record label, Whartone?
I was getting sent so many great tracks from other producers that I thought it would be really cool to help them get their music out there, and it kind of grew from there really. Whartone is now approaching its 100th release!
As a regular on the festival circuit, which event would you say has been your most memorable and why?
I’ve been really lucky to play at some amazing festivals over the years. My sets at Nozstock, V Festival and The Isle Of Wight have got to be some of my favourites but, as for the most memorable, its probably the first time I ever played at The Wickerman Festival in Scotland… some great friendships were forged that year and I’m really stoked to have played their every year since.
You’ve played at super clubs such as Space, Pacha and Ministry Of Sound, but do you ever miss playing at smaller venues?
I still get to play smaller venues as well and these can often be some of the best gigs to play. I’m starting my ‘Sound Of Whartone’ parties again in London early next year and these will be small capacity events with the emphasis being on an intimate vibe. To be honest though I don’t think the size of the venue matters really, as long as you’re able to communicate and connect with the dancefloor the atmosphere can still be amazing.
Can you tell us how did it all began with Skint records and Back to the Boutique 001? Was that a big moment for you?
The connection with Skint came through X-Press 2 after they gave me a shot at remixing one of their singles, ‘Opulence’, and Skint really liked it. After doing a couple more remixes and singles for them they offered me the chance to mix their first ‘Back To The Boutique’ compilation, which was a dream come true – I’ve been a fan of the label since I started to DJ, so to be given a shot at mixing a compilation for them was awesome! Its something I feel really lucky to have done.
You remixed ‘Everybody needs a 303’ for Fatboy Slim, and he named you as his “producer of the year”. What was it like to find out that he loved your music?
I’m still speechless to be honest! It doesn’t really get much better than that does it?!
Any big projects coming up that you can talk about?
I’m working on a lot of new stuff at the moment and have music forthcoming on Steve Angello’s new label, X, Mihalis Safras’ label, Material, and a couple more bits on Skint over the next few weeks. There’s also a collaboration with X-Press 2 that’s due to drop at the end of the year.
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