Get acquainted with WRTR, the self-taught artist, producer, and songwriter making strides in the music industry with his heartfelt dance tracks.
Growing up in a small village in Finland, 23-year old WRTR has only just recently stepped into the world of professional music production as of 2020 but is already making his mark through his songwriting talent and production abilities. His lyrics focus on meaningful, delicate themes, centering on the analysis of human emotions and truths. He continues to hone his craft by collaborating with other artists and producers as well as working on his own material, with his upcoming album “Spheres” set for release in 2022.
In addition to creating the occasional mysterious track, WRTR likes to conceal his image on social media, mainly appearing as a 3D-modelled robot. He takes inspiration from artists like Sia and Norwegian DJ Alan walker who both conceal their public image as well.
Hitting play on WRTR’s single “I Am Me”, listeners are met with a prominent bass line, arpeggiated synths, and a driving, consistent drumbeat that carries on throughout the track. WRTR has flaunted his production skills in this single, creating a mysterious yet energetic soundscape that fully engulfs the listener and leaves them wanting more. WRTR’s vocals are smooth, shiny, and layered to perfection throughout the track.
WRTR demonstrates his songwriting abilities, with vulnerable and introspective lyrics that reflect on his younger self as well as the leaps and bounds he has made throughout his life thus far. With vocal textures and production elements resembling artists like The Weeknd, WRTR has created a meaningful, heartfelt track that also makes you want to drive around to a blast at top volume.
You definitely don’t want to miss out on “I Am Me”, the latest single from up-and-coming artist/producer WRTR. Go and show it some love today.
We are really impressed with your new track, “I Am Me”, and especially taken by the vulnerability you demonstrate in your lyrics. Can you tell us a bit more about the inspiration/story behind the track?
This song is lyrically a true story based on my own past life events. I feel like I was at times a sad kid growing up and I couldn’t really be authentically myself during that period of time. This is based on my sexual identity and the shy nature of myself living in a small village. Therefore, I wanted to get vocal about it via ’I Am Me’. Finally, admitting that the past doesn’t define my current truth and I’m able to be myself now. I also want to highlight that of course sadness is a temporary emotion and so is happiness. However, the point is that the underlying emotion is happiness and therefore, the past sadness doesn’t define me in a major way now. I wanted to speak out because often it’s easy to dwell in the past and I think it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s just so much more to be experienced.
We are also very impressed at how recent your journey into music production has been. Are there any artists that were large inspirations to you growing up, helping to influence your desire to write and produce music yourself?
Yes, I’m very influenced by both Sia and Alan Walker. I was back then and I still am. Of course, I also listened to other artists as well but I felt like both of the mentioned artists really had that mystery I enjoyed witnessing and through that, I was able to get inspired to explore the area of music myself. I also feel like my music skills are the way they are because I have that lyrical inspiration from Sia. On the other hand, I love the composition, mixing, and mastering skills of Alan Walker. In a conclusion, that’s how I am me.
Was there a specific message you wanted to get across to listeners when writing “I Am Me”?
Yes, I wanted to tell a story about overcoming the prevailing negative emotions through creativity and highlight the importance of storytelling as a recovery method. I’m well aware of the fact that if there’s for instance mental health diagnosis, the treatment most of the time cannot only be storytelling but I feel like it can support the recovery. I also wanted to tell through the lyrics my story so far so basically how I have had my highs and lows and altogether those moments formulate to this moment where I’m what I am now.
We are really excited about your upcoming album “Spheres”, set for release in 2022. Can you give a hint to what listeners can hope to expect from this project?
I was supposed to release the album in 2021 but I felt like I needed more time. This is mostly because I’m still figuring out the style I want the album to be like because I began with a cinematic style and now I’m going for more like vaporware style. My aim is to create an album that has that nostalgic sound with futuristic details and it’s not easy to come up with something like that in order to not sound too generic and like it was too all over the place.