[INTERVIEW] Amy Wiles Talks Latest EP, Anjunabeats, Career, And More

We recently sat down with one of the most promising, far-more-than-rising stars of the Trance scene today.

The world of Dance music is amazing and amusing, and I’ve said that a couple times already. But every time I stop and stare, there’s something new. And while in this case there’s nothing new for me, it certainly is one great opportunity for me to show you one of the artists that I’m most excited about in the current Trance scene. She is, of course, Amy Wiles.

I’ve been following her career for a while, ever since she appeared on the Anjunabeats roster as part of the Rising series. And then came a couple of things. A couple of small things, like ABGT450, many EPs, incredible female-only collaborations, and remixes for the likes of Above & Beyond and Oliver Heldens.

From her beginnings in some hybrid of Progressive House and Progressive Trance, she’s now found her sound in the corner of Dance music that she reigns, which is very reminiscent of the golden era of Trance music: the speed and the emotion of the good old days put against the exceptional production techniques of today’s sound. With this endeavour, Amy has effectively brought us our beloved Classic Trance back.

Her latest EP, her best work to date, I Never Want This To End, is an ode to that precisely: it is an ode to her evolution, how she’s matured her sound, how she’s defined a place that is uniquely and exclusively hers. And from that place, she’s shining her sounds and her talent to the entire world.

We sat down with Amy to talk about many things, including her career, her sound, and topics that you may know my interviews for. So stick around as we dive deep with one of the most interesting artists in today’s scene and, of course, one of the most active stars of the Anjunabeats roster, Amy Wiles.

The Interview

(Please note, the bolded text represents a question, while the paragraph(s) following it represent Amy’s answers.)

First off, huge congrats on the release of the EP. Both ‘I Never Want This To End’ the single and the EP are brilliant. We would love to know what this body of work means to you.

It’s a collection of music that I’ve worked on probably over the last three years. So, to have it all come together is huge. I do feel like it’s my strongest body of work so far. To see the first single, ‘Heard It All Before’, do so well straight off the bat, and then to end with ‘I Never Want This To End’, feels like… not necessarily the end of an era, but this EP has been coming for a while. It ties everything together really nicely. It means a lot in the sense that so much work, time, and effort has gone into this, and it feels like a nice closing chapter with the final single.

Would you like to tell us a story regarding the EP, either how one of the tracks came to be, or something that’s perhaps happened to you while spinning these tracks around the world?

The first thing that comes to mind is ‘Heard It All Before’, because that track was written about Leena Punks, the collaborating artist on the track. It was written about her heartbreak last year. She’s a really close friend of mine, and we had this idea to work on a song together. She said that she wanted to write something about the guy who broke her heart, so that’s how that came about. We got flowanastasia to tell the story with her vocals, and then I tranced up the record.

In terms of the rest, I usually just get an idea and sit in my studio and play around with it until it becomes something I really like. ‘Each Other’ was a sample from back in the day that I really liked, which took quite some time to get cleared. So that was an exciting outcome.

Thank you. You talked about “trancing it up”. About that, your current sound has quite an old-school feel to it, which I personally love, and I perceive people on socials like it too. How did you end up here? How does the road lead you from, say, your remix of A&B ‘Home’ or tracks like ‘Biding Time’ to your current style?

I get a lot of questions about this because a lot of people’s favourite tracks from my catalogue are from the ‘Biding Time’ or ‘Remind Me Why’ era, but those tracks were nearly five years ago now. I do feel like my sound and my interest in that sound has progressed and moved forward. ‘Biding Time’ was more in the progressive trance era, and now I’m trying to just have more song-based writing within my music. ‘Biding Time’ was also one of my first productions, so I think it’s just a case of the better you get at production and writing, the more the songs progress. I’m tapping into the old-school sound a lot more because that’s my roots and where I’ve come from.

I really wanted to ask this one: What’s the story between you and Anjuna? I’ve heard about an internship, but from there to being part of the A-class roster feels like a bit of a leap. There’s got to be a story to it. [laughs]

There is! I started as an intern in 2018 for three months. I remember one of those days, Yotto crashed at the Anjunakitchen [Anjuna HQ] to play a DJ set. Me, just being young and excited, jumped on the decks after he’d finished playing because we were having a party. And everyone in the office was like, “We had no idea that you could play.”

At the time, they were looking for newer artists to sign and also to put on opening warm-up slots for some of the UK shows. So, I remember them offering me an opening slot at Electric Brixton, which I think is 3,000-cap. I had DJed in clubs before, but never venues of this size. I instantly thought, “I actually don’t know if I can do this, I’m going to be so nervous.” But I threw myself into the deep end. While there, James Grant came down to check out my set, see how I did. Everyone was impressed from that moment on, and that’s how the other shows came around.

To be honest, it took a while to build because I went to work for Enhanced Music for two years, and then I came back to Anjunabeats because there was a full-time job position open for me here. I took on the job as a Product Manager. I managed ilan Bluestone’s album, I did Gabriel & Dresden’s album, all very businessy stuff.

During that time, COVID happened. So, I decided to start producing, taught myself, and got better at it. Then the full-time job naturally became less and less; it became a part-time job. My music was starting to take off a little bit, the shows were getting bigger, and then here we go. So, it may feel like a leap, but it’s been seven years since I started playing opening slots for Anjuna. I’ve just been chipping away to get to where we are now.

Yeah, it’s definitely less of a leap now that I have the story. Congratulations on actually getting the part and actually rocking it, because that’s exactly what you’re doing now.

Now, I follow your socials and your journey. And not long ago, you talked about industry plants. Apparently, you were offered to be the face of a project a long time ago. What’s that corner of the music world about? And why did you ultimately decide to turn down that opportunity and go down the tougher path of making music yourself?

The first thing that I thought was: this music I have no interest in. If I was going to be the face of it, I would have to DJ this music live. So, that was my first instinct; I don’t really vibe with this. I know it was kind of offered on a plate, and I could have potentially become a high-earning artist, but there’s a stigma with women not producing their own music. I don’t want to fall into that stigma. I want to prove everybody wrong and show that women can make their own music. It’s not just men making it and then making them the face of the brand all the time, because it does happen.

It’s not that I don’t agree with that path, but I don’t want that path for myself. I think there’s more longevity in having your own passion and your own brand, and you get more satisfaction from actually making your own music and then seeing it do well.

What’s the secret to your success? How do you sift through the noise and overwhelm of hundreds of thousands of tracks being released every single day? How do you make yourself heard in the industry?

It’s a mixture of things. For a start, being yourself on social media. My core fans often say, “Oh, you’re just so relatable and real”. So I think that’s definitely part of it. You have to utilise TikTok at the end of the day; it’s such a good platform for gaining new fans and getting yourself out there.

And obviously, the music: now that I’m writing more song-based music and working with other writers and vocalists, I’ve noticed myself really elevating things on the music side. I’ll always have my style production-wise, but it’s important to have other people’s input to make a banger or a hit.

Then, not to overlook this, you’ve got to have a good team behind you. I genuinely feel like that’s so important. If you don’t have the right people pushing your music in the right places, radio, streaming, A&R, feedback, the chances of your music getting heard are instantly 50% less, So, having a strong team is crucial.

Regarding your career, do you remember the moment when you had that switch in your mind, that idea that, “Wow, this can actually become a full-time thing. I don’t have to do it as a side thing anymore”?

I think it was when Lockdown hit. Without Lockdown, I wouldn’t have had that time to actually really teach myself how to produce and learn. I’m grateful for it in a way, as horrible as that time was in other situations.

When we came out of it, we had shows again, and I played ABGT450 in London. That was the first time I’d ever played my own music live. When I saw the reaction to that, my music, and how it was performing on socials and all the platforms, I thought, “I could really make a go of this. I think I have the tools and the ability now, and the people around me, to really drive things forward”.

It was a year or two after that where I really started to produce more music, and my team at Anjuna basically said, “Look, I think you should go part-time and make a real go of this.” 

As great as it all sounds, I bet it’s not been smooth sailing every day. How do you deal with feeling the blues? What’s the best resource you go through when you have those lower periods of energy or mood?

Probably my first thing is to turn to exercise, I feel like that just clears the mind a lot. If I’m feeling a certain way, I go for a run, a swim, Pilates, or yoga. Also, taking a break from music is really important. I do have periods throughout the year where I’ll just spend a month not producing or doing anything creative, because it can get a little overwhelming, especially now when I’m in EP release mode. Everything is marketing, interviews, shows. I had a bit of a burnout this year in June too, thanks to three months of non-stop international touring. It got to a point where I was like, “I’m not enjoying it right now”. But it’s not only physical overwhelm, you also feel guilty that you’re not enjoying this way of life, and that takes a toll mentally. So, when you get to that point, it’s important to take your foot off the gas a little bit, have a break, and completely clear your mind of music. Then it does come back. If you’re overtired and burnt out, no matter what you’re doing, you’re naturally going to start to resent it.

You’re often considered one of the leaders of the new era of trance, a movement characterised by younger, newer faces pulling new listeners in. Would you agree with that statement, and, does it ever feel like too much of a weight on your shoulders if you think about it?

I don’t think I’m the leader. I think there’s a lot of people in this new wave of trance right now. A personal favourite artist of mine is KETTAMA. I think his music is a really classy style of new wave trance/rave/house. It’s a mix-mash of genres, and it really works, drawing from old-school references like Underworld and The Chemical Brothers.

I feel like people get this “new wave” name because you’re slightly younger. A lot of people in trance are probably a bit older now. So, I do feel like this “new wave” name is just a name for younger people doing trance and having a come-up in that sense. It’s nice to have that title, but I also don’t want to be on that pedestal. I quite like just doing my own thing and not feeling like I’m being put up there.

What’s one unexpected thing that music brought to you that you’re thankful for?

Probably all my friends. When I moved to London, I lived a couple of hours out of town, so I moved here and had no friends. I essentially moved here for my career, and all the friends that I’ve made now work in music. I’ve got some long, lifetime friendships out of it, so yeah, I’m really grateful for that.

I love this one. If you could travel to the past any number of years you might find interesting, and meet your past self of that era, what would you tell her? Was there something young Amy was perhaps far too worried about that wasn’t really necessary?

I think young Amy was worried about the same things that Amy here is worried about still to this day. It’s always, I don’t want to care what people think about me too much, but I can’t help but think that way. When you’re putting yourself out there to thousands of people on a stage and you do something wrong, it’s going to get picked up on, or if you post something on social media and it doesn’t look quite right, people are going to comment on it.

I was the quiet, shyer girl at school, and I maybe steered towards music because that took me out of that scenario. I used music as my comfort zone, but then you realise when you progress as an artist, you’re like, “Oh, okay, now you can go on stage in front of 2,000 people”, and that shy girl that’s worried about what people think is back again. It gets worse the more successful you become. I’m just working through each day as it comes, and I have my own coping mechanisms with anxiety.

Now, finally, suppose there’s someone in our audience who looks up to you and your career so far and is looking to do something similar. They’re currently one or two years into production, let’s say. What’s the most important piece of advice you’d give them in order to succeed?

Definitely stay true to yourself and your roots. Don’t chase trends. You can steer towards trends, but do it within your sound. Don’t compare yourself too much to other people. Everyone’s got their own path and their own thing, so it’s really important to look at how far you’ve come.

Utilise social media. I know a lot of people moan about this, and it is time-consuming, but it’s a free tool you can use to your advantage. You can take a song that no one knows to potentially a song that will do a million streams in a couple of weeks, which is absolutely wild that a platform can do that, and you don’t have to pay for it.

And just take some time; try not to rush things. Work on your craft, your brand, and who you are as a person. That’s got to come across.

Amazing. Well, thank you so much for everything.

Thank you.

-End of interview-

Final Words

What else can I say other than, it was an absolute true pleasure to speak with Amy. I had been wanting to do this for a while, and I never found the right time for it. And once the EP came out, that was the exact call. So this is somewhat of a dream come true, but more importantly, the chance to dive deep into the mind of an artist who is just about to absolutely blow up.

From ABGT450 and the comfort of the UK, to places like Dreamstate in LA, and millions of streams, Amy knows no bounds — and now is not the time she’ll learn them. Stay tuned to EDMTunes for the latest news and views from around the world of Dance music.