Today we’d like to introduce you to Wesley Hsu & Brett Schaffer.
Hi Wesley & Brett, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Brett: Wes and I met living in the same dorm together as college freshmen at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He was a classical harp major and I was studying to be a classical vocalist. We instantly bonded and we’d go on to live all four years together at USC as roommates! Throughout those four years, we started producing music and taught ourselves how to DJ and Bayer & Waits was born. We’d pretty much spin house music every week for our friends on a cheap Traktor S4 controller at pre-games, tailgates, frat parties, and even a desert rave in Joshua tree. USC was primarily hip-hop leaning while we were there, so it was sometimes challenging playing underground music to sorority girls who’d come up to the booth requesting Playboi Carti. We were playing groovy tech-house tracks from artists like Latmun, George Privatti, and Jamie Jones when that sound was still considered underground. Tech house has since exploded into the mainstream and if we went back to USC now, I’m sure Fisher’s latest release is all we’d hear being played on repeat.
Post-college, our DJ and producing style shifted to more minimal and techno-based beats and sounds and we started focusing on pushing music out for potential label signings. We’ve received a lot of support from Justin Jay’s Fantastic Voyage label, with four tracks released on his label to date and forthcoming EPs on other labels that we are really excited about. Our other focus right now is getting booked for local DJ gigs around Los Angeles, as well as releasing music on more labels! We started our own DJ collective and label with three of our friends, Scott Shima, Edward White, and Skyler Gross (Uri Allgood) who have similar musical goals and aspirations. The collective is called Test Press Records, and we’ve already played some pretty cool shows around LA, with more on the way.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Wes: It’s been a long journey to find and make music that we truly resonated with. At one point in time, we were both into mainstream electronic and EDM styles. Although we can still appreciate these genres, it was hard to be inspired by those conventional sounds. It took going to various events that played underground music to understand and be influenced by more forward-thinking textures and themes. In addition, coming from a classical music background, one might think that advanced music theory and perfection always need to be applied to make great music, but this isn’t the case at all. Theory and musical knowledge certainly help, but the magic is definitely made during unexpected moments when the brain is turned off. I’ve found that thinking too much about the theory and perfection of tracks prolongs and dulls the creative process, and it definitely took a while to abate these habits. This is why creating music is so special to me, there really aren’t “laps” or practice that need to be done, the music you make when you are trying to improve can ultimately be one of the best pieces you’ll create. There are no rules!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Wes: I think it’s cool that nowadays, it isn’t necessary to pigeonhole yourself into any genre or sound. We strive to be able to make different types of music well, and I think every release we’ve had has been very different from each other. Our catalog currently ranges from singer-songwriter tracks, traditional house and disco-inspired tracks, all the way to hard/acid techno. It’s going to be very interesting to see what types of music we will release in the future as I’m sure we will surprise even ourselves! We are also seeing this seep into our DJ sets, which in turn creates a more meaningful journey for the listeners with varying bpm and genres.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Brett: Making and DJ’ing music that goes against what people think or view as mainstream will always be a risk, but we love it. Risk is a vital part of any DJ set. Wes and I never prepare our sets, preferring to play and mix on the fly. Reading the room and crowd, you’re always taking risks selecting songs you think will keep the energy on the dance floor. Most of the time, you select the right track but it’s important to know how to rebound when you don’t. Some of the best mixes and transitions we’ve had live were completely impromptu and unrehearsed.
It’s definitely a risk creating our own record label as the exposure you get as an artist might not be as high with a self-release. But, we can be more genuine and authentic to our sound and the sound we want to put out this way.
Contact Info:
- Email: house.bw.music@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayerwaits/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bayerandwaits/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/bayerwaits
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4LxDwZT1giWKjg3sHqfSiS?si=A0I8WNmARJiKkXDOmtvYWQ
Image Credits
1. Rachel Magnin 2. Esther Park 3. Victoria Craven 4. Max Dellheim 5. Max Dellheim
