Metronome #020: Wood Holly

Insomniac’s Metronome series features mixes from some of today’s fastest-rising electronic stars, as well as championed legends. It takes listeners deep across a wide range of genres, movements, cultures, producers, artists and sounds that make up the diverse world of electronic music.

Recently, there’s been a definite merge between the worlds of hip-hop and dance music, and L.A.’s Wood Holly is one of the new kids on the block making it happen. Last year, he released a remix of Schoolboy Q’s hit “Studio”—which garnered support from the likes of AC Slater, CRNKN and Wuki—and he’s just followed it up with another banging pack of bootlegs.

The young producer’s style is a fresh blend of knocking 808s and ghetto house belters that is sure to give your speakers a workout. In this edition of Metronome, Wood Holly serves up a bass-heavy mix that’s loaded with heaters.

You’ve just released another bootleg package. Do you have a certain process for selecting the tracks you edit?
I listen to all kinds of rap and hip-hop, so it starts with finding some tracks that I love. From there, I need to narrow it down to the tracks that have the least amount of drums during the chorus, intro and outro. Then I make sure the track is still fresh and that 100 DJs haven’t remixed it already.

Do you ever work on hip-hop beats? Any rappers you’d love to work with?
I started producing hip-hop beats when I was 14. I’ve always wanted to produce hip-hop beats for rappers while also doing the house thing. Hip-hop producers are finally getting the credit they deserve. I love what guys like Diplo and Skrillex are doing with mainstream music. I really dig Destructo’s latest EP as well. I would love to work with Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Lil Wayne, G-Eazy, RiFF RAFF and Danny Brown.

You’ve recently been working with Perfect Driver. What’s it like to be working with an L.A.-based label?
Working with Perfect Driver has been amazing. I’m very lucky to be able to work with such a professional label right here in Los Angeles. It’s nice to have a home, a crew, and a family in this industry.

Tell us a bit about your Metronome mix.
This mix is an example of what you would get if you saw me headline at a club or play at a festival. There’s a lot of unreleased music, bootlegs and original tracks. You will hear some booty bass, G-house, house and bass, breaks, techno and hip-hop.

What’s next in the world of Wood Holly?
I claimed that I would put out more music this year than I have in the last two years combined, so you can expect that. I am mixing and presenting the next Perfect Driver compilation, which is coming out in March. I also have a lot of gigs lined up in April with Doug English. We will be playing up and down the West Coast from April 10 to April 20.

Track List:: Maximono “Bounce” (Original Mix)
O.T. Genasis “CoCo” (Wood Holly Bootleg Remix)
Destructo ft. Problem “Dare You 2 Move” (Original Mix)
Lil Wayne “Shit” (Wood Holly Bootleg Remix)
Ten Walls “Walking With Elephants” (Sirmo Rerub)
Teki Latex “Zodiac” (Motez Edit)
Brillstein “Meelo My Bro” (Jesse Rose Remix)
The Squatters “Afterhours” (Original Mix)
Sleepy Tom & Gladiator “Cruise Control” (Original Mix)
Merlyn “Jock the Bells” (SP 1200 Version)
Perfect Driver “Crawl Into My Bed” (Alex Index Remix)
Rome Fortune & OG Maco “Sex” (AC Slater Remix)
Allmostt “Booty Call” (Original Mix)
Frederique & Rob Me “I Don't Like That” (Original Mix)
Daniel Dubb & m.O.N.R.O.E. “Colors” (Original Mix)
Wood Holly & Alex Index “Kill Em” (Original Mix)