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Wesley Verhey—better known by his artist name UOAK—joined us at the Nexus Lounge Amsterdam at Amsterdam Dance Event to chat about his upcoming collaboration with Production Music Live, his experience visiting Amsterdam post-COVID, and to answer a few questions as part of our Nexus Take-5 Series.
Native to nearby Rotterdam, UOAK (an amalgamation of “Unseen Oak”) is no stranger to ADE. He is visiting the event for the second time as a representative of his record label, Sekora Music. The label, founded in 2018 and combining “sequoia” and “sakura” in its name, is rooted around a passion for melodic house, deep house, and electronic music and seeks to create a place where organic can meet the synthetic nature of the electronic. UOAK, as Sekora’s host and owner, has been busy at work sharing his talents and vision for Sekora with ADE attendees, playing various sets throughout the festival.
While his passion for electronic music is primary, UOAK tells us that one of his favorite places to visit in Amsterdam is Café Alto, a jazz bar where he finds inspiration in new genres. He also talks a little about his upcoming project in collaboration with Production Music Live, a Berlin-based online academy for production with whom UOAK has been preparing to launch his first-ever online course.
As part of Nexus Take-5 series, we asked the producer who he would choose to spend a night as. Surprising us with his earnest and heartfelt answer, UOAK offered us some inspirational words to live by, saying:
"This is going to sound really cheesy…I just really like being myself because I feel like everyone has their own journey, and you can take inspiration from other people but I wouldn't want to live someone else's success or dream."
Artistic integrity and a deep-rooted sense of self are essential to the artist, who also tells us that the year’s biggest highlights have been the reopening of the world’s dance music venues and playing live again as well as developing Sekora Music.
Turning a bit to his earliest inspiration, UOAK reminisces on the first MP3 track he ever bought or downloaded, which he thinks was either a track from Daft Punk’s seminal album Discovery or a way off punk rock band Silversun Pickup’s debut album Carnavas.
And when it comes to choosing a warning label for himself, the producer goes with “Don’t Feed” or, he adds later, “Don’t touch the decks when I’m playing.” You heard the man: keep your drinks away from the DJ equipment.
To find out more about UOAK’s upcoming projects, both with his label and through outside collaboration, check out our full-length and exclusive interview below.
