Ashley ‘Woz’ Westlake began his musical obsession in Bristol’s artistic hub, immersing himself in the thriving dance music community. Bristol shaped Woz as a musician, and the signature bass grumbles of his home city can still be heard in his productions and sets. In 2011, Woz released a string of energetic bouncy bass tracks on Bristol’s Black Butter Records. His blunt-edged, distinctly UK sound gained early support from DJ EZ and Marcus Nasty. Quickly, he became a name to watch.
Woz has spent the last few years refining these skills and broadening his creative spectrum. In 2015, he joined forces fellow Bristol bass-head (now Berlin-based) Troy Gunner, for the WxT moniker. Darker than his earlier work, the duo released weighty basement DJ tools on Zoo Music and Mak & Pasteman’s Materials. Woz’s recent ‘Grains’ single for Redlight’s Lobster Boy imprint is currently in heavy club rotation, supported by Jackmaster, Âme and Addison Groove. The snappy two-tracker delves into house, techno and 2-step, with Swamp 81 influences and warm vocals. The title track has festival anthem written all over it.
His DJ sets are progressively diverse, spanning electro, house, techno, and wonky bass. Recently, he has used his talent to advocate social change and spread awareness. Ahead of his performance at Loves Saves The Day, Woz is walking from London to Bristol to raise money for The Mental Health Foundation. He’s curating a party in each stop of the journey, walking 26 miles a day in between. Find out more on his Just Giving page.
For his track selections, Woz has served up a feast of club friendly treats – chunky tech from Traumprinz, a 90s beast from Chez Demier, saucy electro from Bell Towers and UK clunkiness from Bruce. All the tracks share “a message of love” (awww, Woz), giving us a little taster of what to expect from his upcoming LSTD set.