Clay Wilson

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Territory: Worldwide

Clay Wilson is a young Brooklyn-based DJ and producer who began turning heads in 2013 with his mesmerizing debut on Styles Upon Styles. While nerding out over our mutual love of fine craft beers and deep techno, we asked Wilson to create some music for our (then hypothetical) new label, and he has since more than obliged. Wilson was already a big fan of The Bunker, and a regular at our parties. He had already started making music before experiencing The Bunker, but the sound of the party inspired him massively, and helped him to refine his own aesthetic. He was deeply moved by Bunker sets by Voices From The Lake, Demdike Stare, Peter Van Hoesen, the Interdimensional Transmissions crew, Bee Mask, Atom™, Tobias, and many more.

Over the past year and a half he has released two hypnotically psychedelic 12”s for The Bunker New York, both of which quickly sold out. He has become a regular fixture on Bunker lineups both as a DJ and live act, and has performed in numerous label showcases throughout the US. In February 2016, Clay played a well-received four hour set to open the Bunker Klubnacht at Berghain. Following that gig, he launched a weekly show on The Lot Radio exploring his diverse musical interests and just released The Osho EP on The Bunker New York's label.

Before Wilson started making techno, he studied improvisation at music school in upstate New York. Wilson played bass, studying with noted jazz musicians who had worked with Ornette Coleman, Alice Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and many artists who recorded for the ECM label. He counts Coleman, Coltrane, and Art Ensemble of Chicago among his major inspirations. You can sense the subtle traces of Wilson’s avant-garde jazz training in his techno. You can hear the shifting layers of intriguing textures in the music, his deep understanding of the low end, of arranging and composition, of form. “Understanding the foundation of form has allowed me to not worry so much about putting loops into a full ‘song’, which seems to be a common thing with electronic music,” he says. “I think the textures kind of come from trying to get away from standard musical ideas.”