Today we’d like to introduce you to Mitch Willis (M3WT).
Hi Mitch, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started to DJ in 2015 after buying Serato and a KORG KAOSS DJ controller. I was inspired to pick it up as a hobby by my friends Andy Bruh and Robbie Dude, who I had been supporting as artists for a couple of years at the time. I would go to every show they played for a long time, and still do when I can, I love those guys. Probably would have never started my journey as an artist if it wasn’t for them. The first set I ever played was at an event called Tecropolis. It was a weekly series put on by Todd Dawson and Darcy Reenis at a venue in Athens, GA called Live Wire, formerly New Earth. Andy and Robbie were also a huge part of it along with several other friends of ours. It’s no longer a thing, but looking back now those were some of the best times of my life and could definitely be referred to as my roots. As time passed I honed in my craft, put out several mixes, and eventually started to get bookings in Atlanta, starting at Edgewood Speakeasy at an event series called Contrast put on by Sam Lawrence (awesame) of the label UUEIRD. I played at many of those, doing diverse sets of lo-fi/downtempo music along with dubstep, halftime, and other sub-genres of EDM.
As I became more of a reputable DJ, along with a promoter, I was able to get bigger bookings at venues like Aisle 5 in Atlanta and Caledonia Lounge in Athens. I volunteered with Envisioned Arts South (now Amplifi), Native Groove, and Speakeasy Promotions doing things like handing out flyers after shows, social media promotion, and just generally helping them get people to come to their events, in exchange for free admission to any show I helped with. Those efforts were crucial to helping me get my foot in the door in the scene, leading me to my first show at Aisle 5 with Robbie Dude, Goopsteppa, and ATYYA. I’ve done a plethora of things in the underground bass scene here in Atlanta and I could go on for hours about all that. My most recent accomplishments with the M3WT project have been opening for CloZee, Of The Trees, and Tripp St. at The Orange Peel in Asheville, playing CloZee’s Voyage to the Caverns Festival in Pelham, TN, and opening for Chef Boyarbeatz, Mad Zach, and Yheti at Terminal West alongside my girlfriend Jessica Baker who goes by Sypharix. We did a B2B set which I will include pictures of (Lane Jackman did a great job with them).
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not. Every day I struggle to believe how far I have come with this having never made an original track. It blows my mind honestly. It has always caused a bit of Imposter Syndrome for that reason, but at the same time it is validating due to the fact that I have come this far with just my style alone really. I saw a void in the music world that I knew I could fill by being different. I didn’t care if I never got anywhere with it, all I wanted to do was do it my way and do it for the love of music and fun. Aside from the everyday struggles of just surviving and keeping my head up, I fight with sticking to that original ethos that I started with as well. The more things start happening with something like this the more you have to focus on staying true to yourself and not losing sight of why you did it in the first place. I know in my heart that the effort I’ve made to do that is a big reason for the success I’ve had, and that makes me feel gratitude for myself and for every person that has ever supported me. In short, it has always been hard and it is still very hard, but that’s what makes it so worth it. The more I’m able to just have fun with it and get positive feedback, the easier it is to let go and truly just enjoy it for what it is.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I guess you could say I specialize in DJing and crate digging. I would say I am known for bringing something new to the table with every set, as I never perform the same set twice, and really try to avoid ever playing the same song twice (although that can be very difficult).
I would say the thing I am most proud of is winning the competition to open for CloZee and the fact that she invited me back to play her festival (at the caverns no less). I still find it difficult to believe that happened because it’s something I never could’ve dreamed that I would achieve with this project.
What sets me apart from others is definitely my vehement refusal to follow trends. I don’t think there is any reason to do something artistic if you just do what is “cool” or “popular” and don’t do it for yourself/make it unapologetically and unmistakably you.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I would love to get more involved with my favorite music labels in the years to come. Inspected, Upscale, Vale, Saturate, Sound Museum and others have been huge inspirations to me and have influenced me in many ways, and I’d love to be more legitimately involved in helping them get more recognition. Ideally, being some sort of resident DJ for any of these labels would be a dream come true for me, as it would expand my knowledge and skill, and also help the label grow.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m3wtth33go
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/M3WTTH33GO
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/m3wtth33go
- SoundCloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/m3wtth33go
Image Credits
Lane Jackman Rachael Spencer Jordan Landwehr
