Kris Barman, the producer better known as Wuki, has carved a unique and explosive path through electronic music. Renowned for his high-energy sets and the legendary ‘Wukileaks’ edits, Wuki’s production style is instantly recognisable. With a Grammy nomination under his belt and viral hits like his tracks ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Edge of Seventeen’ racking up hundreds of millions of streams, his influence is undeniable.
Following a massive set in Ibiza, we sat down with the artist to discuss his incredible journey. Wuki opened up about how his early days shaped his love for remixing, the organic process behind balancing club bangers with commercial hits, and the immense pressure that follows viral success. He also shared the seven-year story behind his collaboration with Skrillex, reflected on playing bucket-list stages like Tomorrowland, and gave us an exclusive look into his next major project: a comprehensive mixtape album that promises to be a culmination of his sound. Dive into our conversation with one of dance music’s most dynamic creators.
How did your many years in Innerpartysystem help influence your sound and music as Wuki?
That’s when I really started remixing. I fell in love with it at that time because I used to always get the stems for whatever remix we were doing, and I would just make the moves to go do it because we would get paid. I would want to get the money, so I’d always try and do the remix. I think I just developed the skills of remixing since then. Those were my early days of producing, so it just kind of came naturally.
How would you describe the evolution of your sound over the years since then, and what impacts the changes in that sound?
In some ways, I’ve been all over the place as the Wuki project; I’ve made trap, bass, and all this stuff. But I just try to use genres as a tool instead of sticking to them. That’s where the remixing comes into play because I always try to figure out what genre is going to make the track stand out the best as a remix. I just kind of go with the flow as I produce instead of trying to force something into my genre.
How do you traverse the line between that heavy club music and more commercial-orientated tracks?
I think if I make it, it’s just naturally going to have my stamp on it because I always tend to use vocals heavily in my tracks. So, I think it just kind of comes out naturally as I produce. It’s maybe not something I plan, but it just happens.
Speaking of that balance, you had two pretty big hits with your tracks ‘Edge Of Seventeen‘ and ‘Sunshine’. Did you feel their potential while you were producing them?
With ‘Sunshine’, I definitely felt it. I knew that track was special. To be honest, with ‘Edge of Seventeen’, I wasn’t sure it was going to be that big, but it ended up doing really well. But ‘Sunshine’, for sure, I had the feeling that it was going to be big. I actually had to push the label to do it. They didn’t want to do it, and I was like, “This track is a banger, I’m telling you.”
Do you ever feel pressure to continue to follow up with more commercial hits like those?
Yeah, I definitely feel the pressure a little bit from labels and stuff because they want another big hit. But you have to be an artist first. You have to get back to whatever flow you were in when making those hits. You really never know what’s going to pop off; you can only hope for the best. The pressure is there, but I’ve learned at this point to just get back to making the music that makes me happy, and that’s really where you’re going to get to those hits anyway. You just have to get back to that.
Alongside those hits, you have the Wukileaks brand. How has that evolved over time, and did you ever expect it to become the institution it is today?
No, I never really expected it. It’s just consistency and staying on track, just making stuff constantly. That leads to building; you build one thing at a time, and it’s like a little house you build with Legos. Then eventually it’s this thing you step back from and it’s like, “Oh, shit. I made that.”
Would you ever consider turning Wukileaks into your own label or imprint?
Yeah, I’ve thought about it for sure. It’d be nice to have the schedule to do it myself and not have to rely on waiting for everyone else at a label. So, I’ve thought about it for sure; it could be something in the future. With what I do, it’s a little hard because you need money up front to clear the samples and stuff. But I make originals too, so it might make sense for the originals.
Another huge project was your work with Skrillex. How did that collaboration come about, and what was it like to be involved in the release of his album?
I’ve known Sonny (Skrillex) forever, for like 15 years now or something. We’ve always stayed in contact, and we actually made that track about seven years ago, back in 2019 at his studios. I’ve helped him with other production bits and have just been in his studio working. I was in his brand new studio, and I had this demo kind of built up. He came into the room and was just like, “Yo, that’s sick,” and he just sat down and started working on it, adding a bunch more stuff. We finished the track in about four hours. This was in 2019, and I felt the record would never come out. Then, in the beginning of this year, I got a call from his A&R asking where the samples were from and all that stuff. He told me about the project and that it was going to happen. I still didn’t believe it until about three weeks out, when Sonny texted me from a new number and was like, “Yo, man, let me tell you about this project,” and then I knew it was real. It was pretty sweet.
Taking all this music on the road, how does playing here in Europe, and specifically Ibiza, compare with shows in the US?
It’s definitely a bucket list to play places like Ushuaïa, which I played today, and also Tomorrowland. It’s awesome to be able to come here and do it. As for the crowds, I feel like because of the internet, they’re almost becoming a bit of a monoculture. You can kind of play whatever you want. Obviously, there are some things—like at Ushuaïa, I’m not going to play heavy bass. I can tailor my sets a little bit; for example, I’m opening for David Guetta here, so I don’t want to go too hard. I pull it back a bit, but I’m a DJ at the end of the day, so I can still play my things and keep the vibes.
You recently made your debut at Tomorrowland. What was that specific experience like?
Oh, yeah, definitely. It was so good. I wasn’t sure how it was going to be because I played early, but it ended up being really good. The stage was totally packed. It was awesome.
You’ve accomplished so much as an artist—hundreds of millions of streams, playing the biggest festivals, a Grammy nomination. What goals do you have left to achieve?
Right now, I’m working on this mixtape that’s almost like an album. It’s going to be a mix of all the beats I can’t release—all the Wukileaks. Well, not all of them, but a lot of my select favourite ones put into a mega-mashup, one-hour kind of thing. I’m really excited about that because it’s almost like an album release, and then I’ll be touring on it. So that’s coming up really soon.
Dive into Wuki’s most recent release as well as his amazing 2024 EDC set.
