Wiwek (NL)

Saying you always choose your own path is easy, living it not so much. Wiwek Mahabali is proof of this path. He has always been a bit stubborn in his ways and considers success to be relative. Not only has he become a world-class DJ/producer with a resume full of collaborators and festival gigs to die for, he’s gotten there through a music style that he invented himself: Jungle Terror. It's characterized by complex Indian-inspired rhythms colliding with adrenaline-rush dynamics of trap and tribal house and not to be forgotten: a library full of sampled animal sounds.

Early Wiwek singles didn’t sound like any other record being made at the time and soon enough they began to pop up in sets by A-list DJs. In no time he was playing the same stages. A Twitter DM to Skrillex, who was regularly playing his tracks, turned into a relationship that helped take his music to a new level. In 2016 OWSLA released his EP The Free and Rebellious, which not only included a collaboration between the two (“Killa”) but also served as the soundtrack to a short film called Still in the Cage that the pair co-produced.

When Wiwek started his own label Rimbu back in 2012 it was his way of releasing new music because nobody wanted to sign his crazy sound. After a while, things changed as he got to work with some great labels and do things he could not achieve on his own at that time. Wiwek developed as an artist and took all the knowledge and experience gained to breathe new life into his own label in 2018, renamed Maha Vana – sanskrit for large forest/jungle. For Wiwek the jungle and forest represent freedom. He wants to experience this freedom and also extend it to others on his label. Maha Vana is the result of Wiwek's evolution from Rimbu into a larger context bringing music, festival experiences and lifestyle together in a world driven by his vision. A safe-haven, a paradise where musicians can collaborate without restriction.