We recently spoke to one of the most dedicated acts in the Electronic scene.

During my short career in press, I’ve interviewed a ton of people, some even role models to me and my music career. After talking with icons such as Ferry Corsten, Tony McGuinness, and even Hardwell, what’s next? I’d played around with this idea for a while, and then something spectacular came in the mail by surprise: a connection to .

I often get a bit nervous when about to interview someone, but this time I was properly nervous. I didn’t know William by name, but I’d seen a couple reels on socials, and how he’d got to so many A-tier artists of Progressive House. Funnily enough, the day before we spoke, my Insta algorithm showed me his recent interview with Hernan Cattaneo. You know we’re talking big leagues here.

A proper journalist, he founded a in the Lockdown years and began sharing the rich and long history of , often approaching some of its living legends for them to have a say themselves on his space. With his videos consistently getting five-digit viewcounts nowadays, we can confidently say he’s become a part of the history of the genre he loves so much.

All of this to say: . And it was such an interesting chat, we’re happy we get to share this moment with you. Without further to do, behold, the interviewer of interviewers, the man himself, Super Progressive, in conversation with yours truly.

(Please note, the  text represents a question (or EDMTunes intervention), while the paragraph(s) following it represent Will’s answers.)

I would describe Super Progressive as a podcast about the past, present and future of Progressive House. I started it out as a podcast about the pioneering 90s DJs of Progressive House. And as I learned more about it, obviously you get interested in the current state of affairs of the sound. And you are made aware of so many different current producers and DJs. And so I started covering that as well. So it’s a podcast devoted to the past, present and future of the Progressive Sound.

Why I started it was, my older cousin gifted me his old Global Underground collection. And I really enjoyed the CDs. But what really set things off for me was when I found an online community called Progressive House Classics. It’s a Facebook group. And I realized there’s a whole generation of clubbers that are still extremely passionate about these CDs and these mix compilations that came out 30 years ago.

So when I saw that there were so many passionate clubbers, I went to look up more information about this era. And there was next to nothing. There was literally nothing on YouTube and there was next to nothing in terms of written articles. Because most of the coverage had been done before the Internet. So I just saw it as an opportunity to create content that I was really passionate about. I’m a journalist. So I saw it as an opportunity to be a journalist for a very specific but existing audience.

So that’s why I started it. And then how I started it was I made some illustrated videos that covered different Global Underground CDs. I was also a huge fan of The Nine Club, which is a skateboarding podcast. And I just borrowed their format. And instead of interviewing skateboarders, I interviewed DJs. 

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My first interview was with Paul Oakenfold. I had done a video about his Global Underground New York GU-007 album, which we did offline. But he liked how the video came out a lot. So when I asked him to do the first interview, he said yes. He was living in Los Angeles at the time and he actually invited me to his house to film the interview. And then with that interview, that was my golden ticket. Because you can bring a Paul Oakenfold interview to a lot of people. And that’ll at least kind of respect what you’re trying to talk about. Because Paul is such an important DJ in the spread of this sound around the world.

So I went from Paul to Anthony Pappa to Danny Tenaglia, Sander Kleinberg to Dave Seaman. And you just take one interview, show it to the next person you want to interview, hopefully they enjoy it. And luckily all the DJs are really nice and they were all down when they didn’t have to be. So it worked out like that.

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I only feel nervous when I don’t do my preparation. I feel like if I spend time preparing, I won’t be as nervous. Also, I get really nervous when the DJ has a really, really dedicated fan base. Because they, the fans, are always going to know more than you. But you just don’t want to come off as if you didn’t do your research. These fans that have grown up with this music and have lived this music their entire life, they all will always know more than I.

A lot of my job is also figuring out what the fans want to find out about, more than what I personally want to know. Because it’s all new to me. I do a lot of research, I speak with a lot of long-time fans. I often post to my Instagram stories — I just did it with Paul van Dyk. I’m like, “Hey, I have an interview with Paul van Dyk coming up. What should I ask?”. It’s all the same scene, but the Trance stuff, it’s a whole different devoted fan base. And I didn’t want to come on and not know my stuff. So they really helped me out in picking questions that they wanted to know more about. 

I think I just liked that sound the most. It all started because I enjoyed listening to those compilations. And that’s just the sound that does it for me. I like the percussive elements, I love the melodic elements. And I love the way that the tracks can blend together in a mix compilation. So really, the reason why I chose Progressive House ultimately, I guess, comes down to my music taste. Not my taste as in a selector, it’s just what I enjoy listening to the most.

Oh my gosh, of course. It’s super inspiring to talk to people. These DJs come from all different countries around the world. All different socio-economic backgrounds. A lot of them came from not a lot at all. And they go and follow their dream and become an international DJ. How could you not be inspired by that?

The one story that comes to mind is Hernan [Cattaneo] selling his car to go to Sound Factory in New York just to see Frankie Knuckles DJ. It’s like, how could you not be inspired by that? Those are stories that you hear about, and this scene is full of them. Another relatable story. Danny Howells, when he had his first ever Essential Mix, was working full-time in the psychiatric ward as a nurse. So many people can relate to that. So many producers out there working a full-time job, but trying to be a full-time DJ. And the history of this music is filled with inspiring stories like that.

I think I want my interviews as an opportunity for these DJs to express their unfiltered passion for this music. You have to have such a deep passion for this music to make it to the top. Because you literally have to listen to thousands of tracks each week. So you have to love this music.

And all I want for the interviews is to get as much information as possible. But let the DJs speak, ask two or three questions in the span of an hourlong interview, just because the DJs can talk and talk and talk about themselves. And I’m not trying to direct the conversation anywhere. I’m just trying to have them express their passion. So I think that’s what I like about podcast interviews. You’re just there to direct or stoke the flame of the DJ that you’re interviewing.

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I think I’ve got to a point where now I try to be a little bit more intentional with my questions. The interviews are starting to get to an hour and a half, two hours long. So I’m looking to ask better questions as an interviewer to suit the format of a particular interview better.

I try to be more thoughtful with my questions. Which naturally cuts down the interview length. In-person interviews are always shorter. Unless you’re talking to Danny Tenaglia, who can talk for an hour and a half about this. But I try and do 20-minute in-person interviews and 45-minute remote interviews. And that’s a sort of comfort zone that I’ve settled into.

Exactly. Most of my interviews are in the artist’s hotel room before a show. You want to be respectful.

I mean, to me, the Argentinian scene is not a wave. It’s like the epicenter of the Progressive scene in the world. I’m always learning about different regions. So I’m always finding new producers that I enjoy. But my favorite producers are from Argentina. I’d say Mike Griego. I like Kabi a lot. Obviously Ezequiel Arias. Those are some of my favorite producers. I definitely don’t think it’s a wave. I’ve been into this music for four years now. When I got into it, Argentina was at the top. And it’s still at the top. I think it’s awesome.

Oh, I got to get down. I was supposed to go down for Sunsetstrip this year, which I guess ended up being an okay decision. I feel bad, but the rain was crazy. So I’m going to try and go down. I’ve been living in Europe. And probably sometime when I’m spending more time in America, I’ll make the trip down.

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Yeah.

It’s ‘Space Fly’ by Stereo Underground and D-Nox. It is inspired by ‘Magic Fly’ by Space, a song from the 70s. That’s my go-to track, end-of-set track. I play it freaking all the time and I’m just a huge fan of it. It’s the track that I play religiously now.

Let me give you a recent one. I really like the Mike Griego remix of Freedo Mosho’s ‘Paradise Lost’. I like that one a lot.

I love albums. For me, I think albums take the pressure off artists and you really get to see how creative they can be. My favorite album in the Electronic music history is Sasha’s Airdrawndagger. I was just a kid when it was released. It got criticized at first because it wasn’t an all-club-focused album. Those are the albums where the creativity is at the forefront, that stand the test of time. I love artist albums.

Right after college. In 2018, I was working a job at ESPN and my hours were 6 PM to 2 AM. My off days were Tuesday and Wednesday. On Saturdays and Sundays, I’d work 10 AM to 6 PM. So on a Saturday, I could finish at 6 PM and not have to be in until 6 PM the next day. I would always go to New York City, take the train, and it was a three-hour journey to go to raves.

I was always so stressed because I felt like I was missing out on so much of the music. I would tell myself, “Don’t worry, you’re going to get more of this music than you could ever hope for or dream of down the road, so don’t be so devastated when you can’t go to a party that all your friends are going to”.

I would just say, if you’re passionate about something, focus on how you can make a contribution to it. No matter how big or how small. There are endless ways to contribute to Electronic music.

You can be a producer, you can be a DJ, you can be an event promoter, you can create an Instagram account, you can create a podcast. So much stuff you can do without the permission of anyone else. So I would just say, figure out how you enjoy spending your time relating to this music and try and make a contribution to the scene out of that.

Even if it’s curating playlists, whatever you want to do. Everyone in this scene respects passion for the music because that’s the most important thing. So I would just say focus on finding out, just try and make a contribution however you want to make it.

Thank you. It’s very interesting that you say that. At least this part of the industry is very respectful in my opinion too. You can notice the difference between different, even genres inside Dance music, but this music as a whole, it’s nowhere close to mainstream Pop music. There’s a connection that is so powerful between Electronic music fans and their artists. I can’t explain it, I can’t describe it. But I know you know what I mean.

Oh no, I absolutely know. These people care about the music more than anything I’ve ever seen. I totally understand. It’s mostly inspiring, sometimes it’s shocking. I’m like, “Oh my gosh”. It’s awesome.

Well, that’s a wrap. Thank you so much once again!

What can I say… That was great. Will is such a down-to-earth guy, our conversation was 100% genuine from the get-go. It was an honour to have had such a character in here, in our little interview space. Thank you so much mate!

Look, I’m much more of the YouTube channel, but if you want to get some of the extensive wisdom collected and accrued in Will’s Super Progressive podcast, below you’ll find the Spotify link to listen on the go. I know I’ll be using this format during car rides. And below that I’ve left his frequently-updated playlist of Progressive House bangers. Your choice.

You can follow Super Progressive on his YouTube channel, Instagram, and Spotify. And stay tuned to our channels for the latest on everything regarding the Dance music industry.