Wreckno Talks New EP, Fashion, and What’s in for 2024

OFM got the opportunity to sit down with the iconic Wreckno again on their first stop of 2024! If you haven’t read our first interview with them, I highly recommend going back before reading this one! This time around, we got to catch up, got insight on the new Party Girl tour, advice for queer artists, and some sneak peaks. Enjoy the read, and if you can, check out one of their upcoming stops, and stay on the lookout for their new EP!

You’re back on the road for the Party Girl tour. What are some touring essentials you can’t live without? 

Oh wow. So obviously extra pairs of socks and underwear I can’t live without … obviously toiletries. For me a REAL ESSENTIAL, because you spend so much time in hotel rooms, is an HDMI cord and your laptop because who the fuck watches regular TV with commercials! And if you get a TV that has an HDMI port and you can switch the input, it’s literally the best and so simple. 

What can fans look forward to on this tour? Do you have any surprises up your sleeve? 

So they can expect to hear the whole new EP: Party Girl. Which will be coming out very soon! Select shows are definitely going to have the whole dancer extravaganza. And yeah, I mean, they can just continue to expect what we’ve been giving, which is, you know, badass queer art!

The last time you played Red Rocks you brought out Dev, who you’ve worked and made music with. How does it feel to collaborate with a 2000s icon? 

INSANE! So we actually wrote our first song together during quarantine in 2020 right after “Medusa” dropped because she just hit me up and was like, ‘You’re cool.’ And I was like, you’re Dev! What?! It’s funny actually, because my brother and I started working on music together when I was 14.  We used templates of Like a G6 and The Cataract. We pretty much just made songs that were cousins to their songs. We did the same structure, and we just love that poppy-electronica sound. 

For me, there’s a lot of full circle-ness because we literally would study the music they made, and she’s the best; she’s an angel! She has been in music videos with us and let us fly her to Lollapalooza, and here. Just the coolest experience you could have. I’ve also been very lucky being able to pick her brain about music industry stuff, haters and shit. I’m just like, how did you deal with this? Let’s not forget, Dev was an ICON with short hair as a woman! Back in a time where it immediately got her coined as a lesbian. And she was like, maybe I had some fun or whatever, but it was literally like I just have short hair. I just remember being like, you’ve been through it bitch. You’re a gay icon, and I love you for it. She’s awesome.

You released a new song ‘Steve Aoki’ with bludnymph. What are your influences behind that track? 

Well, so I actually wrote that song for Okeechobee music festival. I just wrote the hook “Shaking ass at Okeechobee,” and I wanted to have a moment where I said it on the mic. Then I was like, yeah, this is cute and funny. Then the label ended up being like, “WE LOVE IT!” I’m really gonna be straight up. I didn’t expect it to be a single or anything! So sometimes you just kind of have to let go, and let god. But inspiration is just being a bad bitch!

Whenever you come to Denver, do you have any must eat while here? 

Well, if I’m thinking fancy, we just had North Italia for dinner, which I love. Then, if the Midwest is coming out, Denver Biscuit Company all fucking day! Adore. Love. My midwestern heart adores that.

What are your 2024 ins and outs for your music?

Ins: Following my creative gut, and expressing myself when I don’t like something. We’re not going to keep entertaining bad ideas. Follow your instincts more. 

Outs: I would say, bad acapela going over dubstep songs. Especially ones that just don’t fit! You ever be at a show, and you’re like, “Why did you play a whole fucking song over another song?!” Like, it’s three minutes too long. There’s a taste level when it comes to mashups. I adore mashups when they’re good. Not hating on mashups, adore them, but when it’s usually a lot of male rap over heavy dubstep then I’m like, “ALRIGHT, I’m gonna leave!” One edit that irks me is when people do, “move bitch get out the way!” It’s not even just that song, but in that realm of straight male rap that’s older, sometimes it hits. But, I’m a queer! I’m not getting it, but that’s me. BUT if you put pop girls over stuff, I’ll be like, “AYEE let’s go!”

New Year, new Music, new you! Can you tell us some ways you are evolving musically and spiritually? 

I would say musically, I’ve been really lucky with the record deal I signed last year. This EP that’s coming out, I’ve gotten to work with a lot of new people, and sides of the music industry that I just wouldn’t have been able to before. Like working with music outside of electronic music, the sick ass writers and people with a different ear have been great! Especially the ones with an ear for pop and vocals. I have really been able to grow a lot. Writing with people who are in the other realm where the performance of your vocals is the key point has been huge! I think that in my new EP you can hear that it’s all vocally driven. There’s still really great electronic bangers in there, but there is still a strong emphasis on the vocals. 

Then, spiritually, I would say, balancing life on the road is extremely hard. Especially as a recovering meth addict, finding that balance is always really hard. I would say this last year, I’ve been the best at taking breaks from even regular partying, and having dry months and just really looking at myself and being like, hey. Because this road life, it will swallow you up if you let it. You can end up at random people’s houses at 5 a.m. that you’re like, “Why? Who do I even know here? They just let me come back?” Gladly I don’t do that anymore, so I would say that’s growth.

What are some words of wisdom for aspiring LGBTQ+ artists who don’t feel as seen or supported in the industry?

I would say that listening to all the really hardcore, elitist, mostly straight voices and producers on Twitter or producers online are NOT going to help you. Don’t let what people have to say about what they think is corny, or what they think is stupid or whatever. Bleed into how you view or express yourself! I feel that I’ve spent a lot of time maybe avoiding my true potential because I was worried what others would think. So yeah, don’t stop yourself, and don’t stop yourself from learning just because you’re not good or believe you’re not good enough because I’ve also done that. I’ve been like, “Well don’t I understand this, so it’s ass, and I’m terrible.” But, once you start to get it, it’s all great.

I mean still, I’m always learning with production. Vocals, performing and mixing, all of that comes second nature to me. Production is the thing I always am trying to work and keep getting better at, as it just doesn’t come naturally. There’s been a lot of times where I’ve let elitist views on how music should be made from the internet impact me and keep me from even trying. Because at times, I’m like, I don’t know how to do exactly x, y, z you know, and you just have to let that shit go.

Do you have any projects in the works? Can you share or give us a sneak peek? 

Yes, the Party Girl EP is coming out. It’s been a year in the making by the time it will be out. It’s got six tracks. There’s a song with Dev, and a song with Moore Kismet that we’re gonna debut tonight called “DICC!” There’s a lot of heaters on there like “Party Girl,” the title track you’ll hear tonight. The others are called “McDonald’s Sprite,” “Steve Aoki,” “Plans,” and “Diva.” So they’re all very strong names, and it’s gonna be great! Definitely my best body of work so far!

With festival season around the corner, what lineups do you want to see yourself on in 2024?

Well, Electric Forest forever! If they ever need me. I’m down. I got really lucky last year because I just texted my manager and was like, “I want to go! Can you throw me on the guestlist?” And he texts me back, “Actually they want you to close Good Life.” And I was like, “SICK!” So yeah, since I grew up near there, that’s always the one that I’m like, you could pay me $3, and I will be there! That, and I would like to play the Friendship Cruise. I would say those two are definitely high up, and then I did Shambhala last year. I would love to do Shambhala again. It was so good and if you can you should go.

Who are you wearing tonight? 

So we’re debuting a new fit tonight! It is based off a disco ball so I’m going to look like a Jetsons hooker. It’s definitely giving Gaga’s fame era. It’s two disco ball plates that are wrapped around my arms, a silver Judy Jetson skirt, bedazzled mesh leggings, and mesh top. It’s by Connor McCalden. If you are not familiar with them, they are the partner of Boa from season 1 of Canada’s Drag Race. Connor has been making all my fits lately. He made my big Gaga shoulder pad jacket that I’ve been wearing. He’s our dude, and THE dude right now that we’re just commissioning hella outfits from.

Is there anything we haven’t covered or asked you that you’d like to share?

Cherish your friends and family, love on the people that support you, and just listen to the good voices and not the shit. Also usually the haters are the loud minority, and the quiet majority that fuck with you are not going to have to scream that they support you from the rooftops, but they’re all there, and they actually usually outweigh the bad.

Photos by Brittany Teuber