Get to know Waste Only
For the people who don’t know you guys (yet). Can you tell us more about Waste Only?
Clint – I’ve known Ray since he was a young whipper snapper… We both used to work at the same radio station in Lebanon, many, many years ago. I think we’ve just had a mutual love of everything house, deep and tech… Started off as DJs and progressed forward into the production duo you see before you!
Ray – When I met clint I was basically a radio caller under the name of Dr. Love (so embarrassing you don’t want to hear why! But in a nutshell, something a 14-year-old would do) Oh man! I was so young, bandanas were still in fashion!! Funny bits aside – there’s a very strong blood-tie with this collaboration – We have come a long way!
Why the name Waste Only?
Clint – That’s funny… I’ll let Ray tell how that came about lol
Ray – So we started our collab, say around 15 years after we had met, we both went on different paths with solo careers and collabs with other great artists, never imagining we would be a duo one day although the creative and technical support was always there! While I was out walking my dog one evening, I was on a call with Clint and he mentioned “what a waste all these years of us not working together had been, considering the great music we could’ve created”. As he said it, I was literally walking past a bin with a sign that read “DOG WASTE ONLY.” We dropped the “DOG” and became WASTE ONLY – talk about a crappy inspiration – but instead of sulking about wasted years, the name celebrates that we are now doing amazing things together. These next coming years would’ve been a waste only if we didn’t finally team up, and that is exactly what the real rationale behind this is.
Describe the Waste Only sound in one word:
Clint – Witty
Ray – Honorificabilitudinitatibus
You both live in Dubai, how’s life over there during the pandemic?
Ray: When it all started at first we, as much as everyone else did, felt really uncomfortable but managed to overcome that both physically and somewhat mentally. Family time became essential, we now have a 2 months-old baby boy (who was basically conceived during the downtime of doing nothing while in lock-down LOL) – but on a serious note though I personally started off a few courses with some of the best producers in the industry just to upgrade our creativity and sound – since then, studio time has become very religious and it’s only getting better for both Clint and I.
Clint: I think for me it’s been good, UAE did a good job of controlling everything compared to a lot of other counties who are still struggling with Covid. Everything is open and controlled, only a matter of time I think before we can really move forward and look at the future.
Clint, you’re a host at ‘Ibiza Global Radio’. What’s it like to be a host at a radio station?
Clint: Radio is something I’ve been doing since I was a young teenager… I’ve done radio all over the world, answering your question being a host now is second nature, I’ve done it so much. It can be fun, exciting, interesting and also exhausting.
Last week you released a new track on the artwrk label called ‘People (Hold On). Can you tell us something about this track?
Ray: I think I speak for both, if not all of us here in this room when I say we’re all mentally and physically drained from the current global events, be it pandemic or wars and unnatural destructive catastrophes. Our hearts are truly with those who are in need for a single word of motivation to clear the uneasy. When we first landed the sample, we immediately related to that insight and thought of constructing the entire track around the words “Keep moving on – Gotta keep moving on I tell you” – “People Hold On”. A few words but to the right set of ears, powerful enough to get them through the day. At least I can say it worked for me.
Clint: For me just a positive, feel-good tune. Right now this is all we can do “Hold On”
What is your favorite all-time House track and favorite track of this moment?
Clint – Oohhhhh that’s hard lol I’ve been djing for over 20 years… Let me think… I’ll go with ‘Everything But The Girl – Missing’ as one of my many classics and a favourite at the moment… I’ll say… the ‘Josh Butler remix’ of ‘Pien & Annna – 19’ (What a cool remix).
Ray – Ahhhh an all-time classic!! That’s a tough one man… There are so many and it’s unfair to select but if I had to stop thinking for a minute, a no-brainer 4-am track filled with memories would be ‘Rui Da Silva – Cassandra’s Touch Me’. I am a fool for tech, melodic and progressive house music, there are so many names I can pick from Mark Knight to Ben Böhmer and Stephan Bodzin but to be very honest with you the past year has been ‘Louie Vega & The Martinez Brother’s – Let It Go (feat. Marc E Bassy)’ ON REPEAT!! That’s defo a current favorite.
What can we expect from Waste Only in the future?
Clint – I think for now music is the focus, already have plans for tours and gigs end of the year or at least the beginning of 2022, providing all goes well coz it has been a little hard to lock in dates with the current situation (As all DJs and artists I guess lol).
Ray: You can expect that Waste Only is Ray Sam and Clint Maximum’s main project of focus for many years to come. We have so much in store and can’t wait to share our vision with everyone.
Get ‘Waste Only – People (Hold On)’ here
