William Wiik Larsen
William Wiik Larsen | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | Will IDAP, Nasty Kutt, Will/William Larsen |
Born | Oslo, Norway | September 15, 1986
Genres | Pop, hip hop, country music, world music, Reggae, rock music, electronic dance music |
Occupation(s) | Record producer & songwriter |
Years active | 2005–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | Train, Skip Marley, Nico & Vinz, Kygo, Florida Georgia Line, Jessie Reyez, Maty Noyes, Akon, Method Man & Redman, Jessie J, |
William Wiik Larsen, also known as Will IDAP and Nasty kutt is a Norwegian Grammy-nominated record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based out of Los Angeles, California. He has crafted several global and US hits and have sold over 30 million singles since 2014. With notable records like "Am I Wrong" for Nico & Vinz,"H.O.L.Y." for Florida Georgia Line, "Play That Song" for Train, "That's Not True" for Skip Marley, "Gatekeeper" for Jessie Reyez, "Darkside" for Alan Walker and "Stay" for Kygo.
Early life[]
Larsen was born in Oslo, Norway. His father was a professional musician and his mother a singer. Growing up in a musical family, he was exposed to instruments, drum machines, keyboards and turntables from an early age .[1] At the age of 6 he started playing drums in the school band. He later moved on to study drums and percussion at the Norwegian Academy of Music (Norges Musikkhøyskole) at the age of 10. At the age of 12 he started dj'ing and programming music.
DJ & artist career (2001-2012)[]
At age 14, Larsen started touring and competing as a DJ under the alias Nasty Kutt, he won the Norwegian DMC National DJ Championships 2005 and 2006, to go on to represent Norway in the World finals (DMC World DJ Championships[2]).
He has done several appearances as a dj/artist among others most notably In 2011, launching the single 'Min Ting' at VG-lista Topp 20 in a collaboration with IDAP Music and Universal Music, featuring Norwegian artists Vinni from Paperboys, Yosef from Madcon, Lars Vaular og OnklP, and Swedish artists Timbuktu & Promoe.[3]
Music production & songwriting career[]
Early career (2001-2012)[]
Larsen started producing songs in Oslo’s urban music scene in the early 2000s. After he started to gain traction as a dj, he got his first local commercial break along with Norwegian band Karpe Diem, producing a string of singles, ‘Vestkantsvartinga’, ’Byduer I Dur’ and ‘Krølla 50 lapp y’all’ around the late 2000s. He continued to work as producer in the Norwegian and Scandinavian music markets, earning 21Â IFPI(International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) Certifications, 5 of them being multi-platinum.
In 2008, Larsen and his longtime business partner and manager Julian Alexander, launched the production and publishing company IDAP Music and started taking on more international projects.
In 2009, he produced the single ‘City Lights’ for Redman & Methodman feat UGK from the album ‘Blackout! 2’, securing him his first US major label placement. The Def Jam/Universalrelease debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard200 album chart.
International career (2013-present)[]
In 2013, he reconnected and worked closely with duo Nico&Vinz, developing the distinct sound for their single ‘Am I Wrong’ and their album ‘Black Star Elephant’. producing and co-writing 10 out of the 14 songs on the album. ’Am I Wrong’ entered several other international singles charts. In the United States, the song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the highest-charting song by a Norwegian artist since a-ha's "Take On Me" in 1985.[7] The song reached its first million sales mark in the US in June 2014,[8] and its second million in September 2014, having sold 2.2 million by the year's end.[9][10] In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number one, making ‘Am I Wrong’ the first song by a Norwegian act to top the UK Singles Chart since a-ha's "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." in 1986.[11]
Late 2013 Larsen relocated to Los Angeles and signed a worldwide Joint Venture deal with IDAP Music & BMG Rights Management.
In the years to follow, Larsen played a part in several US and international successes.
In 2016, he co-wrote the song ‘HO.L.Y’ for the American duo Florida Georgia Line, which earned the spot as the highest charting country song that year, and the 5th charting country song of the decade in the US. The song also won BMI ‘Country song of the year ‘.
He then teamed up with singer Pat Monahan from the band Train to work on their album ‘A Girl A Bottle A Boat’, playing part of 6 out of the 11 songs on the album. The album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on its first week of release. The single ‘Play That Song’ co-written and produced by Larsen, received international certifications in addition to being 2xplatinum in the US.
The same year, he also co-wrote and co-produced Kygo’s single ‘Stay’ featuring Maty Noyes, receiving several international platinum and gold certifications.
In 2017, Larsen co-wrote and produced the song ‘Gatekeeper’ along with Jessie Reyez for her EP ‘Kiddo’, Gatekeeper was released as a short film, which addressed sexism and exploitation in the music industry. It specifically was based on her experience with music producer Noel "Detail" Fisher, who was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, including artist Bebe Rexha.[14] In 2018 ‘Gatekeeper’ received a MTV Music Video Awards nomination in the category ‘Video With A Message’.
He then co-wrote Alan Walker’s single ‘Darkside’, which went certified platinum in Canada and gold in Switzerland.
In 2019, Larsen produced and co-wrote Skip Marley’s ‘That’s Not True’ feat Damian Marley. The song was the first single of off the EP ‘Higher Place’ which was nominated for a Grammy award in the category ‘Best Reggae Album’ at the 2020 Grammy Awards .
He also worked closely with artist Akon in the period between 2016 and 2019, yielding the unofficial single 'Letter To My Son' released in 2020, along with many unreleased songs.
Media appearances and mentoring[]
Larsen was featured on episode #275 of Dave Pensado's 'Pensado's place', he has appeared as a panelist several times at the ASCAP Expo in LA. He appeared twice as a coach and guest judge on the Norwegian hit show "Stjernekamp". Larsen has worked with the organization Music Norway and has mentored at the Norwegian music university LIMPI to support aspiring Norwegian producers and songwriters.
Selected discography[]
Year | Artist | Album | Song | Credit |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Scotty Sire | Single | "Words" | Producer & Writer |
2019 | Single | "POWER UP!" | Producer & Writer | |
2019 | Single | "Drop The Beat" | Producer & Writer | |
2019 | Single | "Into U" | Producer & Writer | |
2019 | American Authors | Single | "Champion" (feat. Beau Young Prince) | Producer & Writer |
2019 | Skip Marley | Single | "Thats Not True" feat Damian Marley | Producer & Writer |
2019 | Single | "Not In Love" | Producer & Writer | |
2019 | Single | "Speechless" | Producer & Writer | |
2019 | Madcon | Single | "Callin You" | Producer & Writer |
2018 | Alan Walker | Single | "Darkside" | Writer |
2018 | Maty Noyes | Love Songs From A Lolita EP | "Boys Like you" | Producer |
2018 | AJ Mitchell | Hopeful EP | "High Like You" | Producer & Writer |
2018 | Train | Single | "Call Me Sir" feat Cam (singer) & Travie McCoy | Producer & Writer |
2017 | Jessie Reyez | Kiddo | "Gatekeeper" | Producer & Writer |
2017 | Train | a girl a bottle a boat | "You Better Believe" | Producer & Writer |
2017 | Train | a girl a bottle a boat | "Lost and Found" | Producer & Writer |
2017 | Train | a girl a bottle a boat | "Valentine" | Producer & Writer |
2016 | Train | a girl a bottle a boat | "Working Girl" | Producer & Writer |
2016 | Train | a girl a bottle a boat | "Lottery" | Producer & Writer |
2016 | Keke Palmer | Single | "Figure You Out" | Producer & Writer |
2016 | Maty Noyes | Single | "In My Mind" | Producer & Writer |
2016 | Nano | Single | "Day I'm Gone" | Producer & Writer |
2016 | Kevin Hart | Single | "Give It Back" feat Akon | Producer & Writer |
2016 | Train | Single | "Play That Song" | Producer & Writer |
2016 | Tish Hyman | "Dedicated to" | "Lesbehonest" | Producer |
2016 | Tish Hyman | "Dedicated to" | "Absolutely" | Producer & Writer |
2016 | Tish Hyman | "Dedicated to" | "Dreams" Feat Ty Dolla Sign & Fabolous | Producer |
2016 | Tish Hyman | "Dedicated to" | "4 Letter Word" | Producer & Writer |
2016 | Broiler | Single | "Daydream" | Producer & Writer |
2016 | Florida Georgia Line | Single | "H.O.L.Y." | Writer |
2016 | Broiler | Single | "Money" Feat Bekuh BOOM" | Producer & Writer |
2015 | Tish Hyman | "Dedicated to" | "Home For Christmas" | Producer & Writer |
2015 | Kygo | Single | "Stay" Feat Maty Noyes" | Producer & Writer |
2015 | Nano | Single | "Perfect Melody" | Producer & Writer |
2015 | Broiler | Single | "Fly By Night" Feat Tish Hyman" | Producer & Writer |
2015 | Nano | Single | "Lion" | Producer & Writer |
2015 | Tish Hyman | "Dedicated to" | "Subway Art" | Producer |
2014 | Nico & Vinz | "The Good Lie" Movie Soundtrack | "Find A Way" feat. Emmanuel Jal | Producer & Writer |
2014 | Jessie J | Sweet Talker | "Personal" | Producer & Writer |
2014 | Nico & Vinz | Black Star Elephant | "Am I Wrong" | Producer & Writer[4] |
2014 | Nico & Vinz | Black Star Elephant | "Know What I'm Not" | Producer & Writer |
2014 | Nico & Vinz | Black Star Elephant | "Miracles" | Producer & Writer |
2014 | Nico & Vinz | Black Star Elephant | "My Melody" Feat Ntirelang Berman | Producer & Writer |
2014 | Nico & Vinz | Black Star Elephant | "Another Day" | Producer & Writer |
2014 | Nico & Vinz | Black Star Elephant | "People" | Producer & Writer |
2014 | Nico & Vinz | Black Star Elephant | "Imagine" | Producer & Writer |
2014 | Nico & Vinz | Black Star Elephant | "Homeless" Feat Ntirelang Berman | Producer & Writer |
2014 | Nico & Vinz | Black Star Elephant | "When The Day Comes" | Producer & Writer |
2013 | Dirt Nasty | Palatial | "Bang Her" feat. Too $hort | Producer |
2013 | Dirt Nasty | Palatial | "Threesome" | Producer & Writer |
2012 | Angel Haze | Reservation | "CHI (Need To Know)" | Producer |
2012 | Three Loco | Three Loco EP | "Beer" | Producer |
2012 | Three Loco | Three Loco EP | "Make Em Wait" | Producer |
2012 | Envy | The Magic Soup And The Bittersweet Faces | "One Song" | |
2010 | Madcon | Contraband | "Walk Out The Door" | Producer & Writer |
2010 | Madcon | Contraband | "City Lights" feat. Bun B | Producer & Writer |
2009 | Method Man & Redman | Blackout! 2 | "City Lights" feat. Bun B | Producer |
2008 | Karpe Diem | Fire Vegger | "Krølla 50'lapp y'all" | Producer |
[]
Year | Award | Category | Song/Album | Artist |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | NRJ Radio Awards | Most Played Song of the Year | “Kjører på” | Madcon |
2011 | MTV Europe Music Awards | Norwegian Album of the Year | “Back to business” | Erik & Kriss |
2011 | Swedish Grammy Awards | Best Hip Hop/Soul Album of the Year[5] | “Sagolandet” | Timbuktu |
2011 | Norwegian Grammy Awards | Video of the Year[4][dead link] | “One Song” | Envy |
2010 | Norwegian Grammy Awards | Best Hip Hop album | “Helt om natten, helt om dagen” | Lars Vaular |
2010 | MTV Europe Music Awards | Norwegian Album of the Year | “Aldri solgt en løgn” | Karpe Diem |
2008 | Norwegian Grammy Awards | Best Hip Hop album | “Fire Vegger” | Karpe Diem |
2006 | MTV Europe Music Awards | Norwegian Album of the Year | “It is what it is” | el Axel |
References[]
- ^ "Nasty Kutt". discogs.com. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
- ^ DMCWorld.com, Dan @. "DMC World DJ Championships". dmcdjchamps.com. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
- ^ "Hiphoptoppmøte på VG-lista-showet på Rådhusplassen". vg.no. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b http://www.nobelpeaceprizeconcert.org/artists/envy/[dead link]
- ^ "Timbuktu wins at the Swedish Grammis - Bad Taste Empire". badtasteempire.com. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
- 1986 births
- Norwegian songwriters
- Norwegian DJs
- Norwegian record producers
- Living people
- Electronic dance music DJs