Magnetic's Artist Of The Week: Black Wands

On this week’s edition of Magnetic’s Artist of the Week, we invited Denver-based producer Black Wands to curate a selection of his 15 favorite tracks that have been destroying his sets over the last few weeks.

Black Wands’ unique and driving take on the progressive house has earned him a fast-rising reputation in the industry, awarding him releases on Le Youth’s label and recently on Zerothree (featured in the playlist).

Stream, Support, and Learn More About The Single Here

For those who follow who the Magnetic team keeps their eyes on, it will be no surprise that Black Wands is getting the spotlight he deserves this week. His masterfully-crafted productions and releases throughout much of 2022 earned him a coveted spot on our yearly roundup of ones to watch this year. And now that 2023 is up in full swing, we were itching to invite him on to share his music and a bit of insight into why he loves the tracks that he does.

So let’s dive into it…

Cubicolor – Got Me Good

Starting off with a beautiful track from their latest album, Cubicolor is the perfect blend of electronic and acoustic music in my opinion. The “Radiohead” of dance music in their own right; they always manage to hit me right in the gut.

Rokazer – Conviction

Rokazer is one of the first progressive acts I discovered that inspired me. A prolific melody and rhythm producer, I love Conviction’s vibe – one of his many releases on the renowned melodic/progressive label Mango Alley.

Paul Thomas – Jumbo

The latest single from one of the pioneers of progressive, Paul Thomas, releases a more chill & organic track on his own imprint UV. Always class.

Amtrac feat. Samuel T. Herring – Domino

I usually try to incorporate at least one breakbeat track in my live sets because I love the change in energy that it brings. Amtrac is a hometown hero for me (since we both grew up in Kentucky) and this track is just so unique with the vocals from Samuel T. Herring. Seriously can’t wait for Amtrac’s new album.

Le Youth , Sultan + Shepard feat. Panama – New Love (Black Wands Remix)

After I released an EP on Le Youth’s label PRGRSSN, it was a huge honor to remix his collaboration “New Love” with the legends Sultan + Shepard, from his Reminders album (This Never Happened). I flipped the original on its head to make a big, melodic, hands-up-in-the-air moment.

Child Of – Sympathetic Vibrations

Another label mate on PRGRSSN, Child Of and I share a similar background in rock and hardcore music. Always fascinating to me how these genres intertwine with dance. The lead and groove from his latest track are infectious.

Staysis – Houngan

Newest single from my friend Staysis in Philadelphia. Such lush atmospheres and melodies in his music, always been a big fan of his.

Parallel Voices – Dreams of Dew

A proper melodic roller by the rising star from India, Parallel Voices has been gaining a ton of steam with his newest EP on Immersed Recordings. Impeccable groove on this one.

Anden – Reality (Deeparture Remix)

Taken from their handcrafted Odd Ones V2 album compilation, love this deep and contemplative remix from Deeparture. I recently had the privilege of opening for the Anden brothers at their Denver tour stop where they gave us a masterclass in melodic techno. Been following these guys for a long time and can’t wait to see what they do next.

Enamour, Warung – Who We Are (Lufthansa Remix)

Love this darker take on the original uplifting crowd pleaser. A real producer’s producer, I’ve learned a ton from Enamour’s production tutorials and he never fails to deliver.

Black Wands – Host

My debut release on the progressive stalwart ZeroThree. Such an honor to appear on the latest Unified Vol. 16 EP, as Z3 has had a huge influence on my sound over the years. “Host” has a brooding and menacing vibe, but it’s also a reminder that there is beauty in darkness. The track takes inspiration from the TV series “Westworld”.

Kasablanca – Am I Dreaming?

We are all just Citizens of Kasablanca haha! Ever since their Human Learning EP in 2020, I have been hooked. Their retro aesthetic combined with analog sound is ingenious – one of the freshest acts in recent memory. It’s their world, we are just living in it…

Deadmau5, Kaskade, Kx5, feat. The Moth & The Flame – Alive (KREAM Remix)

I had to put the legends on here. So awesome to see these pioneers back in the studio together, and I love this progressive house remix from KREAM. Really takes me back to the beginning.

Yotto, Sønin, feat. AunA – Let You Go

An amazing club track from the man Yotto leading the melodic & progressive charge. This one picks up the pace.

Big, anthemic progressive trance. Fuenka really must be a household name in the dark progressive by now. Love this release on Paul Van Dyk’s Vandit Alternative label.

Fuenka – Rebirth

Big, anthemic progressive trance. Fuenka really must be a household name in dark progressive by now. Love this release on Paul Van Dyk’s Vandit Alternative label.

By Will Vance
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.