Will Acres Talks Monki, Radio 1 Fame

If you’re an avid listener of the superstar DJ, Monki, there’s a good chance you’ll have heard the name Will Acres mentioned on her weekly BBC Radio 1 show.

Now in his third and final year at BIMM London – as a BA (Hons) Music Production student and producer – Will has been making a name for himself in the UK’s booming dance music scene, having received plenty of backing from the ZOO Music label boss.

Will has risen up the ranks after gaining much airplay on his local BBC Introducing Solent station, which later led to one of his tracks being used as a sound-bed to promote a competition calling for fresh new talent on Monki’s BBC Radio 1show. After uploading his own 30 minute DJ mix, Will was chosen to warm up for Monki on the Southampton leg of her tour – which, as you can imagine, went down a storm with the packed crowd. He explained to BIMM:

“I actually forgot I entered the competition as I didn’t hear anything back for about a month and a half, then an email suddenly landed in my inbox saying I had been selected as the Southampton support DJ. A week later I played the gig and was bumped up to main support as Ben Pearce was rescheduled, meaning I had a later slot and passed the decks over to Monki which was an absolutely brilliant buzz.”

Aside from being an incredible experience, Will’s coveted support slot also led to a chance meeting with the head of a Southampton-based dance label House Jackin; the label have since released his track, ‘The Future’. A nod to the acid house days of yore, the record has gained much airplay from both Monki and fellow BBC radio presenter, Huw Stephens – who recently featured Will on his BBC World Service show.

Fresh faced and talented, Will really is set for big things and is fast becoming the name to watch out for in the electronic sphere. Speaking about his time at BIMM, Will explained how the Music Production course had set him up for a career in music:

“I had very basic music production skills when I started at BIMM, whereas now I feel confident working with a variety of DAW’s. I now feel ready to leave BIMM and find ways to generate work for myself. The careers team at BIMM have also helped me to secure a part time internship for my final term too!”

At present Will is working on new music as part of a catalogue, which he can drip-release throughout the year through various labels. Fortunately, he’s in the right place, having already gained regular DJ slots at nights around London.

Follow Will Acres on Soundcloud, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.