Next week, Kortrijk hosts the Slushwave Festival, and among the guests is a particularly distinctive figure crossing the Atlantic from the US. If you’ve spent any time in the online events orbiting the vaporwave community, or if you’re familiar with the mthrbord label, you’ve almost certainly come across his work. He’s crafted live visual sets for previous editions of the Vaporloot Festival, he’s a key member of the Void TV crew, and above all, he’s the founder and driving force behind Reclusive Records. That’s ThaDabWizard. I had the chance to chat with him online ahead of the festival, and next week, I’ll finally get to meet him in person in Kortrijk. In the meantime, here’s our conversation about his creative process, his visual artistry, and his unique place within the vaporwave and adjacent underground scenes.
For those discovering you for the first time, who is ThaDabWizard and how would you describe your artistic identity ?
ThaDabWizard is no one lol, just another person having fun making art with his friends and expressing himself through it. I’d describe myself as dark and moderately reclusive and kept to myself unless in a social setting. My artistic identity is hard to describe differently because it’s just me but instead of David it’s ThaDabWizard. I don’t separate myself from my art because my art is me and an expression of what comes to mind or how I feel through what sounds are provided for me to work with.
You’re performing at Slushwave Festival as visual artist and you will do live visual mixes for the event. Zer0 Rei mentioned in a recent interview that visual artists are as essential as the musicians at Slushwave. How do you approach your craft to build these worlds and enhance the audience’s experience ?
Well usually when i make full set visuals i have the set to listen to beforehand and i let whatever thoughts and visions come to mind flow before i start to research the internet to rip videos or go to my VHS/DVD collection to use that as source material for the mixes. While with live sets I have to feel out right then and there with the sound I’m hearing how I can manipulate the visual source material to compliment the audio. Essentially trying to build a world where the audio the audience hears would create a vision similar to what is being showcased.
What gear and hardware will you be bringing to make your performance happen ? Can you walk us through your creative process when crafting a live visual mix ?
Gear and hardware wise I will be bringing *looks to tech rider lol*
Roland V4ex
Roland p-10
Syntonie cbv001s (Circuit bent box)
gator.biz Mothership deluxe (Circuit bent box)
Media player
VHS Player
2 x 6 plug power strips
Multiple VHS
Bovbox wireless HDMI transmitter and receiver
Essentially i’ll have media player/VHS and P-10 sampler as my main sources and one source will be sent through the mothership and the other source sent through the CBV001S and what both of those do is distort, dither, saturate, enhance, corrupt,and many other things to the source input so both those sources will be sent out to a V4-EX main output mixer which features its own array of effects that I utilize for the sets. My creative process is just letting the music flow with me and create a feel that follows. I don’t just stand there and turn knobs, a lot of the time I’m dancing and enjoying the music and really FEELING it.
You’re crossing the Atlantic for this. What are you most curious or excited about when it comes to experiencing the Slushwave community and its unique “real life & online” hybrid format in person ?
Honestly just to be back in Kortrijk I’m really looking forward to being around all these great people I’ve gotten to know in person and online (I went in 2024 and brought my label over!). I am very excited to be a part of the event as an artist. I’m truly lucky enough to be working with artists I’ve been listening to and looking up to. I’m so blessed to not only work with them but to be friends with them too. It’s a very surreal feeling being there and at these events and just cannot wait to be back with everyone!
One of the festival’s strengths is bringing the online community together IRL. Who are you most excited to see perform live or finally meet face-to-face ?
It’s always a great time seeing DSFWAN do his thing and this year we are treated with a collab set with Days Of Blue Skies whom I also always enjoy running into! So I’m very excited about that. 18 Days is another artist I’m a big fan of and really excited to finally meet up! But realistically I’m excited to see every single performance. I am very very excited for NATURWAVE. Something about being in that park, I fell asleep and slept through most of it last time. It was amazing lol
You’re not only performing at Slushwave but also using it as a launchpad for bringing Reclusive Records back to life. Tell us about that decision and what’s next for the label.
So for those who don’t know. I had to move at the very beginning of 2025 and because of that I had to put the label on hold, what was supposed to be a few month hiatus turned into an indefinite hiatus. I kept dropping albums that were slated for 2025 but only digital. So the first move was MD to FL then moved from Miami to Orlando, I was there for about 6 months before I uprooted everything AGAIN and headed across the country this time from FL to CO which I reside in now and plan to stay for a good while. So finally I can get my office set up and get back to work on Reclusive Re-Launch. So what does that mean? Well i have a LONGGG overdue giveaway over on our IG so ill make that post eventually and ill get the giveaway going, we have a backlog of albums that were dropped digitally only with plans of physicals so i am going to get that all taken care of and get those back log albums put on tapes and then from there? Who knows maybe submissions open in 2027? 😉
I know you’re a big VHS collector. Do you also collect music, and what’s your relationship with physical media in general ?
Oh boiiiiiii, that’s what I started collecting VHS actually came later. So yes I have a pretty sizable physical music collection, probably 1500+ tapes and probably 900+ vinyl or so and like 200 cds or so. Only started collecting heavily around 2020 or so getting stuff on discogs, bandcamp, and IRL vapor meetups/shows then started digging in crates and what not, going to record events and all that, then when we toured Japan (2024,2025. Shout out Sage Hardware, Eulalie, DinkiePie, DrugsTM, RCG av, and many other tour mates and homies) I got SOOOO many cds, mainly hunted for JP exclusive releases cause they still do cool stuff over there like exclusive songs released to that specific variant of CD and what not. I’m still grabbing tapes and VHS constantly. Vinyl not so much with how expensive its gotten sadly.
You’re closely associated with VoidTV, and I had the privilege of working with you and other members during the previous editions of the Vaporloot Festival. Can you tell us what the collective is about, and how being part of it has shaped your approach to the underground scene we’re both part of ?
I am! So im one of the lead organizers for the events dating back to 2024, I got on the team at the end of 2023. So VOID TV is a project originally put together by VILL4IN that turned into something much bigger as time went on and more viewers and discord members emerged it was something to keep everyone tuned it a few times a year and keep the hype for Enter The Void (multiple day URL festival no breaks). The collective is all about spreading and creating art that fuels the underground and innovation within the communities we are lucky enough to reach. We are about 25+ members at this point and it has helped me with my approach in the scene in many ways from helping me out of my shell and getting in contact with these artists and being open to different ideas and approaches of the art or the flow of making it even, having a team changed everything for me. SHOUT OUT VOID TV TEAM AND LONG LIVE THE UNDERGROUND.
Any final words for the people making the trip to Kortrijk for the festival ? And for those following your work online anything new on the horizon we should keep an eye out for ?
Can’t wait to see everyone making the trip. If you see me and my lady out in Kortrijk please come up and say hi! And as for my work? expect my youtube to be popping off soon cause i have a backlog of sets to upload and if ur in Colorado, I will be doing shows out here pretty often so pop out and come chill and smoke one with your boy. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to tune in to what I do. I really do from the bottom of my heart appreciate everyone.
Follow ThaDabWizard : https://www.instagram.com/thadabwizard / https://www.youtube.com/@ThaDabWizard
Reclusive Records : https://reclusiverecords.bandcamp.com / https://www.instagram.com/reclusive.records
Void TV : https://www.instagram.com/void_tv_
About the Slushwave Festival in Kortrijk :
Website : https://www.slushwave.info
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/slushwavefestival
Slushwave Social Club discord : https://discord.gg/slushwave
Slushwave Festival Merch Shop : https://www.slushwave.info/shop
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