William Wiik Larsen Explained

William Wiik Larsen
Alias:Will IDAP, Nasty Kutt, Will/William Larsen
Birth Date:1986 9, mf=yes
Birth Place:Oslo, Norway
Genre:Pop, hip hop, country music, world music, Reggae, rock music, electronic dance music
Occupation:Record producer & songwriter
Years Active:2005–present
Label:IDAP Music
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. Notable records include "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. 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.[1]

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 21 IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) Certifications, 5 of them being multi-platinum.

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. The song reached its first million sales mark in the US in June 2014, and its second million in September 2014, having sold 2.2 million by the year's end. 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.[4]

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 ‘.[5]

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. In 2018 ‘Gatekeeper’ received  a MTV Music Video Awards nomination in the category ‘Video With A Message’ and a won Juno Award 'Video Of The Year'.

He then co-wrote Alan Walker’s single ‘Darkside’.

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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8] He appeared twice as a coach and guest judge on the Norwegian hit show "Stjernekamp".[9] Larsen has worked with the organization Music Norway and has mentored at the Norwegian music university LIMPI to support aspiring Norwegian producers and songwriters.[10]

Selected discography

YearArtistSongAlbumCredit
2023Ty Dolla $ign & Chris Brown"Motion Remix"SingleProducer & Writer
2023Ty Dolla $ign"Motion"SingleProducer & Writer
2022Andrea Berg & Justin Jesso"I'll Be There"SingleProducer
2022Benson Boone"Work Of Art"Walk Me Home...Producer & Writer
2022Clinton Kane"Keep It To Yourself"SingleProducer & Writer
2022Jennifer Lopez"Church"Marry Me (2022 Film)Writer
2021Camila Cabello, Nicholas Galitzine, Idina Menzel"Am I Wrong"Cinderella (2021 American film)Writer
2020Akon"Letter To My Son"Ain't No PeaceProducer & Writer
2019Scotty Sire"Words" SingleProducer & Writer
2019Strawhatz"POWER UP!" SingleProducer & Writer
2019Strawhatz"Drop The Beat" SingleProducer & Writer
2019Running Lights"Into U" SingleProducer & Writer
2019American Authors feat Beau Young Prince"Champion" SingleProducer & Writer
2019Skip Marley feat Damian Marley"Thats Not True" SingleProducer & Writer
2019Running Lights"Not In Love" SingleProducer & Writer
2019Running Lights"Speechless" SingleProducer & Writer
2019Madcon"Callin You" SingleProducer & Writer
2018Alan Walker feat Au/Ra & Tomine Harket"Darkside" SingleWriter
2018Maty Noyes"Boys Like you" Love Songs From A Lolita EP Producer
2018AJ Mitchell"High Like You" Hopeful EPProducer & Writer
2018Train feat Cam & Travie McCoy"Call Me Sir" Single Producer & Writer
2017Jessie Reyez"Gatekeeper" KiddoProducer & Writer
2017Train"You Better Believe" a girl a bottle a boatProducer & Writer
2017Train"Lost and Found" a girl a bottle a boatProducer & Writer
2017Train"Valentine" a girl a bottle a boatProducer & Writer
2016Train"Working Girl" a girl a bottle a boatProducer & Writer
2016Train"Lottery" a girl a bottle a boatProducer & Writer
2016Keke Palmer"Figure You Out" SingleProducer & Writer
2016Maty Noyes"In My Mind" SingleProducer & Writer
2016Nano"Day I'm Gone" Single Producer & Writer
2016Kevin Hart, Akon"Give It Back" SingleProducer & Writer
2016Train"Play That Song" SingleProducer & Writer
2016Tish Hyman"Lesbehonest" "Dedicated to"Producer
2016Tish Hyman"Absolutely" "Dedicated to"Producer & Writer
2016Tish Hyman Feat Ty Dolla Sign & Fabolous"Dreams" "Dedicated to"Producer
2016Tish Hyman"4 Letter Word" "Dedicated to"Producer & Writer
2016Broiler"Daydream" Single Producer & Writer
2016Florida Georgia Line"H.O.L.Y." Single Writer
2016Broiler feat Bekuh Boom"Money" Single Producer & Writer
2015Tish Hyman"Home For Christmas" "Dedicated to"Producer & Writer
2015Kygo feat Maty Noyes"Stay" Single Producer & Writer
2015Nano"Perfect Melody" Single Producer & Writer
2015Broiler feat Tish Hyman"Fly By Night" Single Producer & Writer
2015Nano"Lion" Single Producer & Writer
2015Tish Hyman"Subway Art" "Dedicated to"Producer
2014Nico & Vinz feat. Emmanuel Jal"Find A Way" "The Good Lie" Movie SoundtrackProducer & Writer
2014Jessie J"Personal"Sweet TalkerProducer & Writer
2014Nico & Vinz"Am I Wrong"Black Star ElephantWriter[11]
2014Nico & Vinz"Know What I'm Not"Black Star ElephantProducer & Writer
2014Nico & Vinz"Miracles"Black Star ElephantProducer & Writer
2014Nico & Vinz feat Ntirelang Berman"My Melody" Black Star ElephantProducer & Writer
2014Nico & Vinz"Another Day"Black Star ElephantProducer & Writer
2014Nico & Vinz"People"Black Star ElephantProducer & Writer
2014Nico & Vinz"Imagine"Black Star ElephantProducer & Writer
2014Nico & Vinz feat Ntirelang Berman"Homeless" Black Star ElephantProducer & Writer
2014Nico & Vinz"When The Day Comes"Black Star ElephantProducer & Writer
2013Dirt Nasty(Simon Rex) feat Too $hort"Bang Her"PalatialProducer
2013Dirt Nasty(Simon Rex)"Threesome"PalatialProducer & Writer
2012Angel Haze"CHI (Need To Know)"ReservationProducer
2012Three Loco"Beer"Three Loco EPProducer
2012Three Loco"Make Em Wait"Three Loco EPProducer
2012Envy"One Song"The Magic Soup And The Bittersweet FacesProducer & Writer
2010Madcon"Walk Out The Door"ContrabandProducer & Writer
2010Madcon"Be Mine"ContrabandProducer & Writer
2009Method Man & Redman feat UGK"City Lights"Blackout! 2Producer
2008Karpe Diem"Krølla 50'lapp y'all"Fire VeggerProducer
2008Karpe Diem"Byduer I Dur"Fire VeggerProducer

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nasty Kutt. discogs.com. 18 April 2017.
  2. Web site: DMC World DJ Championships. Dan @. DMCWorld.com. dmcdjchamps.com. 18 April 2017.
  3. Web site: Hiphoptoppmøte på VG-lista-showet på Rådhusplassen. vg.no. 17 June 2011 . 18 April 2017.
  4. Lipshutz . Jason . 2014-06-17 . Nico & Vinz Goes Top 10: Norwegian Duo On The Making of 'Am I Wrong' . 2022-10-20 . Billboard . en-US.
  5. Web site: Creative . The Uprising . Nate Cyphert Honored at BMI's Country Awards for Florida Georgia Line's "H.O.L.Y" . 2022-10-20 . Pulse Music Group . en-US.
  6. Warner . Denise . 2020-11-24 . 2021 Grammy Nominations: See the Full List . 2022-10-20 . Billboard . en-US.
  7. Web site: Jahmal . Karlton . 2020-08-02 . Akon Spills His Heart On "Letter To My Son" . 2022-10-20 . HotNewHipHop . en-US.
  8. Web site: William Larsen's schedule for ASCAP EXPO . 2022-10-20 . ascapexpo2015.sched.com.
  9. Web site: Ratvik . Elise Hellem . 2015-09-26 . Dette mente Stjernekamp-dommerne om hiphop-kvelden . 2022-10-20 . NRK . nb-NO.
  10. Web site: Apply to Limpi . 2022-10-20 . limpimusic.com . en-US.
  11. Web site: Envy Nobel Peace Prize Concert . www.nobelpeaceprizeconcert.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131127233237/http://www.nobelpeaceprizeconcert.org/artists/envy/ . 2013-11-27.