William Wiik Larsen

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 has 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.

William Wiik Larsen
Also known asWill IDAP, Nasty Kutt, Will/William Larsen
Born (1986-09-15) September 15, 1986
Oslo, Norway
GenresPop, hip hop, country music, world music, Reggae, rock music, electronic dance music
Occupation(s)Record producer & songwriter
Years active2005–present
LabelsIDAP Music
Associated actsTrain, Skip Marley, Nico & Vinz, Kygo, Florida Georgia Line, Jessie Reyez, Maty Noyes, Akon, Method Man & Redman, Jessie J,

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 21 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

YearArtistAlbumSongCredit
2019Scotty SireSingle"Words"Producer & Writer
2019StrawhatzSingle"POWER UP!"Producer & Writer
2019StrawhatzSingle"Drop The Beat"Producer & Writer
2019Running LightsSingle"Into U"Producer & Writer
2019American AuthorsSingle"Champion" (feat. Beau Young Prince)Producer & Writer
2019Skip MarleySingle"Thats Not True" feat Damian MarleyProducer & Writer
2019Running LightsSingle"Not In Love"Producer & Writer
2019Running LightsSingle"Speechless"Producer & Writer
2019MadconSingle"Callin You"Producer & Writer
2018Alan WalkerSingle"Darkside"Writer
2018Maty NoyesLove Songs From A Lolita EP"Boys Like you"Producer
2018AJ MitchellHopeful EP"High Like You"Producer & Writer
2018TrainSingle"Call Me Sir" feat Cam (singer) & Travie McCoyProducer & Writer
2017Jessie ReyezKiddo"Gatekeeper"Producer & Writer
2017Traina girl a bottle a boat"You Better Believe"Producer & Writer
2017Traina girl a bottle a boat"Lost and Found"Producer & Writer
2017Traina girl a bottle a boat"Valentine"Producer & Writer
2016Traina girl a bottle a boat"Working Girl"Producer & Writer
2016Traina girl a bottle a boat"Lottery"Producer & Writer
2016Keke Palmer Single"Figure You Out"Producer & Writer
2016Maty NoyesSingle"In My Mind"Producer & Writer
2016NanoSingle"Day I'm Gone"Producer & Writer
2016Kevin HartSingle"Give It Back" feat AkonProducer & Writer
2016TrainSingle"Play That Song"Producer & Writer
2016Tish Hyman"Dedicated to""Lesbehonest"Producer
2016Tish Hyman"Dedicated to""Absolutely"Producer & Writer
2016Tish Hyman"Dedicated to""Dreams" Feat Ty Dolla Sign & FabolousProducer
2016Tish Hyman"Dedicated to""4 Letter Word"Producer & Writer
2016BroilerSingle"Daydream"Producer & Writer
2016Florida Georgia LineSingle"H.O.L.Y."Writer
2016BroilerSingle"Money" Feat Bekuh BOOM"Producer & Writer
2015Tish Hyman"Dedicated to""Home For Christmas"Producer & Writer
2015KygoSingle"Stay" Feat Maty Noyes"Producer & Writer
2015NanoSingle"Perfect Melody"Producer & Writer
2015BroilerSingle"Fly By Night" Feat Tish Hyman"Producer & Writer
2015NanoSingle"Lion"Producer & Writer
2015Tish Hyman"Dedicated to""Subway Art"Producer
2014Nico & Vinz"The Good Lie" Movie Soundtrack"Find A Way" feat. Emmanuel JalProducer & Writer
2014Jessie JSweet Talker"Personal"Producer & Writer
2014Nico & VinzBlack Star Elephant"Am I Wrong"Producer & Writer[4]
2014Nico & VinzBlack Star Elephant"Know What I'm Not"Producer & Writer
2014Nico & VinzBlack Star Elephant"Miracles"Producer & Writer
2014Nico & VinzBlack Star Elephant"My Melody" Feat Ntirelang BermanProducer & Writer
2014Nico & VinzBlack Star Elephant"Another Day"Producer & Writer
2014Nico & VinzBlack Star Elephant"People"Producer & Writer
2014Nico & VinzBlack Star Elephant"Imagine"Producer & Writer
2014Nico & VinzBlack Star Elephant"Homeless" Feat Ntirelang BermanProducer & Writer
2014Nico & VinzBlack Star Elephant"When The Day Comes"Producer & Writer
2013Dirt NastyPalatial"Bang Her" feat. Too $hortProducer
2013Dirt NastyPalatial"Threesome"Producer & Writer
2012Angel HazeReservation"CHI (Need To Know)"Producer
2012Three LocoThree Loco EP"Beer"Producer
2012Three LocoThree Loco EP"Make Em Wait"Producer
2012 Envy The Magic Soup And The Bittersweet Faces "One Song"
2010MadconContraband"Walk Out The Door"Producer & Writer
2010MadconContraband"City Lights" feat. Bun BProducer & Writer
2009Method Man & RedmanBlackout! 2"City Lights" feat. Bun BProducer
2008 Karpe Diem Fire Vegger "Krølla 50'lapp y'all" Producer

Scandinavian awards and nominations

YearAwardCategorySong/AlbumArtist
2012NRJ Radio AwardsMost Played Song of the Year“Kjører på”Madcon
2011MTV Europe Music AwardsNorwegian Album of the Year“Back to business”Erik & Kriss
2011Swedish Grammy AwardsBest Hip Hop/Soul Album of the Year[5]“Sagolandet”Timbuktu
2011Norwegian Grammy AwardsVideo of the Year[4]“One Song”Envy
2010Norwegian Grammy AwardsBest Hip Hop album“Helt om natten, helt om dagen”Lars Vaular
2010MTV Europe Music AwardsNorwegian Album of the Year“Aldri solgt en løgn”Karpe Diem
2008Norwegian Grammy AwardsBest Hip Hop album“Fire Vegger”Karpe Diem
2006MTV Europe Music AwardsNorwegian Album of the Year“It is what it is”el Axel

References

  1. "Nasty Kutt". discogs.com. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  2. DMCWorld.com, Dan @. "DMC World DJ Championships". dmcdjchamps.com. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  3. "Hiphoptoppmøte på VG-lista-showet på Rådhusplassen". vg.no. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  4. "Envy | Nobel Peace Prize Concert". www.nobelpeaceprizeconcert.org. Archived from the original on 2013-11-27.
  5. "Timbuktu wins at the Swedish Grammis - Bad Taste Empire". badtasteempire.com. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
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