When William Leclair was stationed in Georgia, far from the fields of his childhood in Oklahoma, he found himself stuck in the barracks and too young to go to a bar. To escape the boredom of being confined, he picked up a new hobby.
“One of my favorite ways (to pass time) was to DJ,” Leclair said. “… I had a little board in the barracks room, so I would just DJ … You’re surrounded by 18, 19-year-old people, and you’re all like-minded. Some people are going to be like, ‘Hey there, I’m a musician. I have a guitar, let’s jam. We’re all stuck in here in the barracks together.’”
Leclair’s love of music didn’t start in the Army — it started in childhood at powwows.
“I had grown up going to powwows,” Leclair said. “… It’s in my blood. I just grew up hearing the drum beat.”
Now at Wichita State studying audio production, Leclair, a member of Kaw Nation, decided to join his two musical loves together. Leclair said it started as a Frankenstein project, making the music he wanted to hear. But it soon became something more than that.
“That pride of where I come from, (I) just kind of (wanted to) put it on a platform where people who would not be exposed to it would be exposed to that new culture, maybe somebody has never heard of Native American powwow music,” Leclair said.
Listen to Leclair’s music:
Leclair said he likes to introduce tribal sounds first when he begins a set. This could be chants, prayers or Native American-esque instruments. He said he then gently passes the music into the new genre, usually electronic music with a high bass.
“A lot of people really like the Native American sound,” Leclair said. “They really like that Indigenous sound because you don’t really hear that when you go to these (music) events at all.”
Even when trying to spread his culture to other people, Leclair makes sure he balances making a good set and paying respects to the culture.
“What I try to do is be (as) respectful as possible to the culture first, and then blend that into my own heavy bass music that I enjoy to play,” Leclair said. “… I got to be good at bridging the cultural side, where it’s very spiritual, motivational music. It makes you open up and feel kind of heroic a little bit and then bridge that into the dubstep side.”
To spread his music further, Leclair performs at multiple different venues. He’s performed at The Cotillion, Tribal Roots Collective and Astral Abyss. He said he typically only asks for lodging and gas money, as he doesn’t DJ for the money or fame; he does it for the love of music.
Leclair said he’s had great shows where people were celebrating and embracing this style of DJing but he’s also “bombed” performances. During these rough performances, Leclair maintains a 10-15 minute rule to keep him in the moment and engage with his audience.
“If something’s not sounding good, I ditch it, and I try another technique,” Leclair said. “It’s just like the kind of mindset you need, especially in the music industry. It’s a tough industry. You got to have thick skin to make it.”
Despite the challenges, Leclair’s healthy mindset and love for DJing keeps him performing for others and showing off his latest sets.
“People love it,” Leclair said. “I try not to be as nervous whenever I do showcase (it) because it’s still a very new type of music … People can identify with the spiritual side of it and then once it goes into the harder, heavy bass, that’s like, ‘Oh, cool. Now it’s time to celebrate.’”
