Wuki


Kris Barman, known professionally as Wuki, is an American musician, record producer, and DJ. He was a member of the electronic rock band Innerpartysystem from 2007-2011 where he sang back up vocals, played the guitar and synthesizer, and helped with programming.

Early life

In a 2018 article with marijuana.com, Barman recalls how he got his start in music. "I started playing instruments when I was like 13 — I started playing guitar. Started making beats when I was 16 on Fruity Loops. Between 19 and 20, a buddy of mine that was always a huge fan of our local scene started a band, an electro-rock band. I dropped out of school to go do that. I dropped out of college to go pursue this band."
In an interview with Nest HQ, a self-described "culture-garnering media platform" conceived by the dance music superstar Skrillex, Barman reflects on his earliest influences the initial spark of interest in electronic dance music. "I played guitar growing up so I definitely listened to a lot of punk / alt music. But when I heard The Prodigy's “Smack My Bitch Up" things changed."

Career

On August 3, 2011 after touring extensively for many years with his band Innerpartysystem, the band announced in an e-mail to fans that they were to be going on an indefinite hiatus; the band has not reformed since.
Barman moved to Denver, CO and began producing and performing under the moniker Wuki. One of his first gigs as Wuki was hosting the late night radio show E-Lven on Denver's 93.3 FM.
Barman would go onto carve a lane for himself in the world of Electronic dance music, sparking interest from taste-making record labels such as Mad Decent and OWSLA; eventually releasing music on both labels, exposing him to a much broader audience.
In 2016, Wuki released official remixes featuring "DIEAGZ," of The Chainsmokers "Closer" and Galantis "No Money."
In 2018, Barman launched his record label WUKILEAKS releasing his own single "Chop It" as the labels first release. Barman plans to release music that is fun rather than serious through the label "I really look for anything that has raw creativity — nothing too serious either. I don’t like to feel like I’m in the matrix. I wanna have some sort of concept to it in a fun way."