Wax Motif

Sydney, Australia native Danny Chien, better known as EDM producer Wax Motif, surfaced toward the close of the 2000s with an electro-house approach that balanced euphoria and restraint while drawing from trap, hip-hop, and R&B. Widely acknowledged as a key figure in the G-house scene, he spent the ensuing decade issuing multiple EPs, among them the 2017 projects Tokyo and Forsaken, before settling in Los Angeles and unveiling his first album, House of Wax, in 2022.

Chien began circulating Wax Motif material near 2008, issuing the percussive EPs Conga Junk and 808 the following year. In 2010 he joined frequent partner Neoteric for a collaboration with Crookers on the track “Springer,” which surfaced on the Bust ’Em Up EP via Southern Fried Records/Mad Decent. His sound broadened in 2011 through the high-energy singles “Celine” and “Shimmy Shake.” The year 2012 brought an EP collecting “Springer” remixes alongside the Wax Motif and Neoteric single “Go Deep,” released on Dim Mak Records, where it gained substantial radio exposure and lifted the pair’s visibility. That August the duo placed “Das Machines” on Main Course, while Wax Motif simultaneously issued “Next to Me,” a Dim Mak release featuring Yung Skeeter. The year 2014 proved especially active: Protocol Recordings hosted the well-received single “Hex,” a joint effort with Tommy Trash; remixes followed for Warren G, Galantis, and Deadmau5; and festival dates multiplied. After moving to Los Angeles, he rejoined Mad Decent in 2015 for the True Joy EP. Additional partnerships arrived in 2016 with “Get It All,” a GTA collaboration, before the solo EPs Tokyo and Forsaken appeared in 2017.

Wax Motif sustained his output with “Unraveling,” featuring Kaelyn Behr, in 2018 and “Love to the World,” a Diplo collaboration, in 2020, then delivered his first full-length, House of Wax, in early 2022.