Kris Barman (born December 20, 1984), known professionally as Wuki, is an American musician, DJ, and record producer. He was a member of the electronic rock band Innerpartysystem from 2007 to 2011 where he sang back up vocals, played the guitar and synthesizer, and helped with programming. He was nominated for a 2020 Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording for Miley Cyrus's "Mother's Daughter". His debut album, WukiWorld, was released in 2021.
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."[1]
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."[2]
Career
On August 3, 2011, after touring extensively for many years as guitarist and synth player in electronic rock band Innerpartysystem,[3] the band announced that they were to be going on an indefinite hiatus; the band has not performed since. Barman moved to Denver, Colorado, 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.[4]
Wuki has since gone on to grow his solo project into a globally recognizable name, racking up over 121 million streams across all platforms through 2023.[5]
Delivering his first-ever self release as Wuki in 2012 with a four-track EP called Something For Everyone Vol. 1, he released the singles "Diwali", "Buffalo Bass", "Jungle Funk" and "That’s Right". In 2015, Wuki gained recognition for his remix of RL Grime and Big Sean's 2015 hit "Kingpin". After releasing music on imprints such as Owsla, Main Course, Mad Decent, Fool's Gold, and Ultra, in 2018n Wuki set up his own record label, Wukileaks.[3]
Wuki's hit remixes and bootleg edits caught the eyes of artists including Skrillex, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, The Chainsmokers, Anna Lunoe, Zeds Dead, and Diplo, with the latter offering Wuki his own monthly radio show, Wukileaks Wednesdays, on Diplo's Revolution.[3]
On January 24, 2020, he and Nitti Gritti released the EP Ro Sham Bo.[3] He started off the year with a 16-date North American tour, also called ‘Ro Sham Bo’.[7]
In 2023, Wuki teamed up with Lee Foss to remix Cheryl Lynn's 1978 disco single "Got to Be Real". This followed his 2022 remix of Stevie Nicks' 1981 single "Edge of Seventeen", which reached number 1 on the UK Shazam Dance Charts.[5] His 2023 single "Sunshine (My Girl)" incorporates elements of "My Girl" by The Temptations. This was followed by his 2023 Sunshine Tour across North America. He also performed that year at Red Rocks, Sunset, Shambhala, and HARD Summer.[8]
