The word ‘brat’ has followed Nathan Williams around for almost a decade, but at the age of 30, with a fully-fledged business to his name, as well as the ongoing success of band Wavves, his rebellious streak has proven not just purposeful but pretty damn inspiring. The San Diego native knows how to play the system, so when the major labels came knocking a few years ago looking to turn Wavves into the next so-called saviours of radio rock’n’roll, Williams and bassist Stephen Pope made sure they used it to their advantage.

“We were just trying to go to eat at nice places in LA,” he laughs. “There were a few people from majors who would not stop reaching out to us. They were obsessed. They thought we had heat and they needed an edgy big rock band like they used to have in the ‘90s. Me and Stephen were in our shitty apartments, Googling ‘nicest restaurants in LA’. We went to eight or nine dinners. At the end we’d say, ‘not interested’.”

When Warners came along and offered them a cash advance too good to refuse, they accepted while being shrewdly aware of what they were getting themselves into. “We still owned all of our shit, which was the most important part for us. For them it was a shot in the dark.” The day to day of being signed to a major, however, was unpredictable and beyond their wildest nightmares. “I figured it would run the same as [prior label] Fat Possum, just with more people. I was wrong.” By the time they were readying to release their second Warners album – 2015’s ‘V’ – shots were fired. Williams released single ‘Way Too Much’ on Soundcloud before the label had approved it, the label forgot to sign off on the artwork and, in the end, Wavves felt swept under the rug. Ultimately it felt like a career step backwards.

“I’d never come in contact with such a poorly run company in my life,” says Williams. “It was anarchy. Nobody knew what they were doing. Turnover rate was like an American Apparel. It was really all cons – unless you’re a cash cow. For everyone else, major labels can’t help you. Maybe at one time they could, but that time is dead.” The birds-eye view on Warners’ inner mess wound up pushing Williams to legitimize his own business – Ghostramp. “I figured if these idiots could get by, we could do it a hundred times better.”

With that fighting spirit, Williams took back control and realized his own teenage dreams. Today, during a Monday lunchtime hour, he’s making time between meetings to talk about forthcoming sixth Wavves record ‘You’re Welcome’ in the stock room at Ghostramp’s Chinatown-based LA skate shop. Opening in October 2016, Ghostramp is the physical embodiment of a vision that harks back to before Williams made the first Wavves’ albums in his parents’ garage. It’s a merchandise store, it’s a label, it’s a tangible community in a time when the digital age has taken the confidence out of physical product. And – what’s more – it’s working. ‘You’re Welcome’ is the soundtrack to this new lease of freedom. It’s Williams’ tongue-in-cheek rebirth as a self-released, self-actualized, self-promoting punk kingpin, and despite putting his money where his uncensored mouth is, he’s emerged not just unscathed but with the upper hand. “I’m my own boss and that feels great,” he smiles.

In February 2016, months before Ghostramp opened, Williams took himself into producer Dennis Herring’s [‘King Of The Beach’] studio in Downtown LA, and for the first time since the early records worked regular office hours and almost entirely alone. It was the polar opposite experience to making 2013’s ‘Afraid Of Heights’ record, which took Wavves over a year and was “out of control”. “We were so fucked up in the studio – everybody, the producer, the engineer, everyone recording. We’d waste days,” recalls Williams. With this, Williams brought everyone in one at a time, ensuring it was the minimum amount of people possible. That prevented the recording from descending into midnight oil-burning party sessions.

The album was put together wholly differently from ‘V’, too, which was recorded live as a band album together with guitarist Alex Gates, drummer Brian Hill and Stephen in the studio. ‘You’re Welcome’ is mostly comprised of Williams’ oddball, sample-led brainstorms. He came up with 40 tracks, now whittled down to twelve, fat-free punk zingers. “I’d come up with an idea, fool around with it, have Brian come in and play drums, then figure it out.” A sample nerd, Williams delved into his obsession with 1950s doo-wop and – surprisingly – international folk, including Cambodian pop and ‘70’s psychedelia from South America.

The results make for one of the most diverse and intricate Wavves records yet. ‘Come To The Valley’ contains a Phil Spector meets Beach Boys ‘60s High School dance vibe, whereas title track ‘You’re Welcome’ riffs on sound effects that could almost originate from Bizarro World, never mind Cambodia. Some of his ideas ran away with themselves a little too much, as Williams reveals one track was a little too close to Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ for comfort. ‘Million Enemies’ is right in his comfort zone though. Inspired by New York Dolls, Bowie and Gary Glitter, he calls it “the anthem song.” “It’s a song for the haters,” he says. The lyrics “I got enemies, a million enemies, living in the streetstonight” are a call-to-arms for anyone whose detractors are out to get them. “I don’t have a million enemies,” jokes Williams. “But probably 500,000.”