NFX - From Alice DeeJay to Advent*jah icon
Author: Michelle Pirovich
Tuesday, December 9, 2003
"My interest in dance music was a gradual thing. Thanks to my sisters I was influenced by pop music, particularly the more 'dance' orientated tracks. The 'cheesy' commercial tracks by artists like Alice DeeJay eased me into the genre, but as I became older I developed my own taste for dance music."
Nick's interest in music goes as far as dnb, punk rock, breaks and electro, but trance is what really takes hold of this promising young producer. Far from the belief of many that all trance music "sounds the same", Nick understands that it all comes down to the melodies.
"I love trance, specifically hard, melodic and psy trance because it is so diverse, there are so many variants that it leaves you open to many different options. People who say that all trance music sounds the same couldn't be farther from the truth. Once you really listen to the tracks, you realise how complex they are. Basically I love melodies and love making them! Melodies for me are the most important part of a track and it is the first thing I look for."
Very few people can produce a melody like Nick's biggest influence, Scot Project.
"I love how he mixes melodic melodies with hard elements. Dumonde does a similar thing. I'm a fan of any producer who can create a really strong melody; it completely shapes a song and always sparks emotion."
Nick took to dabbling in production in 1998, but it wasn't until the year 2000 that Nick thought seriously about producing music as a career. When Advent*jah called far and wide for all producers to show what they were capable of, there was no stopping Nick.
"I have been on mp3.com.au for quite a while, always hoping that someone would hear my tracks so I could gain some exposure. As soon as I saw the competition with Advent*jah, I hoped it would be my first big break. Playing in front of a huge crowd had always been my dream and here was my chance to make it come true."
Despite some very close competition, it was Nick's tight production, hair raising melodies and dance floor destructive beats that made 'Exponential' the winning track.
"I spent hours on my piano playing around until I found a melody that I liked. After that everything pretty much fell into place. I worked out my synth patches, organised the drum patches and worked out the other melodies for the build ups. The sequencing pretty much gets done as I go, although I did make major changes after I had finished the first copy. I also did some final mastering once I was pleased with what I had done."
As well as superstar DJ treatment and interviews with the press, Nick's dream came true when he played live to an enthusiastic Advent*jah crowd, and did the experience live up to expectations-
"It was AMAZING! Playing up there was the best feeling and seeing the crowds' reaction was totally gratifying. The crowd was great and despite the miserable weather the vibe was electric! It was the best experience of my life to date."
With experience now under his belt, Nick understands what matters most when performing live.
"I think the most important part of what I do is to make sure I play tracks that people actually want to hear. When playing live it's really important that you give the crowd a bit of a show, you can't just stand there and play pre-sequenced parts. I play live on my controller keyboard so I am always doing something."
Sights are now set high for Nick, he has a real taste of seeing a crowd act favourably to his music and like any DJ/Producer will tell you, there is no better feeling. Looking to the future and Nick sees many productions and plenty of live performances.
"It's a g Tags