NICK THE KID / THE INTERVIEW Q&As

On his fast approaching first appearance at Uprising at the end of the month, Nick the kid answers the Q&A's



Where did it all start for you?
It all started at School for me, I was about 13 & my best m8 Paul (RIP) used to bring in these pirate mix tapes (and Vinyl) from his older brother who lived in London. I was immensely intrigued & this progressed into acquiring some decks & shopping at the local rave store Soundcheck records in Taunton. It all kind of stemmed from that point.
We then managed to blag our teachers into letting us do the school discos. We even charged them which is quite funny looking back!
We then went on to hire out local halls & put on parties for people at our school (& neighbouring schools) with our little set up.
Early influences were The Prodigy, Ratpack, Dj Sy, Scorpio, Dougal, Dance Planet, Dreamscape, Platipus records etc etc
The first proper big rave I went to was Dreamscape in 97 which was absolutely awesome & opened my eyes up even further to what raves were all about!
I started promoting my first over 18's event around the same time in my home town called Plastic Fantastic at a club called the Tube and had guests such as Sy, Dougal, Hixxy, Mike Cosford, Slipmatt etc I was 16 at the time.

Where did the name come from?
It's quite straight forward really I wwas very young at the time & managed to blag a set at the legendary Pawlett Manor for Chapter 33 (Big up Paul Booker). I needed a name for the flyer & as I was only 16 at the time & bearly eveen looked my age my m8's all voted on it & it's stuck ever since!
Little did I know that when I was 29 & I would have have to explain why I'm called this almost every week lol

What gave you the initial push?
I'm not quite sure really - I've always been really into music (Of all kinds) and can play keyboards up to Grade 5, So I always knew I wanted to be involved with music from a very young age. Hearing some of those early rave tapes really kickstarted my thirst for it & I have to thank the paarents for buying me my first set of DLP1 Soundlab belt drives & Roadstar mixer which got me underway!!

Who would you say was putting on the best events at the moment?
Abroad definitely Defqon1, Qdance & Cream @ Amnesia.
In the UK - Riot, Atmosphere, Frantic, Freeformation, Bang Face & Hindsight (Ha!)

Which other countries have you played?
I have played in Majorca & Ibiza so far.

What was the first event you ever played?
The first proper event I played was an under 18's hardcore event called High Risk in Taunton, I went on to be a resident for them playing happy hardcore & Trancecore.
I still have the hand drawn flyer lol No photoshop back then!

What’s the best event you’ve ever played?
Definitely Cream's closing party @ Amnesia a few weeks ago - Amnesia is by far the best venue I've ever been to, It's absolutely massive, The set up/Production is absolutely amazing & as soon as soon as the doors open it's rammed from the off and that huge graphic equalizer & Giant CO2 cannons start to work their magic !
I was on the same bill as Paul Van Dyk, Sasha & Eddie Halliwell who I all respect massively and I had an amazing time there.
Last year I got asked in an interview for harderfaster where I would play in the world if I could choose one place & I said Amnesia hands down so it really was a personal dream come true for me!

What was your first record you bought?
Acen - Trip 2 the moon (production House)

Out of all the tunes you have, which one does the business every time?
Parker & Clind - Generator (Bonzai) This track goes off wherever / whenever.

What's your favourite tune of all time, the ultimate classic?
This is a hard question for me as I'm into so many different styles of music & there are so many!! As this is an interview for uprising I'll keep it on the hard trance front - Skysurfer - Colors, Kaycee - Escape & Fast - Trance-Mission are all right up there when I do a classics set!

And when all the partying is over, how do you like to relax?
I like to spend time in the studio, chilling out with my girlfriend, Eating out & watching DVD's - The usual stuff! I've just bought a new mountain bike so am hoping to get back into that over the next year as well as a bit of surfing too.

How is the scene in your eyes at the moment?
The last year has really picked up for everyone I think (Especially here in the Southwest) - I'm definitely excited with the amount of new fresh talent emerging (Dj's & Producers) & the crossing of genres / blurring of musical boundaries. I just wish we could have a more oldskool approach with things in future with various styles all in one arena again (Like in the early 90's) & more open mindedness from the ravers! I love what Bang Face, Freeformation & party proactive are all doing with their events for this very reason.
I've been very dissapointed at some of the dj agencies over the last year or so & the ludicrous fee's (& riders) they are attempting to command for certain artists - it's not doing the scene any favours!
Overall though I think we are all in for a rockin 2010 & things are definitely looking more positive if not just for the aamount of new fresh faces embracing the scene .
From my own perspective though 2009 has by far been the busiest year of my career to date.

How big is your vinyl collection? What is your opinion on CDJ's? (the pros & cons)
I have about 3000 vinyls & I still buy Oldskool on Vinyl.
I love my CDJ's now, I did have to be dragged kicking & screaming into it but now the benefits far outway the cons.
Pros - No more Skipping needles, No more scratched 12"'s, Take ya whole set out on a CD & then there's the awesome fx.
Cons - My bedroom is now a CDR graveyard, They're now bloody expensive to buy & there's still nothing quite like watching a dj tear it up on a set of 1210's & a basic mixer.

The funniest thing that ever happened at an event?
Well actually last week I was at Party Proactive in London & A blonde page 3 type girl jumped on stage & got her massive uber fake knockers out & was trying to dangle them over the dex for Mark EG. She then proceeded to stay like that for the whole of his set & pose for photos! Bizzare, especially to a soundtrack of hard european techno!
This prob isnt the funniest thing ever but it was only last weekend & was quite amusing to say the least.
Being on the same lineup as Bez from Happy Mondays / Big Brother fame last year was also quite a funny moment.

Other DJs you rate?
Kutski, Louk, Mark EG, M-Zone, Jon The Baptist & Chuck E, Wragg & Log:One, Kevin Energy, Jeff Mills, Carl Cox, Eddie Halliwell,
Cally & Juice, Ed Real, BK, Scott Attrill, Dave Joy, Fj Project, Andrea Montorsi, Frisky ...There's tons!

Who is/are your biggest musical influences in the world of music & why?
There are simply too many to list & all for various reasons! Man with no name for getting me into trance in the first place I suppose, Those early tracks were outstanding for the time, Mark EG for his dj'ing performaces & opening my eyes to loads of new labels, Andreas Kreamer & Thomas Pogadl for being production geniuses, Also Shokk, Uberderuck & Wag for the same reasons. There are many others!

What are your feelings on the MC's?
I dont mind MC's as long as they are there to enhance the dj's set not run away with all the glory & shout utter rubbish
over the mixes. Ribbz, Si The Sigh, Sharkey & Riggsy from Bournemouth are all complete proffessionals & I love working with them.
Obviously I play hard trance though where less is more on the mic but I can apprreciate the hardcore scene has more of a need for them.

What do you do outside of the dance music scene?
I am a delivery driver part time tues - Fri. Keeps me grounded!

What advice would you give to up and coming DJs/Mc's/Promoters?
You get out what you put in! Perservere & things will start to come together eventually. Most of all enjoy what you do & stay true to what you like!

If you could stage an event anywhere, where would you choose?
Either Amnesia, Ibiza or Matter, London. Both awesome venues!

How do you see the scene 5 years from now?
I think over the next 5 years we are in for a bit of a shake up all round - I'm sure there will be a whole host of new 'BIG' names by then & fresh talent coming through especially with the rapid advances in technology. It's really hard to predict where its all going but surely thats why we are all involved in the first place..for the excitement & unpredictabillity that comes with it all.

If you had a time machine what year would you go back to and why?
definitely 88 - love to go to some of those early acid house parties, the music was so fresh back then & from speaking to my older m8's who were there, they were really special times - Ive nearly had them in tears talking about it so I'd love to have been there and experience it all first hand. I'm also a big fan of the music from that era 88-92.

Any shouts you would like to make?
Big shouts to: Kirk @ Radical Escapes, All @ Core Magazine, Louk, Mark EG, Log:One, Mick M-Zone, Toby & Tommo @ Atmosphere, Jay @ Icon, Nigel @ Twenty4seven Mag, All @ Dontstayin, Matt @ Harderfaster, Ed Real & the trackitdown massive, Gordy @ Frantic, Luca/Bubs @ DHF, Kevin Energy, Allan Mcgrath @ DJ, Jon & Chuck-E, Chris @ Tranzaction, Phil york, Fj Project, Andrea Montorsi & anyone I've missed out.

Thanks for the interview Jake - looking forward to Uprising big time - heard great things!!

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Myspace http://www.myspace.com/audiosunshine

Mixes http://mixes.djfez.com/djs/jake-nicholls/

Discography http://www.discogs.com/artist/Riddler+(3)]