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Features
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| Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! | | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna | | A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022! | | TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022! | | A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London! |
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Nick Rowland — Innovate Preview
Reported by MostwantedJonathan
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Submitted 20-02-06 15:05
Let’s face it: live shows are two a penny these days — that is unless you’re Nick Rowland. The boy who came from nowhere back in 2002, delivering tune after tune, has been climbing the proverbial ladder of late.
In September of last year we met Nick Rowland and got to know the boy with unprecedented production skills. Almost 6 months on and Nick is on the verge of perfecting a live set like no other. We caught up with him as he puts the final touches to a LIVE performance the Innovate team are promoting as ‘mind-blowing’.
Nick, you’ve been a busy boy since we last spoke, which was about 6 months ago. Bring us right up to date.
It’s been a lot of fun! I've been in the studio with Nick Sentience and James Lawson, both of whom I aspired to when I started out. We turned out some belters, ‘Innovation’ which was done with Nick, is coming out on Riot! Recordings and the currently untitled tune with James will be coming out on EdisonFactor.net. I have also a few releases and remixes due out — my mix of Stu Allan — ‘A Feelin’ is getting fantastic reviews. ‘Way Out’ on Tranzlation white & ‘Trancentral’ on Nukleuz have both been getting good reviews and reactions. I have been back in the studio with Nick Rafferty too, and also working on some new Rowland & Wright material! Busy, but a lot of fun right now.
Peeps that start off in the studio and DJ later has become quite the thing. What’s your take on this, and was it part of a well thought out plan?
I actually started Djing first believe it or not. I first started playing over 10 years ago when I managed to blag my way into a nightclub which was on the side of the hotel I worked at. My uncle used to send me promos and I spent all my wages on records. Foolishly, I never really pushed it so it was something I did as a hobby more than anything, but I always seemed to find my way playing regularly in small clubs and parties. It was good because I was exposing myself to a huge amount of music, so when I did start to produce I could take influences from it all. For me personally, music production completely took over my passion for DJing. Now I realise the two go hand in hand, and there isn’t really one without the other; if anyone deserves to be playing records to the masses it’s the people who sweat it out for days in the studio making them!
What’s your take on the hard dance scene here at the moment, and where do you see yourself in it?
Well there are some wicked records coming out again which is excellent. The only thing for me that was letting the whole scene down was the huge amount of musically segregated nights that spanned the country. The nights that are now blurring the boundaries of musical genres again (Innovate for one and Wildchild springs to mind) seem to be doing really, really well. All in all it seems to be gathering strength again. As for where I see myself? Well, I’m really happy with what I have been fortunate enough to achieve over the last three or so years. I just hope that there are people who like my music, and that the stuff I write makes people dance and feel good.
You’ve got a US tour ahead of you this year — what cities you planning on visiting?
Good question. I’m going over with Phil York and I am still waiting to get the final details confirmed. I know Seattle and Portland are on the list. We’re also jumping the border for a few dates in Canada too. I’ll be posting the final dates on my myspace page as soon as I get them. http://www.myspace.com/nrowland
Following on from the last question. Why is it do you think the US are taking so long to get into the hard dance sound?
Whoever figures that out will make a lot of money and have some amazing parties!
We’re here to talk about your live set, and without picking on anyone in particular it’s true to say a lot of people are bored of the live set formula — what’s going to be different with yours?
Well, over the last 3 years I have written tracks that span the whole hard dance scene. So there will be a diverse range of music, some new some old. Oh, and I won’t be playing a DAT.
You don’t really see many ‘live sets’ outside of hard dance, why do you think that is?
I think mainly because the construction of hard dance music is very loop based and electronic, as such it makes it easier than other styles to play with, although I think the live set is a growing part of all styles of dance music and not only hard dance. With the introduction of powerful laptops, and more importantly the appearance of Ableton Live, producers now have a way to get up on stage and recreate the vibe of the studio. It leaves a lot of room for creativity and imagination now, which can only be a good thing. The Ableton (or live) revolution is going to completely change clubbing as we know it. It’s not only about mixing records any more, it’s about spontaneous one off shows.
What’s your most valued piece of equipment and why?
Still my G5 PowerMac. It’s the hub of all my activities.
Innovate, it has to be said, is one club prepared to stick their neck out and experiment. You’ve played there before, how does it feel to be asked back again?
Fantastic, it’s my favourite night by far. It’s the debut of my show so I am a little nervous but extremely excited! Innovate are doing what all clubs need to do, and that’s bring the dance music styles together, our scene is too small to split it into hundreds of pieces. And as far as Innovate goes, the atmosphere says it all!
Finally Nick, a few quickies.
OK.
What’s your favourite colour?
Blue
What’s your favourite number?
42
Left handed or right handed?
Right
What side of the bed do you sleep on?
The side nearest the door.
Are you gay or straight?
Straight.
Really... those last 6 questions formed part of a gay/str8 test, and guess what...
Without nipples, breasts would be pointless!!
Exactly mate! Thanks a lot for your time Nick, we look forward to seeing you at Innovate.
Pictures courtesy of Ben Thomas.
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DTPM - the birthday: interview with the legendary Malcolm Duffy
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The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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Keep it up son!