Exclusive Interview: Nick J.

Our good friend and one of our partners at #Afterlife, Nick J, is in the Artist Spotlight this week. Nick has been spinning tunes since the age of 19. He is also one of the co-founders of Unlisted Chicago (formerly known as DNR). We had a little chat with Nick, give the interview a read to learn a little more about the man and check out some of his upcoming tunes below.

How did you first begin DJing/Producing?
When I was 19 yrs old I was introduced to a pair of Technics 1200 turntables with Gemini mixer. We were going to raves back then traveling to Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Florida and quite a few other places from 1995 to 2004. I Dj’d at various clubs throughout the burbs and a few places in Chicago during this time. In 2004 I took a break from the scene in Chicago and almost got married and settled down because society brainwashes us to believe that we need to grow up, get married and move away to the burbs. It also didn’t help that Mayor Daily was giving 10,000 fines to the Dj’s, promoters, and anyone having anything to do with electronic music “Rave” events at this point.

Who is your biggest influence(s)?
Seth Troxler, Guy Gerber, Richie Hawtin, Dani Sbert

What’s your favorite record of all time?
I don’t do favorites, If I own an artists music it’s because I absolutely love the track and want to play it, that’s about as favorite as I get….but I guess to keep it real I would say really love Pay to Play and Stalk Me by Mia Wallace.

What was your favorite party of all time that you have played?
Coven this year in Mexico during the BPM fest at Coco Maya in Palya del Carmen or opening up the Paradigm party on Black Friday this year for Joseph Capriati these were def bucket list items…

Who do you want to collaborate with in the future?
Well that’s a tough one I have a long lists of artists I would love to colab with some of the top ones are def Mia Wallace, Green Velvet, Seth Troxler, and Ritchie Hawtin.

What’s the most embarrassing thing thats happened to you at a show?
I pooped in my pants….j/k Really though, when another dj after me pulls the wrong flash drive and I’m still standing there like wtf with the crowd looking at the booth like what just happened ? There are few things that are just better off left unknown though…

What do you like to do when you’re not working on music/DJing?
Focusing on the company that my friends and I started over a year ago called Unlisted, and working on the 2 weekly events I play at and host, Transmit Tuesday at Spybar and Afterlife at Annex. Other fun activities include, Snowboarding, boating, and putting one to the wind…I also enjoy going out to support Dj’s and my friends that play and throw events.

What is your opinion on the current EDM scene?
When you refer to EDM I feel like the meaning of what we do with underground is diluted and blurred, to me EDM is a genre referring to music that is not in my collection, but as to the underground electronic music scene it is thriving like a plant in on the mountain side with plenty of sun, nutrients and water….It’s growing rapidly in the past two years and I plan on being a part of it as long as possible.

What do you think will be the next big thing in EDM?
The next big thing in Electronic Music? Well the technology these days is incredible and moving so fast it’s almost hard to say by the time I figure out an answer it will have probably have changed. One of the things I really hope for is that artists start playing more of their own music, maybe not the entire set but for sure over half, I think Producer Dj’s would stand out way more than they do now because you will get to listen to a good variety of that actual artists music and style.

What do you think about all these “frauds” in the EDM scene using ghost producers, buying likes and purchasing their own tracks on Beatport?
Don’t even get me started….the two biggest things I dislike are frauds and thief’s. The whole ghost producer thing is completely ridiculous to me, why is the guy ghost producing? Why hasn’t he been able to put his music out to the labels, did he not work hard enough, did he not promote himself enough and looking for the easy way to just make money? In this industry it is more than just being a good artist, or a pretty face (well most of the time) it’s about a total package, be a good positive person, work well with others, make good music, play consistently good sets, and most of all put in on the scene as a whole and give what you get out of it to others.

Is there any upcoming releases/shows we should keep an eye out for?
Every Tuesday at Spybar for Transmit Tuesday
Every Saturday at Annex nightclub for Afterlife
Sunday morning after hrs for Sunrise Deep
As for releases I have a whole EP worth of tracks I’m waiting on a release date for.

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