He established himself as one of the fast rising stars in EDM. Last year he entered DJ Mag’s Top DJs poll at a respectable number 150 position in the world, while being voted at number 24 in the Tranceaddict 2011 poll. In 2012 DJ Mag invited him to select his top 10 tracks for their February edition. Other leading dance music publication ‘Mixmag’ also picked him out for their ‘Keep An Eye On’ feature in the March edition. Therefore we felt it was time to have a Q&A with Ben Nicky.
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If you look at your list of productions you have done so far. Which of those stands out the most to you and why?
It would have to be “Tears”, this track got onto lots of influential CD compilations such as “Gatecrasher Anthems” “Ministry of Sound Trance Nation” plus lots more. The track goes off in the clubs and definitely gets the best reaction on the dance floor out of all of my productions apart from possibly “Hammer” which is also popular.
Do you try to incorporate other styles of dance music in your productions?
Always! I take influence from house, techno, electro, etc. I have wrote melody and chord ideas from influences such as Foo Fighters , Take That , Coldplay etc. You need to be individual and have unique ideas rather than copying the same formulas and I am willing to spend time on following this rule.
Name the most inspiring person you ever met backstage and tell us why this person has inspired you?
I don’t get star struck by other DJ’s to be honest. I love seeing my other DJ mates progress and get more successful and this is enough to inspire me but personally I think you need to be able to motivate and inspire yourself otherwise you will always struggle getting further.
What is your current top 5 of record labels for recurring quality releases?
When you visit far and foreign countries to play, do you take time off to explore the culture of these countries?
When I am on a tour then I normally get to spend a week within the country so I try to get some trips around the area to see the culture and find out more about the local surroundings. Normal club gigs within Europe are a lot different as I normally fly back home the following morning after my gig.
What is the current hottest track on your memory stick?
Porter Robinson – Language (Ben Nicky 140bpm Headfuck)
