LAMP Weekly Mix #131 feat. Christian Nielsen
LAMP Weekly Mix #131 feat. Christian Nielsen
This week we are very excited to have Danish producer and DJ, Christian Nielsen curating our Guest Mix series. Nielsen has been our radar since his days as Chris Minus and his debut single 'The End' on Play It Down featuring his collab with Mr. V and a superb rework by the legend Oliver Dollar. In just a few short years this seemingly unknown artist has risen through the ranks guided and nurtured by some of the industry's finest in JESSE ROSE (OFFICIAL PAGE) and Noir. With follow up releases on Rose's label, sub imprint A-SIDED, Noir, and a host of remix appearances this dynamic producer has only just gotten started. Our own MR PUZL got to pick the brain of this seemingly enigmatic artist and find out a bit more about his humble beginnings and what makes him tick.MR PUZL: Congrats on your debut Noir release! Just grabbed a copy of this yesterday and cannot stop playing it! You've been friends with the Noir Music family for some time. Tell us how you first got involved with René and his amazing imprint.Christian Nielsen: Thanks man, glad you dig it.So back in 2010 I had been producing for some years, under the name Chris Minus. I had sent a track to Rene (Noir) because I hoped he would sign it to Noir Music. He rejected it as a demo, but instead wanted to collaborate on the track and bring it to another level. We ended up releasing “Sleep No More” on Neurotraxx Recordings and it went no. 2 on the deep house charts. Since then we’ve pretty much always been in contact and hooked up at different events. I’ve personally always wanted to sign to Noir, but I think I never really felt I had the tracks for it.But a few months ago I finished two tracks that needed a home. I was looking through my references and then it hit me! Let’s ask Noir! I sent off the tracks and the response was pretty instant. When I think about it, it took me 6 years to sign to Noir Music!MP: The title track, 'Over and Over' features some really awesome vocals that are almost ethereal. Can you tell us a bit about the production behind this EP?CN: Well, some time ago I was browsing through some folders and this vocal popped up out of nowhere. I listened to it a few times and knew straight away I had to do something with it. I tried to work with it, but for whatever reason I couldn’t make the song sound like I wanted to. I decided to let the idea go. A personal rule for me is if I can’t create a groove/base I like within 30-60 minutes I trash the idea. A song cant be pushed and I feel that it has to come naturally and fluently.So a month passes and I’ve already moved on working on new originals. One of the new tracks I was working on was almost done but I felt something was missing. Once again I went on a search and found nothing that had the vibe I needed. I remember it was late and I thought I would pick things up the day after, so I started closing down programs. Then I saw the vocals on my desktop staring right at me, and before closing down for the night I thought I wanted to give it a shot. Thankfully the vocals fit in perfectly and before I turned everything off and went to bed the track was done.MP: In your bio you mention that you have a full time day job. Can you tell us a bit about that? The easy question would be to ask how you balance your careers but more importantly we'd like to know what inspires you to maintain your craft alongside an office job?CN: Yeah, I still have a 8-4 day job where I work with text messaging systems. It’s a fun job and my colleagues are really nice. I’ve worked there for 6 years now, so my bosses know what I’m all about and support me.MP: The balance is pretty simple, really. When I’m at work my focus is there. But every free minute I have during the day is spent on music production. That’s why I always have my computer with me everywhere I go. You never know if the train is suddenly ten minutes late.CN: To be honest my day job gives me two things. The obvious one is financial security. I have a family so a steady income is really nice to have and a need to have.But my day job also gives me the freedom to do what I want musically. I don’t feel pressured to take on things just for the money, I can pick and choose my gigs and remixes, without having to compromise, and that is an amazing feeling.MP: I was really into early Trentemøller, and his debut EP on Naked Music that featured Le Champagne was superb. Guys like him, Kandi, Rune RK and of course eventually René put Denmark on the map for me in terms of electronic music. Who were some early influences for you and what made you gravitate towards electronic music?CN: I was very much into Trentemøller in the early days when he was producing house. He still is an amazing musician, but I wouldn’t label his work house anymore. I was introduced to house music pretty late in life. I wasn’t brought up with house music in any way at all. It wasn’t until 2006 that a DJ friend played some old school Chicago house that my world changed completely. After that I pretty much spent days at my friend’s house just listening to his house collection, going through all the different house genres. It was actually pretty intense because I couldn’t really understand where all this music came from. Why wasn’t this on the radio? Why aren’t all clubs playing this? Where did all these artists come from? It was a whole new world to me that NEEDED to be uncovered and explored.MP: As you've mentioned in past interviews you have a great long-standing relationship with Jesse Rose. When he unveiled his new imprint A-Sided I remember listening to an early promo of 'Another Day' and getting so excited for the host of awesome releases queued up. What was different or special about producing something for this imprint versus tracks you've put out on Play It Down?CN: I never produce for a label. I can’t sit down and say to myself: “Ok, I would like to sign to Cocoon, let’s make a techno track”. My production process starts with me opening my computer and working on creating a groove. Whatever happens from there is unknown, it can end up being some soulful deep house or 130 bpm techno.With Jesse I actually wasn’t aware of what was going on at the time with the different labels he was working on. In my head I was part of Play It Down and that was pretty much that. So producing “Another Day” was just me being me.MP: On that same notion you were at one point releasing under the moniker Chris Minus and had your own imprint Sirch Records. What sparked your transition to releasing under your real name? Did you feel that your sound had changed and wanted to reflect that?CN: Well, after signing “Chris Minus & Mr. V – The End” to Jesse’s Play It Down, things changed a bit. I had begun speaking a lot with Jesse Rose, and at one point we came to the conclusion that it was time to stop working behind an alias, and just be me. Don’t get me wrong, it was loads of fun doing the whole Chris Minus thing and having my own label, but I felt like I wasn’t really true to myself. I felt like, if there was ever a time to use my real name, it had to be now. So together with Jesse we started releasing under Christian Nielsen and from there things really took off.MP: Your beginnings as a DJ started at a Copenhagen venue called the 'The Dive'. What was the scene like there? Have any good stories about playing there?CN: The Dive was a very special place in Copenhagen. It was a small cocktail bar where I started DJing back in 2007. I wanted to become a bartender but the owner didn’t think I was tall enough, so instead he hooked me up with the resident DJ, Tony M, who took me in. He became my mentor and taught me everything about DJing, selecting and music history. He created a really solid foundation for me, something I still carry around with me.The scene then was pretty much what the scene is today. A niche. Denmark for some reason never really allowed the merge of house music and pop culture the same way that for instance Berlin or London has. Let me put it this way; the Copenhagen area has about 1 million people living in it, and there are only 2-3 clubs who actually play underground house and book names from abroad. There are summer festivals, but the main names are mostly urban or rock music.MP: You started spinning jazz and disco before you made the transition to Deep House. What was the first record from your father's collection that you remember hearing and thinking 'I should play this at my next show...'? What was the track that hooked you into Deep House?CN: When I started DJing back in 2007 I went to my parents place to ask my dad if I could borrow some of his vinyls. I sat down and started listening to his whole collection, and I remember one record that stood out and was the first I brought back to The Dive. “BT Express – Do it” from 1974.MP: Traveling constantly you have to bring a pretty light setup when you want to produce on the road. How does that possibly differ from your setup at home? What are some of your go to plug-ins and software tools at the moment?CN: The setup I have at home and on the road are 100% the same. Only difference is that the midi keyboard I have at home is larger than my travel keyboard. I chose some years ago to streamline everything to make my workflow easier and simple. So the setup is my Macbook medio 2012 and a midi keyboard from Akai. Nice and simple :-)At the moment I’m using U-HE Diva but I think it’s time to get my hands on Omnisphere from Spectrasonics.MP: Keeping your ear to the ground and constantly digging for tunes can keep a touring DJ sane. Who are some up and coming producers that are perking your ears right now?CN: I’m really digging Charlotte de Witte at the moment! She’s got a massive groove going on! Check out “Enough”… Shout out to my man Huxley who is coming out with some massive things soon. Emanuel Satie is also killing it at the moment. On the more techno side of things I’m really digging Fjaak at the moment too. The track called “The Wind” is a masterpiece.
Tracklist
1. Parple - Sacred2. Le Fleur - Make a move3. Tim Engelhardt - Nord (Mario Aureo remix)4. Rolldabeetz - He Kills For a prize5. Simon - Can You Feel It6. David Glass - Calzature (Yousef Circus Rework mix)7. Davide Squillace - Bike on the rocks8. Christian Nielsen - Speeding9. dupspeeka - SK410. Christian Nielsen - Beginning To End11. Tuff London - Sending LoveCheck out more from Mr. Nielsen below. For our DJ friends, buy all of this guy's music... money well spent we promise:Enjoy,LAMP