Producer and DJ, Nikki Nair has officially made himself known as one of the most groundbreaking and experimental artists one can listen to. With his presence in hybridized and boundary-breaking dance music, he’s quickly distinguished himself as a powerful voice.
As an artist and a producer, Nikki Nair’s DJ skills are as impressive. He has mastered cross-genre blending with great ease, interweaving acidic electro, broken rhythms, ghettotech, jungle, experimental disco, and bass music in the most free-flowing way possible. Besides his productions, Nair’s selection skills, combined with the sonic narratives conveyed through his music, distinguish him as a fresh, unconventional voice in dance music.
As a producer, Nair melds electro, hard techno, breaks, and UK bass into his music. Nair’s dedication to craft, despite the grittiness of his style, is undeniable, as evidenced by the soaring hype surrounding Scuzzy, a pivotal EP on which tracks earned him praise. Now, he has another track that showcases this exact experimental sound!
Nikki Nair’s new track “step 2” is an ode to innovation as he breaks the boundaries of production, making the listener enter the unknown to spell-breaking elements. Although the song fits into the genre of tightly controlled chaos dance music, according to him, our minds are still free to wander into the unknown. Nikki’s track interweaves with his artistry, and it was an absolute joy to get to know him, as you can read his thoughts in our exclusive interview down below:
PopWrapped: You have a new single coming out, “step 2”, which features a lot of experimental acid elements. Can you tell me about your favorite part of the production and why it stands out to you?
Nikki Nair: I had so much fun making this track. A lot of what I’ve been known for in the past has been making aggressive and distorted electro and breaks. And this track obviously has those elements. But the half-time drop in the middle was something new for me and felt so liberating.
Listen to “step 2” below:
PW: Who were some of your early inspirations that led you down the music path?
Nikki Nair: “I’ve wanted to play music literally since I can remember. But as far as electronic music goes, Aphex Twin and Dieselboy were certainly the two strongest influences. I think the rhythmic complexity and absurd audio choices in Aphex’s music, and the urgency, aggression, and funkiness of the type of drum and bass Dieselboy played at the time (00’s techstep) were very stimulating to me.”
PW: Your music all share a common experimental element but yet are all unique in their own way. Can you talk us through the process of creating a setlist/mix for a tour? Especially now with so many songs! How is the decision-making?
Nikki Nair: I see myself as a DJ, so I usually decide what I’m going to play on the fly. I like to pick whatever feels best for the room I’m in. For club nights I plan very loosely depending on the city and size of the party, but come prepared for anything. For festivals, there’s a bit more planning. I’ll narrow my playlist to around 100-150 tracks for an hour set. But then I’ll pick from those while I’m playing, depending on how people are dancing.
PW: You have just launched the label, n goes to infinity, which sits between experimental genres and other sub-genres. Take us back to the start – what made you want to start your own label? Is there any inner goal that you and the artists would like to accomplish within the first year of the label’s launch?
Nikki Nair: When I was submitting music to other labels for releases, my favorite tracks kept getting rejected. These tracks were always simultaneously too extravagant and modern sounding for labels that release deeper and more underground music, as well as too gritty and aggressive for labels that lean towards more modern sounds. So I wanted to make an outlet for this kind of music.
For more information on n goes to infinity, click here.
PW: What is the most unique thing that you’ve seen another performer/artist do at a show or music festival that caught your eye?
Nikki Nair: It would definitely be seeing Justin Jay with his autotune box. While he DJs he sings into an effects unit that makes him sound like an auto-tuned baby. At first, I was confused, but it’s actually badass— he matches the key of the autotune to the key of each track he plays, and it sounds great and people love it.
PW: How is your work/life balance? Is there anything you do for inspiration, or where you go to find it?
Nikki Nair: I’m not totally sure yet. I’ve just started life as a full-time musician and learning how to regulate my schedule properly. I don’t know if I have any rituals— I feel like I haven’t yet gotten to actualize most of the ideas I want to do yet, so inspiration hasn’t been so much of an issue. The main problem I have is just not having enough time to get everything I want to do done.
PW: Any other big announcements you would like the readers to know about?
Nikki Nair: Yeah! I’m also releasing an EP on Pretty Weird called ‘Rips’ with DJ ADHD this month, as well as an EP on Breaks N’ Pieces. And I’ll have monthly releases on my label n goes to infinity for the rest of the year.
Follow Nikki Nair on his socials below:
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