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With the two most recent DJ Kicks releases on !K7 -- Kid Loco and the Stereo MC’s -- heralding a shift towards a more hip-hop based sound, the latest entry in the series -- Nightmares On Wax -- makes the boldest move toward that direction, spotlighting tracks from hip-hop luminaries such as A Tribe Called Quest. We recently had the chance to speak with the man behind N.O.W. on the past, present and future of Nightmares On Wax. When you were younger, I know you were very into ska, and reggae, then breakdancing… and ultimately, you started making your own music… how did that all come about? Well, it all started when I first saw the Malcolm McLaren video for "Buffalo Gals" -- the first visual interpretation of hip-hop, really -- and the next thing you know, I went out and starting breakdancing on the concrete and shit -- and all of a sudden, it was a part of my life. The two things just went together… You didn't lay down linoleum? (Laughs) Yeah, yeah, we didn't bring out the lino -- I just spun on the concrete on my head! It's a laugh, now, when I think of what my bedroom used to look like… all tagged up in graffiti, with cardboard down on the carpet, like a bedroom right out of "Beat Street"! (Laughs) …So that got me into the hip-hop culture, obviously, and it got me into mixing and scratching. And I've always been fascinated with music and electronics. We used to break into TV factories, you know, where you have all the old TVs in the back, cut the speakers out of the TVs, and make speaker boxes of out shoe boxes, and have about twenty of these things right up in your bedroom! There was a real experimental edge there… especially with the DJ aspect, and scratching, and messing about with sounds in that way -- buying some old James Brown stuff and setting it to my own beats. And that led to me wanting to create my own shit -- there was always that hunger there, to want to do something yourself. You have a DJ Kicks CD out now. What was it like being approached by K7 to do a mix of other peoples' music? You're more known for creating our own music, or producing other artists' music... Well, I started out as a DJ, so it was kind of natural. I think that the theory is, that on a mix CD, if the person putting the mix together is a producer, you get a chance to see what kind of foundation inspires them. It's kind of a honor, really. A lot of DJs that come out with compilations often say that they've had to compromise when it comes to getting the rights for certain songs and that their mix CDs are never quite what they wanted them to be. Yeah, oftentimes you get the experience where you start off with thirty, thirty-five songs you want to use. Then you end up with what you end up with -- like, nine tunes or something. You end up having to make do with the ones you've cleared. There might be two or three records that you know go well together, from DJing them out... So it doesn't go exactly as you visualize it. Right. And then you have the problem where you have 75 minutes on the CD, and 75 minutes just isn't enough for what you want to do. When I saw your DJ Kicks CD, I nearly laughed! You've got 23 tracks on there... I thought, how did he manage to fit them all in? It's incredible, isn't it? (laughs) Now, in addition to your own music and DJing, you've also worked with De La Soul. How did that all come about? Basically, it was through their management, really... Posdnuos (of De La Soul) had heard one of my tracks and was really into it... this was about two years ago... I came over to New York about two years ago and did some work with them. Two years down the line, it still hasn't sunk in, that I've managed to work with a group that was so influential in hip-hop. 3 Feet High and Rising has to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever. It was really a turning point in hip-hop. They're icons in hip-hop, they turned hip-hop in a brand new direction. That's what I love about hip-hop. There's always someone who'll come along and influence the direction of hip-hop, and De La Soul were definitely a big part of that. In other news, I understand you have a clothing line coming out called "True Herbalist"! (Laughs) Wow, you've done your homework! It's all based around the same artist that's done that artwork for all the Nightmares albums. We realized along the line that we were getting a concept together, and it's just grown on its own. It grew out of the last tour, and the idea of merchandising, and we thought, you know, it would be really nice to do something that was really "Nightmares On Wax". It's like we're creating our own little world. You go out to all these shows, and you see all these people there that are into your music, and have really experienced your music -- not through the media, or reviews, but from being back at someone's house, or maybe at the beach... all these people, who've experienced our music, say things about the music to me, and the feeling that I've felt is that in listening to our music, that we've created our own little world. I remember hearing Smoker's Delight for the first time at a friend's apartment, and being totally amazed by it. I think, especially with your earlier releases, that it's all been word of mouth among fans. There's never been some sort of big media push. I listen to some of the tracks on that album and think, it was four or five years before I even put them out. At first, the music was something for me and my friends to listen to and enjoy. And now, we've got memories that are associated with tracks on that album. The music brings back memories. And the fact that everyone else has their own memories associated with it -- it's amazing. I don't think I could ever repeat or redo what I did there, because it's just lived on its own. It's gone off and become a part of other people's lives. And, like you said -- the word of mouth thing -- you couldn't buy that. I ran to the store and picked it right up. It has an impact that just sticks with you. I listen to it now, and even I can't remember half of the things I did. There was something there that was present just at the time I was doing it, and once it's out there, it doesn't belong to you anymore. It takes on a life of its own. Exactly. And none of that could have been premeditated or planned. So can we expect to see you DJing here in the states anytime soon? I'm planning on coming out here around the end of December and doing a few weeks' tour. And in the new year, I'd like to get the band here. I haven't been able to get the band here yet. I'd like people to actually come out hear the music, and to feel the musicianship in what we do as well. You also have a CD coming out next year called Mind Elevation. What can we expect to hear on the new CD? That's a tough question, but I've got a really easy cop-out! (Laughs) Natural progression! Any last words? Yeah -- be sure to check out www.nightmaresonwax.com. (Laughs) Cheers! DJ Kicks: Nightmares On Wax (!K7) is out now. |
