Geecast2.0 Episode 1 Featuring Jake Nicholls!

Geecast!

To listen to the mix please scroll to the bottom & hit the play or download button!

And why not read through the interview whilst your listening?

1st hour I play what ever the fuck I want! The second hour is the guest mix from Mr Jake Nicholls!

On todays Geecast we are delighted to welcome Jake Nicholls & his unique blend of Trance & Techno. For those that dont know Jake is from the UK & has played all over Europe. He has a growing discography of productions & remixes for labels including Joyride, Hard Trance Europe & High Fish.
As well as his Trance & Techno. Jake also djs under an alter ego as 'The Riddler.' Where he plays hard but uplifting Hardcore & Gabber.
He is also a long running resident of legendary UK Rave night Uprising which is based in Sheffield, which has been hosting events since 1995.

So Jake, thanks for your mix!! Can you tell us. How did you start out on your Underground music journey?
No worries mate, thanks for asking me, I really enjoyed it!
Its hard to pinpoint, but it must be some time around hearing the early Prodigy & Messiah tracks, the Experience album and hearing Fantasy FM (Blame, Music takes you always stood out for me, timeless)
One of my good friends, Simon Shillito (r.i.p) was an amazing source of good music right from second school, we always swapped tapes & went to events when we were young

So when you first started out. Was there any intention of getting into the djing & production side of things?
I didn’t have intention of playing out, just wanting to learn more about the music, absorbing dj sets & understanding how it all worked, mixing tracks etc.. the whole scene was truly captivating back then. No internet or social media made the search for good events and tunes 100 times more rewarding.

When you first started producing. Did you find it easy? Or did you slowly learn things as you went along. What was your first track that saw a release? And when did you start making it?
Frustratingly Ive never found it easy, the ideas come to me quite quickly but transferring them all into a track is something else. Sketching out in the daw can be rewarding, but the arrangement is always a hard slog I find. Im grateful to know many talented engineers who I’ve worked with over the years, who have helped breathe life into my ideas.

Are there any artists that you like to work with on production? Co-producers that you find easy to create great music with?
Nick Coles (Nick the kid) is awesome in the studio, a really fast workflow & we gel really well on ideas, top bloke.
Wayne (Triple XL) is another force in the studio. Extremely versatile but I think that’s due to his appreciation of so many banging styles. And of course could never forget Dave Devastate, studio genius & a joy to make tunes with.

What is the process involved in creating a track? Example - is it just going in the studio & playing at stuff until something sticks? Or is it that something just pops in your head whilst watching TV and you just have to get it down before it leaves you?!
Ideas can come from anywhere, elements of a track I already like, a soundtrack, samples from films etc.. getting them to work within a track is another. I write down and save what I can as & when. I remember having the same idea in my head each time I woke for a week with Impossible Dream (2003) that was a positive sign & all the ideas/elements came together so well.

What equipment do you use for DJing & Production?
For dj’ing these days its the industry standard Pioneer all the way. Everything is considered & the quality is there, such fun to use. For production its cubase.

Do you have any upcoming releases that we should know about?
There are few concepts in progress that will hopefully see the light of day.

Can you remember your first DJ gig? were was it & did you get a recording?
I helped a friend in one of town centre pubs, playing eurobeat, pop/house & club tracks etc.. and slipping in bits of rave when he went outside for a tab. The proper booking was at a smaller club in Doncaster, where I had a proper playlist of then trance. Sadly no recordings were made.

You’ve played abroad at events & including Ibiza. How does the European crowd compare to the UK?
Im grateful to have played outside the UK, the crowds have always been really up for it and enthusiastic Ive found. In the UK I predominantly play at rave events where its a case of the harder the better, outside the UK has been mainly clubs & club nights, a different trance/techy sound.

You’ve been dj’ing and producing for well over a decade now & built up quite a following. Did you ever think looking back that you would end up dji’ng all over the world & producing records for some of the best hard trance labels?
Not at all mate, it’s been such a wild ride, a dream come true in many ways & the most fun. Ive met some amazing people along the way, my wife included, and many others of which are now dear friends.

Are there any djs that you like to play B2B with? I would imagine that trance isnt really a genre that lends itself well to B2B sets.
Thats true, it doesn’t always work that well but Topgroove is always a winner for a good B2B, as is Nick the kid for some wicked sets in England and Ibiza, Louk, and Bobby Hardgroover too. All on the money for coming up with the goods, and knowing what and when.

Your blend of trance & techno is certainly unique. Do you have to wade through lots of websites to find that track which hits the right spot?
Cheers mate, it can be time consuming to locate the right track that work well & tick the right boxes, but rewarding and worthwhile though.

What are your opinions on digital vs vinyl. nothing beats crate digging right?!
It doesn’t at all, some of my happiest days have been spent in record shops. Playing out a new release was always amazing, they had such longevity whereas now nothing is sacred for long before its been remixed time & again before the month is out, which is a good and bad thing I guess. On the flip side having digital media is a godsend when playing abroad, taking all your best tunes in the hand luggage is fantastic.

And expanding on that. What are you thoughts on losing record shops?! Half the fun used to be going down to your local record shop every week & meeting like minded people whilst finding that "tune" that no-one else had. What record did you find whilst digging that is your most prized possession?!
It’s the saddest result of the digital age, knowing that they’ve mostly all gone leaves an empty feeling. I guess with the transfer of new music to streaming, mp3 sales etc.. it was in the pipeline but still, the reality is a shame. Any Jam & Spoon record was always a happy find. Hands On Yello was a special find at the time, seeing it on MTV then finding it at Rhythm Nation on Saturday morning. Good times.

There are some great producers & djs around in your scene. who do you rate the most?
There are many, but those that standout are Louk with his Hidden Agenda techno guise https://www.discogs.com/Hidden-Identity-Melodica-Remixes/release/13624643
Locally, Jamie Trax is making good waves, he’s really established his sound & come so far, it’s great to see. For sounds that I play, Im a massive fan of Chris Menzi (Switzerland) ConnecteD (Sweden) Nostic (The Netherland) Dizmaster (Denmark) Roby Rage (Italy) S.H.O.K.K (Switzerland) C.O.L.D (Germany)there are so many really good producers out there right now. I would be great to see a resurgence of this sound back in the raves (once all the chaos has subsided)

Are there any young producers & djs who you really rate?
Chris Grabowski aka C.O.L.D and Greg (Dark Sector) are both under-rated producers who create fantastically fresh quality music.

To producers & djs just starting out. What advice would you give them?
Stay true to your sound and persevere, anything worthwhile takes time.

Social media is now playing a bigger slice of things these days with people "buying" likes & having slick photos & ads. Do you ever wish things could go back to just being how good you were at mixing & tune selection? How do you think things will change in the next 5 & 10 years?
In many ways I do. Back in the day a dj was a dj & wasn’t expected to be any more. It was and still is a task in itself sourcing tracks and considering everything that goes into making a good set (John 00 Fleming has touched on this a lot in his videos and live chats/posts)
These days a constant feed of updates through a strong social media presence is expected, whilst many event flyers are hard to absorb without great scrutiny through a barrage of artist logos, in most cases overshadowing the branding of the event itself. Im unsure what the future will hold, but it all looks set to continue.

Finally moving onto the mix you have submitted. Can you talk us through the process of how you selected those tracks & what do you look for in your selections when your building a set?
I wanted to work through some favourites that have always stood out for me, and that still sound fresh into some more upfront trance/techno, and a few current pay/harder psytrance elements towards the end. Strong rhythms and emotions are important, and an interesting set structure, something I’d like to dance to myself.

Do you have a fav track off the mix that you like more than most? why is that?
That would be Delta Lady ‘Anything you want’, I’ve loved that since I first heard it in 1993. A wonderful hypnotic groove & good feelings all the way, still sounds so fresh to me.

When you dj, do you try & put as many tracks as possible in? or do you like to blend & ramp up the BPMs slowly?
It depends on the crowd, the set Im booked for, so many factors. Its always nice to be in the zone & work through a good few sounds/genres during a set.

And finally thanks for submitting your mix!! Would you like to give some shout outs!!
Shouts to all my good friends for the years of support, the amazing events & great labels Ive been involved with, you all know who you are ;)

Thanks!!
Kev Gee!!