Nicky Romero is something of an electronic prodigy in his treatment of music. A perceptive aptitude for creating hair-raising moments both in the studio and on the dancefloor has seen this ambitious and superlatively adroit young man climb the dance hierarchies in prolific steps. Taking a well-earned bow here and there to the spent club goers he leaves behind and stopping only to collect cherished dollops of nurturing support from his peers, Nicky is taking it all in his artful stride.
Now, along with Deniz Koyu, he has graciously accepted the reins from Flamingo label owners Fedde le Grand & Funkerman to mix the third of label series ‘Flamingo Nights’. And a fine job they’ve done of flying the Flamingo flag with this capital album of immense beats. Laying out their individual musical personalities on a 2 CD portion of funked up, electro-cool, this is one not to miss!
Back in November 2011, Nicky played our very own NI superclub, Lush in Portrush. I wasn’t there. Now having kicked myself repeatedly for this regrettable transgression, I get a chance to do the next best thing ..
Hi Nicky and thanks for talking to me today for Pumped Audio, I’ll get straight to the questions. You were named recently as ‘One to watch in 2012′ by David Guetta, who as we all know won the highly coveted DJ Mag top 100 this year. This is a huge recommendation from someone so influential! What are you planning for us in 2012 to really live up to the endorsement?
I am truly honored by David’s kind words and take this as a big compliment. I’ve done a few remixes for David and we are working on a track together. I’m looking to start my own label in the new year and we’re lining up one great project after the next.. will be doing some huge collabs with a variety of artists from different genres. We are working on a name for the label and where to give it a home
I’m going to focus more on my own productions and do less remixes.
Camorra was definitely one of the standout tracks of 2011 for me, the reaction to this was huge! Has it given you a real direction in the studio or do you like to change it up where your sound is concerned?
Well I think almost every EDM artist has his or her own production fingerprint. I do however always try to work on my technical and musical development as a producer. So I try to not do the same thing over and over but always want to be leading when it comes to making music instead of following, this secures a diverse output of music.
You recently played Lush! in our wee corner of the world .. Heard some great reports of the night, one of the best of the year by all accounts. Was this your first time playing in Northern Ireland and how did you find it?
This was my first time in Ireland and I loved it, the people are so nice and a great partycrowd.
Getting on to the new album on Flamingo Records. Volumes One & Two were mixed by label owners Fedde le Grand & Funkerman. It must be quite an honour to be asked to mix the 3rd in the series as they relinquish their mixing duties. How did this come about?
Fedde and I are friends and we hang out in the studio from time to time to make music, we have been doing so for a while. Fedde wanted to give me this opportunity and I am very grateful for that. Very happy with the outcome and I think Deniz did an awesome job too.
What is the Flamingo Records sound all about? Is there a particular edge you’re looking for or what are the ingredients you want to hear when choosing your tracks for an album like this?
For me the Flamingo sound is all about pure groove, funky sounds that always have that driving beat in it. Fedde’s sound is impeccable and makes for a party wherever its played. I love what the label does and tried to find the perfect mix of my own big room sound and this.
Can you tell us a little about the kind of preparation that went into the album then, how long do you work on something like this?
I put loads of effort into compiling the track list. It is not always the case that you can pick whichever track you want to put into the mix. So it was a bit of a puzzle (in a good way though). It is basically finding the right tracks that I really want to use on a project like this and then getting them in the right order. The trick for me always is that the story I am trying to tell needs to flow perfectly, like a good story if you will.
How do you feel you have put your stamp on the album as an individual artist?
I tried to put a few of my own tracks on there without it becoming obnoxious
Does this reflect the kind of sets we could expect to hear you play in a club setting?
It would depend which club of course, but you can fairly say that these tracks dominate my playlists yes lol.
Describe the album in 5 words?
Energetic, flow, big room, uplifting and easygoing
You and Deniz have both been given the nod for 2011/2012 by some of the biggest names out there, who would you tip to be big in 2012? Any new sounds or artists on the scene you’re really into right now?
I love what Tommy Trash is doing, Zedd, Alesso, Vida, Nilson and many more. There is sooo much talent out there at the moment we live in a competitive environment which is great I think
Finally, any message for your fans?
Love you guys!!!! Thanks for your support, this is what I live for and receiving great feedback is just the icing on the cake.
What a pleasure to have the opportunity to interview Nicky. I’m off now to pray to the ‘Lush!’ god’s for another appearance sometime in 2012!
For your chance to win one of two copies of Flamingo Nights 3 Amsterdam Edition mixed by Nicky Romero and Deniz Koyu please email the answer to the following question to [email protected] ..
Who are the owners of the Flamingo Recordings record label?
Owner, Editor & Reviewer @ Pumped Audio I am _ boss @pumpedaudio .. electronic music anorak .. shoe hound .. writer.. trancefamily .. part time geek .. more . bass . please
