If you're like me the music discovery past-time is an invigorating journey. Those butterflies that come alive when you stumble across a release from leaving your Youtube browser open for a few hours. Only to return to your PC to find a lil bit of magic (in the way of a track)which opens you up to a whole new sub-genre, you never knew existed. We all discover new music in different ways but the sharing aspect from this point (when you find a banger) is what I LOVE the most! When you discover an artist you believe in, you sub-concicously create a kind of positive ownership over them. From purchasing & playing their releases you're supporting the artist on their musical journey. That's one thing. But then there's THOSE artist's that you can hardly contain your excitement for, you share the link to their tracks with YOUR like-minded music pals. From this moment you are both now engaged with the artist's future AND the relationship with you & your pal grows stronger, the more music your share together.
Axen is one of my trusted like-minded music pals. Lately he's been sending me some really fresh sh*t from all around the world. For many of us that live n love bass music we often find ourseves wanting more than just the tunes! With NCT, the upcoming Liquid Drum & Bass duo from the Netherlands, this has definitely been the case. Axen (being the little lord he is) has sent through some questions from Jeroen Nai Chung Tong on productions for NCT...
What's your favourite plugin to use and why?
I'm not sure if I really have one single favourite plug-in, although there are a few plug-ins which I can't produce without, so I'll give you a top 3 in no particular order; Lexicon's LPX reverb plug-in is perfect for my taste and I know it inside out so I can create any type of reverb with it, Serum is just a beast VST instrument with endless possibilities and 3rd I'd say FabFilter's Pro-Q which is in my opinion the easiest, quickest and most accurate EQ for surgical-equalising. I do prefer other EQs for boosting frequencies.
What's your biggest tip for producers trying to get their music heard?
Just do you. Don't go and make music to be heard, do it for you, so that when you've made something new you'll be jumping around in your little home studio like the first man that made fire. Your passion and love for music is what should be your motivation. When that's the case, and you grow in terms of production skill, people will hear that passion in your music and it will spread over time.
Another tip which adds to the first one; be patient. Becoming a skilled producer takes thousands of hours of failing, so dedication and consistency is very important.
How did you get into music production?
I was always very much into music, played the guitar and sang a lot. But never thought I could make it as a pop-musician, so I didn't really consider going for music as a profession. Then I discovered Boris aka. Netsky's music and a whole new world opened up for me, I never felt so utterly excited by music before. This made me think, since Boris' was quite young at the time, I can do this too.. So I started playing around with software such as FLstudio and Logic (I now work in Ableton Live), and things were so exciting I got addicted to writing music. As I got older I learnt that if you want something you can get it, as long as you set clear goals, know what you need to do to achieve them and work hard to do so. So that's what I'm doing right now together with NCT's 2nd half Alexander.
If you could do a b2b set with anyone in the world who would it be and why?
Ahhh this question; I've had it many times before and my answer changes now and then.. But right now I would go for the guys from Ivy Lab. All their tunes are masterpieces and I vibe harder to them than anything else.
Do you have any rituals for getting into the zone before a gig?
I always get nervous as hell, especially for the big ones, so you could say puking is one of my rituals.. hahah. Though lately I haven't been so nervous as I used to get, so I guess it's just something I need to get used to. But I have the best DJ in the world on my side, so there's not much to be nervous about.
If you could be any character on any TV show who would you be, what show and why?
Hahaha, that's a great question. I'm instantly thinking of the main character "Elliot" from the TV series Mr. Robot. I think he is so cool for everything he does, haha. But than I'm thinking, he's nowhere near sane.. So I'd probably rather go for something safe, like "Alan Turning" from the enigma code. Although he's more of a historical figure. He helped humanity take a big step.
Hopefully we'll see these Lords on your shores in the near future! Want more? Keep up to date all things NCT below...
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