I went to Ibiza to have some rest and spend some time with my 4 years old daughter, and I wanted to take inspiration from her to create a new EP. I finished “Her Eyes” while she was sleeping at night, and then I started working on “Childhood”, another track that was born as I was alone with my daughter during this break. This was in Christmas, just before the coronavirus outbreak. Later, with the pandemic and the lockdown, I completely reviewed my studio to have it more comfortable , and so I started working on “Unique” and “Fundamentals”, thus finishing the EP. This is probably the best thing that happened due to the covid-19: finally, being able to spend more time producing.
Belgium’s Nico P is one of the main people responsible for keeping Deep House Belgium‘s machinery running at full speed regardless of the circumstances. His first role there was as editor of the Facebook page as a volunteer, but he soon took over the organisation of events in some of Belgium’s biggest clubs, such as Fuse or La Rocca. Until, one day, Amerlegna, the owner of DHB, gave him the opportunity to play in one of them: “Now, we started our own label, where I’m currently doing A&R, preparing contents, managing the promos, etc. It is quite challenging with the current covid-19 pandemic, but I’m happy spending countless hours on our label as I truly believe we have amazing artists that deserve to have more visibility.”
After those inspirational days with his daughter in Ibiza, Nico P is now ready to release his Fundamentals EP on his life’s label, DHB. The release will take place on Tuesday 11th August, as the European club scene, little by little and with many restrictions, begins to revive: “Despite it looks like the reaction will be faster if a second or third wave starts, some clubs that are now allowed to open doors might be shut if the governments decide to go back. It is difficult to imagine how will it all look like in the long term. A lot of clubs will not survive this crisis if governments don’t help the owners. Some well-known events had to re-invent themselves by bringing virtual events or by organizing events with social distancing, but this will never replace the scene as we used to know it: some dancefloor action, hands in the air, making new friends in a festival, having fun in a club with strangers…”
For the creation of the Fundamentals EP, as well as for most of his work, Nico P considers himself a lover of Ableton, no matter how much he has tried with other software. He tells us that he loves Arturia‘s VST and that he always starts projects with Mini V3 and Pigments. “Their VSTs help me to get this melodic house/techno signature with a very deep bassline,” he says. Once he gets that sound that creates the right atmosphere around the track, he combines VSTs and presets to find the exact melody and then looks for good hats, effects, noises… “The hardest part is to be able to say at one moment that the track is now finished,” he admits. As for the hardware, Nico P says he has a very basic set-up: “A Novation Launch Control XL MK2 to adjust my mixing and an AKAI MPK Mini as a small keyboard. I would love to add some Arturia keyboards to this. Maybe in the coming months, but I’m limited as my studio is not that big.”
“Fundamentals” is the first track of the four that make up the EP and the one that gives title to the release. It is a song far from strident. The drums appear and disappear without any fuss, leaving the melodies that are born in the synthesizers to take us on a journey through the sound landscapes of the subgenres of melodic house and deep techno.
I’m trying to bring emotions with my music, having some uplifting or hypnotic melodies with deep basslines. I always try to imagine how would the public react to my tracks; how would they feel. My ultimate goal is to see a lot of smiles on the dancefloor when my tracks are played. I was a trance lover in the late 90s and early 2000s, and this is what I liked in that musical genre: uplifting music bringing emotions to people. I like how melodic house and techno genre is evolving in that way.
Tracklist:
- Fundamentals (Original Mix)
- Unique (Original Mix)
- Childhood (Original Mix)
- Her Eyes (Original Mix)
(Cover Image: © Deep House Belgium)