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An interview with Nick Chacona DS3: You’re a man of many musical tastes, but where did your love of music first spring from, and interestingly, tell us about your love for Reggae NC: Music? What? What about Pizza? Well I don’t know which I loved first, music or pizza but both were first experienced in my parents house so it must have sprang from there. My father had caught the soul bug early in high school during the 60s as one of his closest friends; Bernie Milton was a teen soul singer in upstate New York. During, his time at university he gravitated towards musicians and though he couldn’t play or sing a note, he always ended up as “part of the band”. Eventually he began managing bands professionally, then working for a sound company and finally working in publishing and print music distribution. My mother comes for an extremely musical family of serious concert musicians and the like, although she didn’t play an instrument while I was growing up. So as you can imagine it was always around and I seemed to have always loved it- all of it from do wop soul, rock, Greek folk music, whatever. I also had an uncle on my father’s side who played Bouzouki and whenever I was at my grandmother’s I would I would sit and strum and pluck the stings on the spare he kept at her house and from there I began playing guitar because there weren’t many kids into metal who played Bouzouki in America. So that was the absolute beginning. Fast forward to reggae- I had been really into freestyle skiing when I was younger and my friends and I used to watch these ski movies by Greg Stump entitled “Maltese Flamingo” and “The Good, The Rad and The Gnarly” religiously. In a couple of scenes there was background music by Barrington Levy, Cocoa Tea and Alpha Blondy which became obsessed with .This my introduction to reggae beyond Bob Marley and co. There also happened to be a legendary reggae club call The Haunt located in our town. One day when I was 14, I saw a poster for an Eek a Mouse show and begged my mom to take my friends and I, so she did. From then on we became regulars at the Haunt for the rest of my time at home. Incidentally, this is where I began djing. One night before a ska show, the club was short staffed and the bartender who was dating the drummer in the band I was in asked if I could go up to the booth and play some records. The owner had a massive collection of 45s and LPs, and after I was shown how to use the mixer that was it. I didn’t leave the booth the entire night and began saving for turntables of my own. Within a year I had a the beginning of my dancehall collection and was doing a Tuesday night party with a member of local band Tribulations named Mike Brodsky who really introduced me to a lot of the classic early 90s dancehall tunes. DS3: How has life in NYC shaped and influenced you, both as a DJ and as a producer NC: As a DJ I would have to say it’s jaded me a bit. I spent a long time playing all kinds of small gigs here and there waiting for something to really happen but in NY you really need to be able to hustle and talk to get somewhere solely through Djing. I have been a musician since I was young and Djing was the only way for me to be a part of a music vibe that didn’t really exist where I was other than on wax so that’s what I did. Immediately after moving to NY for university I met numerous people who were producing their own tracks and was drawn to that. After my college band broke up and my focus shifted more squarely on dance music, it was being in NY that really made this possible. As for the how the city influences my productive energy? The frenzy that is NY completely nourishes in every way. From Beauty to stress, to being able to choose from a million different cuisines any time of day all plays a part. But still I have to say it’s the Pizza that is truly my muse… DS3: It seems that for all your life, you have worked and been surrounded by music. How important was your time at Statra Recordings, and what do you think you took from there that has helped you ever since? NC: Working at Statra was truly a breakthrough experience in my life. As I mentioned my father had been in print music and this was the wing of the music business that I had been stationed up until I got an internship at a company called Green Galactic. Statra was one of the clients. When my time at GG ended, Dave T of Statra decided to take me on full time. Dave had previously worked for Industrial Strength, Northcott, and Watt and is extremely knowledgeable about the ins and outs for the record biz. He basically shared every bit of knowledge that he had with me, whether or not I retained it all is another story! In all seriousness though the greatest thing that I took away from the time at Statra is the necessity to balance creativity and idealism with solid realistic business strategy and to make use of all the information available to you to do so. DS3: Talk to us about Nick Chacona, the ‘producer’. How did you first get into making records, and what equipment did you start out with, and indeed what equipment do you prefer to use today? NC: My first experiences in a studio setting were as a young child when my father was working with some local musicians in our town. One of the artists had decided to produce a solo album playing all the instruments and programming the drums and synths. This was right at the dawn of Midi. But it wasn’t until 1998 though that I first began working on creating electronic music. I began collaborating with longtime friend and owner of the Homestyle Cooking imprint Lars Weiss. We would meet weekly and work on what was a mish mash of dub, Drum and Bass, and House. Nothing ever was completed but these sessions were definitely my foundation. I then purchased an MPC2000 and completed my first single as Version Eternal (released on Homestyle Cooking). Nowadays I am working in Logic and occasionally Ableton with a few bits of Analog gear thrown in for posterity. I’ve actually been working to refine my studio setup to be able to get that deep warm organic mix that is usually attainable with top shelf gear using units and techniques that are more within my modest budget and I think I’m finally making some progress! DS3: Tell us about ‘Pool Party/Band Practice’, though not your first release, this seems to be a record that’s really helped put you on the map as it were, not least with last years re-release on Hector Works. Would you agree? NC: Well this one definitely garnered more attention by some of the bigger house and beard Djs. I produced this in the summer of 2002 in my living room and played all the guitar and percussion live, and programmed the drums. In its first year available for sale 4 out of 5 of the NY distributors all returned it, but over the 2nd year with Doc Martin, Harvey, Rub n Tug, and the Idjuts caning it, people began looking for it and Watts [Distribution] sold out the rest quickly Anthony from Hector works is a childhood friend and had asked to re-release for Hector Works and I thought the Idjuts the perfect duo to mix it as their productions have greatly inspired me over the years. Since you specifically asked about this, I’ve included an unreleased dub of Band Practice with Vocals from Cole from SF who is working with Anthony on some of the Mobb Beats edits. Very few people have heard this until now! DS3: You’ve been fortunate enough to played at clubs all over the world, which cities, or clubs in particular have you particularly enjoyed playing at and why? NC: D’Edge in Sao Paolo was quite amazing and probably my favorite overall club to play. Of course London, Berlin, and Amsterdam are quite a great time of course. For the disco heads, Caviar in Gothenburg, Sweden is a JAM- small space, small sound, but amazing vibe and people all around, like you are the playing the best house party ever. I have to say though the best sound I’ve played on is definitely at LOVE right here in NY. It’s mind-blowing. If you haven’t already been there or heard about it, it’s definitely worth looking into. DS3: Any plans to come over to the UK in the near future? NC: There’s talk of Leeds soon, and probably back to London to play Shrunken Head at 54 for Roual and Stuart at some point soon. I am definitely ready though! DS3: Any plans for an album in the pipeline? NC: Oh yes actually. It will be for my Finlandian-Brother –n-disco Sasse’s label Mood Music. Not sure when, but we’ve been discussing it for the past couple of years. I have some tracks ready for it!!!! DS3: A lot has been said about the club scene in NYC having being diluted, an accusation aimed at former mayor, Rudolph Giuliani. Do you think this is a fair reflection of today’s scene, and what impact, if any, has it had on you personally as a DJ? NC: Well yes I would agree that Giuliani had a major impact on the overall club culture, but also the intense gentrification that has occurred as a result of ultra aggressive real estate speculation and development has dramatically changed the face [literally] of the NY nightlife. Where you used to see club kids, ravers, etc in lines waiting to be picked to go in, now its button downs and heels. But the greatest factor that has bogged stunted the growth of dance music in NY is the lack of interest in the younger generations. Sure Justice, Ed Banger et all are drawing more and more of the youth in to dance again, but it’s not as culturally diverse as it had been in the past .Hip hop has definitely reigned supreme as the soundtrack to clubbing during this decade. But don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of healthy scenes around though. Minimal is massive at the moment as it is everywhere, there are plenty of underground and semi underground parties to hear nice eclectic sets revolving around the “nu disco” sound, and still deep house nights a plenty. DS3: Could you give us a current top 10? NC: Ok in no particular order: Michoacan- Held Up (Nam Gabo Mix) Speak recordings That was eleven sorry…. DS3: 10 Sum yourself up in 3 words. NC: I-like-Pizza |
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