Nick Thayer
FOLLOW THE BEATS: BreakBeat Energy’s Monthly EDM Newsletter – May 2009
Photo by ART
When the DC scene is given the opportunity to check out international talent, it isn’t an opportunity to miss! In April, Give Productions pulled breakbeat favorite Nick Thayer from his Australian homeland to play at Mass Transit, Give’s monthly party in Fairfax, VA. The only U.S. stop on his international tour, Nick Thayer rocked the party and sent breakbeat lovers reeling.
Before his trip to the States, Nick gave us a few moments of his time to answer a few of our questions:
BreakBeat Energy: Europeans have a very festive, musical culture where public celebrations and festivals are quite common – unlike in the United States. Does Australia follow either in that aspect?
Nick Thayer: Australia benefits from being a very multicultural country, and Melbourne in particular is a very European city. I guess as a result of that, many of those European traditions have become part of the fabric of modern Australian society. Melbourne has things like the St Kilda festival, the Laneway festival and a number of community-orientated festivals throughout the year in town. Also, the Greek festival or the Italian Lygon St festival, the massive Chinese New Year festivals, and the like. Another kind are the music specific festivals. Things like Big Day Out, Future Music Festival, Good Vibrations, Parklife, Stereosonic, and many more. All of which tour nationally. Festivals are a big part of the music culture in Australia.
BreakBeat Energy: Who are your music idols and how have they influenced you as an artist?
Nick Thayer: I always cite people like Peter Gabriel and Queen. I can’t seem to get away from it. Musically I guess what I do is worlds apart, but there are things I’ve absorbed from years of listening to those guys that I hope make it into my music somewhere. Of late I can’t stop listening to Muse.
BreakBeat Energy: Let’s take it back to the beginning for you – I’d love to hear how music became a part of you and how you hit the EDM scene.
Nick Thayer: I’ve been around music all my life, starting on violin at 4 years old and progressing from there. I played piano soon after. My aunt and uncle played oboe in many of the concert orchestras in London so we were often going to shows and dress rehearsals. I’ve always loved music. I was in a bunch of bands and then stumbled across the Chemical Brothers who seemed to tie it all together for me.
BreakBeat Energy: Tell me the story behind your first time on a set of decks or playing out at a party for the first time.
Nick Thayer: I’d been buying records for a while, mainly just trainspotting what the guys were playing at the club we went to every week. Records that I guess were the genesis for what became breakbeat. I remember this record everyone was playing that no-one knew if the group was called ‘Da Funk’ or ‘Daft Punk’, as that was all it said. There was no myspace then to follow it up. I had a fairly modest collection, when a mate asked me if I could play at his party that weekend. I borrowed some decks from another mate in the morning, figured out what I was doing in the afternoon, and played at the party that night. It certainly wasn’t free from calamity, but seeing as it was all mates and all the records I had were pretty much the same ones we heard in the club every weekend it couldn’t go too far wrong. I got a real buzz from it so a couple of weeks later bought my own decks and took it from there.
BreakBeat Energy: What projects are you working on these days? Any new albums or tracks coming out soon?
Nick Thayer: I’ve just finished my debut artist album ‘Just Let It Go’, which will be out as an Australian release in May, and then rest of the world in October. It’s been a LONG time coming, involving the requisite legal battles, setbacks, and computer malfunctions. There’s plenty of guest vocalists too. Rappers, folk singers, blues guys. And that comes across in the music I guess. I hope.
BreakBeat Energy: I’ve read that you play live with a band on occasion – tell me all about that. Who is the band, who are your band members, how often do you play out with them?
Nick Thayer: Yes, I have on occasion. At the moment it is more of a one-off thing with MCs, singers, bass, guitar, drums and and visuals man. Depending on how well the album takes on it is something I hope to develop more and begin to tour with. We’ll see how that goes.
BreakBeat Energy: How do you compare playing with a live band and playing out on a set of decks?
Nick Thayer: It is worlds apart to be honest. There is the musical connection and immediacy of playing with a live band that feels electric. And people seem to receive it in a totally different way. DJs are so common now that turning up to DJ in a club is not an event, and people come and go and take what they will and treat the DJ as a soundtrack to their night out. Whereas the couple of times I’ve done the band thing (and from my previous band experience) watching a band play live is much more of a spectacle. People seemed to get much more involved in the whole thing.
BreakBeat Energy: What are some of the really great experiences you’ve had in your career? Were there any particular memorable events you’ve played at/put on?
Nick Thayer: I feel very blessed to be able to do what I do for a living. I been to some amazing places that I would never have had the opportunity to go to if it wasn’t for my music. Some that have been special to me were the first time I played at Fabric (London). When I was 18 I was living in London for a time and was going there every week and it was somewhere in that club that I figured out that doing music was what I wanted to do. Being invited to go and play there was a wonderful full circle experience. Also, I am very proud to call The Late Show at Revolver in Melbourne my home. It is a unique club, and as a resident there for going on seven years I’ve had the opportunity to trial and push new music every week. The crowd we get there are very receptive and give you leeway to try many different things.
BreakBeat Energy: Which gives more satisfaction – production or DJ’ing?
Nick Thayer: They feed each other to be honest. I find being in the studio very energising, and then by the same token taking what I’ve just made that week into the clubs and seeing people relate to it and get into it is so immediate.
BreakBeat Energy: Being worldwide, what trends do you see in the breaks scene of different regions of the world? For instance, is the scene in Australia much different than that of Germany or the U.S?
Nick Thayer: I think it is very different city to city more than country to country. Any scene in any city, whether it is Drum and Bass or Dubstep or Breaks or Club or whatever, benefits so much from those couple of people who love the music and are professional in the way they put on nights. They are often the unsung heroes of any scene, as without decent promoters no scene can flourish.
BreakBeat Energy: What’s your take on the U.S. EDM scene compared to Australia?
Nick Thayer: I can’t really comment on that too much. My experience in the US has been fairly limited. The thing I have noticed that makes a big difference is radio. Australia is very lucky to have a national station like Triple J that focusses, essentially, on non-commercial indie music. It is relatively easy for people who write and play niche music like myself to get exposure on a national level through something like that. It seems to me that unless you are a mega-star, getting that kind of coverage in the US is a great deal harder.
BreakBeat Energy: Where do you see or want your career to go from here?
Nick Thayer: There are many things I still want to do. At the core is simply challenging myself musically and seeing where that takes me. Getting this album out is the next step. Hopefully it catches a few people off guard.
For tour dates and discography information for Nick Thayer, you can find him at www.myspace.com/djnickthayer
