Nelson is without doubt one of South Africa’s most successful DJ’s from a global perspective. He is currently resident at The Peppermint Club in Dubai and is producing quality releases which can be found in the boxes of some of the worlds most respected DJ names like Steve Lawler, Sasha and Laurent Garnier. Nelson will be playing after Nick Warren at the Ice – The Rebith event on 8/9 May 2009. Mr spencer.com cornered Nelson for one of the most in depth interviews we have had on the site in years…

You are SA's golden boy having played at major events and clubs all over the world. What would you attribute your success to?
Various factors, a bit of luck being one of them of course but i think my perseverance, ambition and drive would be the biggest factors to have contributed. I am also very grateful for the gigs I have played and every gig has been motivational and inspiring in some way or another. I’d also like to point out that I am not the hero of SA's dance scene or even the "golden boy" as you put it. I will never claim to be either, but what I do want to aim for is major global success so that I can say I am from South Africa!

You play in Dubai quite a lot. What’s the club scene there like and aren’t the Arab rules a little hectic? I can imagine the clubs heavily policed or are they not?
People have a misconception of Dubai or rather just a bit of a skewed view of it. Yes it is an Arab country in the Middle East but it’s also a country that has more expats than the local people. The club scene is of the highest quality, it has a very European and American influence as we have the big clubs and small clubs but also the US style bottle service concept which caters for high end big money spenders. What this means is that most clubs have the 5 star service too. If you have about R5000 to blow you basically book a table which gives you waiter service, comfy couches, a table with a bottle of Vodka and some mixers. You can have about 6-10 people depending on the table size and price you pay and when that bottle is finished you pay for the rest. Often people will end up spending 10k on a table. If you are not on a table you get your drinks like the rest of the people at the bar and generally there is no seating. We have big name DJ's coming in almost every week and although since this crisis hit some major clubs have closed down but many new smaller ones have opened and still often getting many international DJ’s. In terms of production it compares with the best of the best, we have clubs here with Funktion One sound and the clubs I play in use a KV high definition sound systems and lighting that includes over 100 moving heads, at least 3 lasers, huge projection screens with a live VJ and a choice of 3 mixers like the DJM800, Allen & Heath Xone92 or the Carl Cox Vestax mixer...take your pick :-)

Regarding the drinking laws, firstly you have to be strictly 21 to enter a club which I think is great because the older crowds understand music better. Here we can drink and party till the clubs close strictly at 3am. This curfew was introduced about 7 years back as they didn’t want drunk people on the roads at 6 am when families would be on their way to mosque for morning prayer. One of the best things about Dubai's club scene is that House music rules, there are no Trance clubs, no Trance DJ's playing at any club except the odd Trance nights and of course we at Peppermint Club bring out Armin, Paul van Dyk etc. There are some hip-hop and R&B nights, Indie nights, breaks and Drum & Bass nights but in general House music is king!

You have worked with some big names in DJing (Timo Maas, Hernan Cattaneo etc.) Have any of these influenced you as a DJ?
I speak with Hernan and many others by email often but I think my best relationships are with Timo Maas and Satoshi, and I speak with them almost daily. I get tracks from Timo for before anyone else does and thats pretty cool. All the new releases Timo has under the name Stereo Mutants and Mutant Clan (Timo & Santos) I get long before they are even signed to a label, never mind released! At the moment I am good mates with Martijn ten Velden who has recently moved to Dubai and I’ve been working on a track with him. He is influencing me at the moment with his positive energy and vibes. I also like hanging out with him and he makes me realise that I can achieve my goals.

How would you compare the SA crowds and the SA dance scene spirit to those of other countries?
I can only really comment on what it was like more than 10 years back and it was unbelievable the vibe we all had but we also know why :-) Its a shame those days cant be re ignited in the exact same way and the youngsters of today will never know the true feeling that was PLUR back in the day. Here in Dubai I must say, considering there are no drugs going on, we have amazing crowds that are very responsive and very clued up too. Moscow and all the Eastern European cities are where you will get that best vibe nowadays. Its so sad to know that the kids are doing all these new party drugs like KAT, Crystal or whatever you want to call it. It is this that has killed off many scenes in the western world and as far as I have heard, in SA too. Its like people want to put shit up their noses just to be cool, well it’s not cool!

Would you say SA has its own unique sound compared to other countries? If so what would you say is the predominant sound being produced and exported from SA at the moment that is making headway in the world?
I don’t think any sound from SA is making any headway in the world unfortunately, of course I know that there are some acts like Goldfish who are probably the most successful at this point and one or two of the PsyTrance DJ’s making a great name for themselves out there but its not like we can claim the "SA tech sound" or anything like that, the Germans have it, the Brits and Americans have it, even the Portuguese and Spaniards have it but unfortunately we all kinda follow their trends and haven’t actually created our own "sound". But, neither have the Aussies so its all good hey :-)

Unfortunately, and I’m probably going to get some stick from this but I cannot fathom this Fidget bullshit that has taken SA by storm! I’m embarrassed when I see the way people dance to it, what is that all about? I was recently in SA and so disappointed to hear some serious crap being played by DJ’s who I have much respect for but the DJ's who are actually playing some amazing music are stuck in some back room or playing some shitty clubs while this fidget shite is on the main dance floors!!!! The scene in JHB has it so wrong...it should get reversed as far as I’m concerned.

Are there any local DJ's you heard in SA that you could say left a good impression on you?
Absolutely there are good DJ's there, unfortunately they are not playing the big gigs and the ones playing the big gigs need to step up! To be honest, the local DJ's that have impressed me most are Andi Dill, Ryan Sullivan, Karmi, Chris Palmer and probably others who's names I don’t know. These guys are not only playing quality tunes but also producing quality music. Truth is still the best club for cutting edge music but for me still, I’d have to head into the small back room upstairs for what I enjoy.

You have supported so many great DJ's in your career, who would you say is your personal favorite?
I have been lucky with that as I have been on the bill with pretty much most of the best DJ's in the world but a few have really stood out for me. First and foremost, Danny Tenaglia, whom I have never supported and I pray that one day I can. He is just an amazing showman, not just his music selection but his presence in the booth or even just in a club is inspiring. Other DJ's who have rocked my socks are Victor Calderone, Luciano, Lee Burridge, Danny Howells and Dubfire!
    
Would you say dance music is your life? How do you see dance music evolving as the world gets more tech savvy? And how do you see yourself adapting to it?
Dance music is of course the integral part of my career so it is part of my life but it certainly isn’t all of it. If it were it would be very sad for myself as there are many other types of music to be enjoyed, listened to and inspired by. I still often listen to what i was into in my youth, from the goth sound of Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division, Bauhaus etc to the pop of Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Simple Minds and the electro influences I got from New Order and Kraftwerk for example. Just recently I have been listening to anything from Stone Roses to Fleetwood Mac. Making music has been accessible to the masses and its evolved so much and so fast because so many more people are doing it. Now you don’t need to hire a studio or buy expensive gear, all you need is a pc and the software and away you go. This has been really good in many ways, one of which is it has made producers come up with new and exciting production techniques and set a whole new standard. If I am to continue in this field as I plan to, adapting is more like a "do or die". I have not only to adapt but keep developing too.

Your label Afroboogie Recordings has released some awesome tracks. What can people look out for at the moment or in the near future?
Thanks very much. To be honest I am actually putting all Afroboogie Recordings on hold for the meantime for various reasons. One being that I hate the admin work and as things got further into it the more admin I was left with and less time to actually work on music production. My goal now is to continue what I am doing and that’s making great tracks that can be released on bigger labels than my own. These labels can handle all that admin crap themselves, can further my career and have a proven track record of good record promotion which in actual fact is promoting my name. That’s the goal!

Do you have a studio? Where do you actually live?
I do have a studio which is rather basic but it seems to get bigger every few months. My studio is actually taking half of my lounge in my apartment in Dubai.

What producing equipment do you use for creating your music?
I use an Apple Mac, latest iMac with a 24" monitor. I love this specific computer because I also use Logic Pro and since the release of the latest version 8 I benefit greatly from the huge screen space I have. I do miss having the dual monitors too but with Logic 8 its not necessary anymore. For studio monitoring I have Yamaha MSP5's which have almost done their time and I will soon add a pair of Genelec monitors (amazing and probably one of the best in the business). I have a midi keyboard from M-Audio to trigger and play keys. My only hardware synth I have is a Studio Electronics SE1X which is an amazing synth specially for bass sounds and its actually on a par with a Moog. I bought it over the moog because it sounds just as phat but less people have it. Besides that I have a condenser mic running through a cheap Behringer Compressor / Limiter for recording and a whole host of software from free plugins to high end ones that cost me an arm and a leg. One of them that deserves a mention is my SSL Duende plug ins...I can now boast to have an SSL sound coming out of my studio, hahahaha.

If there are any SA producers that would like to submit tracks to you, do you accept tracks and if so where can people submit them to?
I did accept tracks all the time. I still do get a few demos every single day! Of course if I hear something that amazes me I will still release it on Afroboogie Recordings but to be honest I haven’t yet. However I’m always an honest person who can give you honest feedback on your work so producers can feel free to send to me by email and I will give them an honest answer. Unfortunately some people just cannot take proper criticism and if you are one of those then don’t bother sending it. If a track is amazing I will tell you that it is. But, if it is not, I’ll point out what’s not working. But you don’t need to only take my word for it, send it out to other labels too! If they get back to you with a positive response then its all good right?

Do you think it’s important to play a set that leads into the DJ playing after you?
I have opened for Nick many times before but this time ICE have enlisted the sounds of Andi Dill and Toby Starr to do the warm up and they have been chosen for this very purpose. Let me start by telling you that if you are doing the warm up for a big name DJ, your job is not to try and upstage him or show off your skills to your mates, your job is to set a mood that is gearing up for the main act. The main act is what everyone comes to see, not you only. In Dubai I am chosen to warm up for DJ's like Steve Lawler, Sasha, Digweed, Timo Maas and so many others because I know how to keep it deep. I know that my job is not to go and play all my big tunes before the guest comes on, my job is to get people moving but not jumping. So, unlike some DJ's who I wont mention, if you get the opportunity to do the warm up for a big name please don’t embarrass yourself. This time I will be taking over from Nick, so where ever he leaves me I will take it from there and take it in my own direction. I play a different style to Nick but nowadays it’s exactly how I mentioned earlier, you can mix and match different genres and it can still sound really good.

What advice can you give to SA DJ's and producers who want to make it in the big wide world?
Its simple, produce great music! I have not yet "made it" myself. All I have done is continued to reach my goals I set myself and hopefully one day I will make it to where I want to be. There are so many good DJ's out there on the same boat as me or any aspiring DJ and the only way to get noticed on a global level is by producing music that makes the press, those tunes that everyone is talking about.
I am not a fan of Deadmau5 but take him as an example, this skinny little geek from Canada has achieved global success and he came outta nowhere!