Nick Warren remains at the forefront of club culture packing clubs and arenas worldwide from London to Los Angeles and to Taipei. He rocks dance floors with his distinctively forward thinking blend of credible progressive sounds, cutting-edge techno, atmospheric layers and whatever strategic grooves Warren deems appropriate for his turntable alchemy. Nick warren is in South Africa to play at ICE- The Rebirth on the 9/10 May 2009 and so Mr Spencer got to him first to find out what he has planned for us.

You have been there from the start of it all, are you living your dream? What is your vision for the future of dance music?
I love everyday of my life and feel very lucky to have such a long career in music. My vision of the future of dance music is striving to find and make forward thinking music.

How would you describe your sound?
Melodicproggesivetechydeepness that makes you dance and smile.

Way Out West is Jody Wisternoff and yourself, with both of you having different sounds, how do you guys manage to find that perfect balance and then commit that to a release?
Its the melting pot of our two sounds that results in the way out West sound.

Your last Global Underground release was GU LIMA. What are the criteria for selecting a particular city for a release? How do you manage to capture the sound of a city?
The main criteria is finding a great scene, it may be 300 people or 3000 and its not about capturing the sound of the city but the sound of the future.

Any chance of releasing a GU Johannesburg, South Africa?
Anything is possible so who knows.

You are now head of A&R at Hope Recordings. How do you select artists for the label and which of your current artists would you recommend we look out for?
I look for new artists with an ear for melody and punch, coming this year are EP's from Edwin and Ferdy from Amsterdam and also from a guy by the name of Tom glass, both are sparkling examples of dance music.

The folks here in SA are very excited to hear what you are going to play, any way you could tell us what we can expect?
Big basslines, melody and punch.

You will be playing alongside a South African DJ called Nelson from Afroboogie. Have you heard any of his music? If you have what do you think?
I know nelson well from playing with him in Dubai, he is a great guy.

Is dance music what it used to be? How in your opinion has the dance scene changed since a few years ago? Is Progressive house still holding its ground on the global stage alongside the newer sounds such as minimal, electro, techo house etc.?
I think dance music is on a real high at the moment, the lines are blurred between progressive and techno so DJ's from Sven Vath to Sasha to myself are all playing a similar sound.

When you play a set or produce music do you stick to certain genres or is it a matter of finding the right sound regardless of genre? How do you see the relationship between techno and progressive house?
I have never stuck to one genre and frankly I find the whole idea of that very dull, my job as a DJ is to find what i feel is the best of house, techno prog etc and put it all together in a style of my own.

Does vinyl still play a big part in your sets or has this medium been replaced by the likes of Ableton Live etc?
I use CD's for DJing, the laptop idea in a DJ booth doesn’t appeal to me but it does work well for a lot of people.

To what degree has the digital revolution influenced your style of DJing?
Completely. Pretty much all my music is sent to me or bought through my computer. Sadly most music is not sold on vinyl anymore so I tend not to carry it. I do still buy some and transfer it to cd for ease of travel.

What are you looking forward to when you come to South Africa?
The people, the food and the place. I loved it last time I was there and am very excited about coming again. See you all on the dancefloor! lol
Nick

Thanks Nick. We’ll see you on the 9 May up here in Johannesburg.