The Mix 013: Nikki Nair

Your next EP, ‘Snake’, is due out this month, and it’s based on the symbolism of the snake, mythology, life, and worship. How have you worked that symbolism into the EP?

All the music on this EP is more uncompromising and personal to me than anything I’ve put out before. Even with the dance tracks, I wasn’t sure how many DJs would be able to naturally fit those in their DJ sets because the textures are so dirty. With the more aggressive tracks on there — ‘Snake’, ‘Worm’, and ‘Prowler’ — the tracks are all really low-dimensional grooves that kind of feel like a snake to me.

Historically, the Nairs worship snakes, so I feel connected with the symbol. The reason I called this record ‘Snake’ is because it has more of me in it than anything else I’ve made in a while.

You said these tracks are much more personal, and muse on your “anger, frustration, confusion and joy”. Can you tell us more about that?

These tracks were all made with basically no concern for any current trends in music or labels or anything. With each of them, I was making them initially believing I would never put them out. I just made them for myself for relief in the studio. A lot of times as a dance music producer, you’re thinking of where the track fits in the world because you’re making music for other DJs. It’s a craft as much as it is art. This type of consideration causes you to filter your feelings a bit for the sake of others. These tracks were all made in moments where I abandoned this feeling to blow off steam and make myself feel better.

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This summer is looking like a busy one for you – what are you looking forward to most?

I’m looking forward to any studio time I get! I have a bunch of gigs in a bunch of cool places that I’m of course extremely happy about. But mostly, I’m excited for the moments I’ll have by myself in the studio.

What’s next for you?

I’m working on another record with Future Classic at the moment. I usually don’t spend a lot of time working on a specific record, I just make music and see how it all fits together. But this one is going to be a bit more coherent — if that’s possible. So that’s what I’m thinking about right now.

You’ve delivered another 100% production mix – can you tell us about it?

This is the second 100% production mix I’ve done for Mixmag, and I’m glad to do another one. This one begins with dancefloor-oriented tracks I’d made just for DJ sets — a lot of this stuff might never be released. I’m always making this kind of stuff just to have it on hand, it’s more related to the type of dance music I love and collect. The other part of it is a bit more experimental and focuses on newer ideas. I used some previous releases to connect grooves together. I was more concerned with the interaction between grooves on this mix than anything else, so hopefully that comes through.