With Nanofeel having new music out this week on Stellar Fountain we catch up with him for the latest episode of 12 Questions.
1. How old are you, where are you living and how long have you been producing and Djing?
I’m 31 years old, I live in Hungary, in a small town near Budapest. I started DJ-ing 10 years ago, but I already got my first mixer back in elementary school and had fun 🙂 I’ve been producing music for 4 years now, depending on my free time. I’m trying to spend as much time as I can with it though.
2. Where do your musical roots lie, what are your first memories of electronic music and when did you know you wanted to pursue it seriously? Are there any particular productions or artists from the past that really made you think to yourself ‘this is what I want to do.”
My musical roots lie far from here 🙂 I grew up listening to hardcore – Thunderdome and similar -, than hard techno. Actually the BPM dropped year by year as I grew interest for different styles. At some point I met trance which led me to the amazing world of progressive house. Artists who really made an impression were Sasha, Nick Warren and John Digweed. True legends!
3. How difficult was learning to produce for you in the beginning? Did you take any Audio Engineering programs or production courses to help you out or are you pretty much self taught? And did anyone give any advice early on that really helped?
I never took any lessons although I learned to play on guitar, because I went to a school which had classes for instruments. But that was far from making music 🙂
When I met my first DAW, I just stared at it for a long time. Then I asked for help from more experienced friends. Once I learned the basics, I switched to self-taught mode and experimented the rest. There’s always something new to learn though as they keep developing the programs.
4. What parts of the production process do you find the most difficult and what comes easiest for you? When you do hit a creative block what helps you through it?
The most difficult part for me is the mastering. For this part of music creation is essential to have some skills and gear, because you can’t do a professional mastering in a home studio – or not as good as you could get from a sound engineer in a professional environment.
The easiest part is when you’re inspired and the ideas are just popping out of your head. Than you can build a new track quickly which you can “polish” later on.
When I lack inspiration, I found that it’s a waste of time trying to do something which might ends in the recycling bin. I usually do something else to set my mind off, for example fishing.
5. What’s a normal day like for you? Do you have a job outside of electronic music? And what do you like to do when you’re not working on music?
Like the most of us, I have a job too. I started a small company with my friend where I work as an electrician for a living. When I’m not working on music, I like to go fishing, watching movies or hang out with my friends.
6. Apart from electronic music what other genres do you listen to and who are your favourite artists outside of electronic? and do these genres or artists have a direct effect on your own productions?
To be honest, I don’t really listen to anything else – maybe the radio in the car sometimes -, but I do like Mike Oldfield. However when it comes to music production, i prefer to manifest my own ideas. I’m sure there are tracks which had influence on me, but I wouldn’t say it was conscious.
7. What was the first and last physical (CD, Vinyl, Cassette etc) piece of music you bought?
The first one was Thunderdome – Past Present Future CD, and the last one was Shivers by Armin van Buuren, also on CD.
8. Tell us something about yourself that might surprise people?
I used to break dance, play football and do competitive run. I had training for each day of the week.
9. Which producers in your opinion get consistently overlooked?
I would say there are more every day. It’s sad to live in a world of super branded (and also not so skilled) DJ’s and producers. I don’t say any names, most of us know them anyway. However, big respect for everyone who made it through thanks to their own skills.
10. Which producers consistently inspire you? And where else does your inspiration come from?
As a DJ I have my very own way, my friends describe it the “Nanofeel-style”.
As a producer, I’m mostly inspired by producers making melodic but also percussive kind of music, like F-Act, Loquai, Matias Chilano or my friends Andy Weed, Nomean and Reelaux.
11. There are countless producers out there trying to find their way and create their own unique sound, what advice do you have for them?
Well, I could say that don’t take ideas from others, but if the idea is good, why wouldn’t you get inspiration from it? My only advice is: try to do the main theme of the track in your recognizable style. For example I always create melodies which give me the feeling of freedom. I might be the only one who feel it though, but I hope that’s not the case. 🙂
12. If the final DJ/live set of your career was next week what would your last track be?
Audioglider – Freekflame (Cid Inc. Remix). It’s not a peak time track, but a big favorite of mine, there is great energy in it and I think it’s a perfect ending of a good party.
Nanofeel has a new remix out now on is out now Stellar Fountain, you can purchase the release: here
