To this day Nick Warren remains at the forefront of club culture: he packs clubs and arenas worldwide from London to Buenos Aires to Burning Man, transfixing dancefloors with his distinctively forward blend of credible progressive sounds, deeper tunes, atmospheric layers and any other grooves Warren deems appropriate for his turntable.
Nick Warren became one of the first so-called “superstar DJs” in the mid-to-late ’90s, holding down a high-profile residency at Cream in England, touring around the world, and appearing on several DJ mix albums before they became commonplace.
Having already graced the decks at every self-respecting super-club on the planet, the late Noughties saw Warren turn his hand to the business side of the music industry and in 2016 he launched his The Soundgarden imprint, turning it into a globe-straddling international label, events and entertainment brand.
We got to speak to Nick about his label and their stellar new VA “The Soundgarden’s Summer Collection 2021”.
Hey Nick thanks for chatting to us! How are you?
Good morning, I am in fine form thanks for asking.
Can you tell us a bit about how and when the idea for your The Soundgarden imprint first emerged?
After the initial radio show with the same name, the label launched in 2016 with our first release being from the Russian band Tantsui. It was an obvious thing to do for me. I get sent so many amazing tracks by producers wanting me to play them in my DJ sets that myself and my partner Petra (in life and the brand) decided to start the label to provide a platform for all the beautiful music.
What was the most difficult aspect of launching the label?
I am in a lucky position with my DJ profile that distributors and platforms such as Beatport are interested straight away. One of the most difficult aspects is choosing from all the wonderful music I am sent.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of running a label?
That is easy, releasing sensational music from talented artists, some of them of a very young age who nobody knows yet. I hope we give them a step up the ladder to success.
What do you look for when signing artists to the label? Is it purely down to their sound?
It is not so much the sound as innovation we’re looking for. We do have a sound at the label which is a blurring of the lines between Organic, Progressive and Deep but we are open to releasing anything of quality.
Can you tell us how you chose the 20 artists for the new Summer Collection?
I try to get as large an international mix of artists as possible. On The Summer Collection we have artists from every corner of the globe.
Was their a specific sound you were looking for this VA?
The Soundgarden Collections always have a varied pallet of sounds. Some tracks are dancefloor bangers while others are very much armchair based with melody and groove being of utmost importance.
If you had to pick one opening and one closing record from The Soundgarden discography for your first gig back, what would they be?
Interesting question!! It would have to be Underset “Airport” to open as it’s a gorgeous slice of deepness and finishing with Black 8 & Arrab “Sandwaves”
What aspirations do you have for the label in the future?
To continue releasing top quality forward thinking electronic music, and to grow our worldwide events.
