We sit down with Greek DJ and producer Nixxie ahead of his \u2019Silver Sails\u2019 EP on Maera Music. We discuss the scene in Mykonos, the inspiration behind the release, his studio set and more…<\/p>\n
How are you, what have been the highlights of your 2023 so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well its been very eventful so far, to say the least. I was asked to be the music director for a really high-end private festival on the island of Antiparos; it was a lot of work, but the results were incredible. I invited Satori, Birds of Mind, Chambord, DJ Gregory, The Mekanism and some others, and together we kept everyone dancing for a solid 18 hours spread over 2 days. Intensely fun!<\/p>\n What is the scene in Mykonos like? Is that what got you into electronic music?<\/strong><\/p>\n I used to go to the island as a kid and walk around the town with my parents, constantly amazed by the diversity of people out and about at any given moment. All types of fashion, ethnicities, orientations\u2026 perhaps the most impressive would be some of the drag queens frequenting Pierro\u2019s – so flamboyant!<\/p>\n I feel like Mykonos is still a place full of wonder and awe, mostly people driven. The key word, for me, is \u201cfreedom” (of expression). It\u2019s a place that, through its popularity, has the resources to gather some of the worlds leading talents. And since I\u2019ve been here so many years (since 2015 on a quasi full-time basis, in terms of summer at least), I\u2019ve often felt intensely privileged to be surrounded by all this creativity. I feel that it\u2019s rubbed off in many ways.<\/p>\n What are or were your inspirations?<\/strong><\/p>\n Musicians. I was lucky to work closely with or around a lot of them. When I was 21 I worked at a pretty cool company in London called Sanctuary Music Group. I got to spend some time with some proper legends, including the Iron Maiden guys, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) and Michael Amott (Arch Enemy \/ Spiritual Beggars). Any time I\u2019d get a little window of opportunity, I\u2019d try to deconstruct their creative processes. I would ask a million questions. I\u2019m sure I must have bored them to death. In the end, what I\u2019ve surmised is that inspiration often comes through persistence, endurance, and occasionally in the places you least expect to find it. It\u2019s worth mentioning that days I\u2019ve been listening to Nicola Cruz a lot.<\/p>\n What are your aims when producing, what do you want your signature sound to be?<\/strong><\/p>\n This is perhaps my biggest weakness: I don\u2019t belong to any musical niche. I\u2019m into at least 8 different types of electronic music, from ambient through to progressive, deep to groovy. I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not doing myself too many favours by not focusing on one area, but I simply cannot bring myself to stick to one area. In some ways I’m inspired by the great Stanley Kubrick, who as we know was able to create high-quality films in every major genre. Perhaps it\u2019s possible to be a musical polymath? The only thing I know for sure is that I will keep trying to push my limits.<\/p>\n What inspired your Silver Sails EP?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m going through some difficult things in my private life at the moment and there was a period earlier in the year when things got almost too overwhelming; one of the ways I worked through the difficult times was to create new music, and with Silver Sails it turned into a statement: there are storms out there, but they invariably pass eventually. And when you\u2019re in the middle of one, even though it can be very hard to see the sunlight breaking through, it\u2019s good to try and stay grounded, mindful, and aware that it will pass. And as my friend Djordje (aka Satori) recently suggested: sometimes you also just have to f&*k it and go dance in the rain!<\/p>\n