NICOLAY.
Das Interview zum Hören
Nicolay
The Story
Sometimes, stories take interesting circles and you find yourself somehow close past heroes. This happened to Amal, realizing after listing to The Foreign Exchange for decades that producer Nicolay was from almost around the corner of the new place where he moved.
"I pressed play and I knew my life would never be the same. It was a mindblowing experience."
— Nicolay
Early Inspirations
Growing up in the Netherlands, Nicolay discovered electronic music through tracker software, which would become the foundation of his unique production style that blends organic soul with digital precision.
The Netherlands
I started making beats at night, just for myself. But I wouldn\'t even save my projects. He also shares how nice it can be to say that you are Grammy nominated, how different life in the US is compared to the Netherlands.
"We came from two very different backgrounds. We never even spoke on the phone. But there was an immediate trust."
— Nicolay on The Foreign Exchange
The Foreign Exchange
But he left for North Carolina after starting a project with people he had not spoken to before. In this interview, Nicolay tells his story in his own words and answers every silly fan-boy question from Amal, who was the first to know about his new album, Terra Firma.
"When I do the music I am literally alone in this room. I am able to do it without any feelings of "I wonder if they like this"."
— Nicolay on producing
Modplug Tracker
The great thing about Modplug is, that you can do a lot of micro timing. So you can shift drums to make it sound more organic. His way of producing is so unique.
"All these guys were talking about North Carolina. It was almost a mystical place for me. So I thought, I guess I go to North Carolina then."
— Nicolay
North Carolina
He moved to North Carolina to be closer to the people he was working with. The state became a new home and creative hub for him.
"Literally no one knows this. On Tuesday my new album is coming out."
— Nicolay (exclusive to Zimmerlautstärke)