A musical chameleon, producing sounds across the spectrum of underground music from deep electronica to trippy techno, always with soul and storytelling, rising artist Nickon Faith is the perfect fit for Constant Circles. To celebrate his single on the label which will be followed by a full artist EP later this year, we welcome him here for a guest mix on the radio show, and a little Q&A to find out more about this hard working artist.

Hey Nickon, welcome to CC 🙂 Firstly, what is your background and how did you get into music?

Hey Claire, this takes me far back. I think when I was super young my dad tried to get me into records he liked when he was in his 20’s. He would be playing a lot of Pink Floyd, Jean Michel Jarre, Deep Forest etc… I didn’t really like it at first, but I think it clicked when I picked up the drums at about 10 years old and started discovering and resonating in an emotional way to artists of my own that I like.

I sort of became obsessed with music as a whole. I picked up the guitar & keys shortly after and would start songwriting, composing, jamming and producing tracks on garage band all the time. I even played a lot of open mics and formed a few bands to try to gig around Manchester! I knew of Ableton but I finally decided to go all in on it when I was about 17 ish and getting more into the electronic side of things, mainly to challenge myself and explore something new in music. That took over my life and about 10 years later here I am aha!

Where are you based and how has your home country or town influenced your music & career?

Manchester was where I was based for years. I’m currently living in Brisbane as of this year. I think MCR has a massive impact on my music tastes. Meeting so many creatives, jamming with so many people. Bouncing off so many ideas. Going to some incredible events and seeing some mindblowing DJ’s and live acts. Every experience really rubs off on you and changes who you are as a person in a subtle way, which changes your artistic perspectives. I love it as it’s a very creative place full of quirky creative people doing interesting and inspiring things.

How would you describe your sound – do you think your music falls into a particular genre?

I’d like to say I’m pretty genre-fluid. My sound can be emotional, energetic, psychedelic, euphoric and many other things. I like when music challenges you, uses a lot of different palettes and has nuance, or makes you have to work for when the “good bit” comes. Which is a philosophy I’ve been incorporating a bit more recently in my tracks. I tend to not be as interested in music that tells you exactly what to feel. Prog and trance are very core genres and inspirations to most of my Nickon Faith music however, if I would have to categorise.

You are about to release a 3 track EP on Constant Circles – how did that project come together?

Serenity came first. It was one of those that kind of flowed out really nicely. I sat down not really knowing what I wanted to make. I was just experimenting with a new technique I had learnt of changing the arpeggio rate and this really cool idea kind of bloomed out of it. It sort of had its first test run as Warmup in London when I was supporting you (Just Her). It was a super special party and that tune really popped off.

The other two tracks came after to try and complement it. I think sometimes I draw on my own emotions and experiences when I make a track, whether I’m aware or unaware of it. “Closer To You” definitely felt like one of those, it feels very emotional. Heart Forever was more like “I need to make a banger” to tie the project together, I think it acts as a really good bridge between the songs.

What is your production process – is each project or track different? And what are your key pieces of studio kit?

My studio is pretty bare bones, usually just my laptop and focusrite. When I was in the UK I had my minilogue XD that I’d use for pads and fx sometimes, and a midi keyboard. In terms of production,

I think my process is usually a bit different for each track. Usually I have some sort of melodic or soundscape-y idea to start off with and build from there.
Building percussion first is also a good method as the groove will help you generate ideas. My third approach is just slapping all sorts of different sounds and fx on and just purely experimenting and eventually something will start forming.

I think it’s all about building the momentum to get in this super focused state where it feels like ideas are just being pulled out the ether. Sometimes as well I’ve created an entire track and then scrapped it and just used the best bits of that tune as a starting point for the next, and that becomes the final version as it were.

You don’t have to do that with whole tracks but recycling ideas/chopping and changing until you reach the ones that you feel really happy with is another good way to start forming a really solid track. Ear is important, knowing what you like, knowing what sounds good, getting a sense of whether to commit or go the extra mile if an idea could be better etc… a lot of philosophies go into it.

What would be your dream label to release on and why?

During my early phase of getting into prog Anjunabeats was a bit of a gateway for me. Some songs on that label are truly mesmerising. So it would be cool to one day be on, but I want it to feel authentic and feel like me, like I don’t want to compromise my style to fit the label, it would be a tune that I really resonate with that is like a window into who I am sort of thing.

Honourable mention to Hooj Tunes & Bedrock, I think being on them would be insanely cool, I love the output from both, the Pete Lazonby Sacred cycles tune on Hooj is one of my favourites.

Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Ostgut Ton and MUTENova, like more industrial underground stuff. Being on Ostgut Ton would feel like a huge achievement, the music on that label is proper serious. I think I have a lot of dream labels aha.

Can you tell us your deepest darkest secret?

I love having 100% cacao dark chocolate very regularly. Literally it’s deep and dark so I think this counts. Gives you a pretty euphoric buzz aswell. I may need an intervention on this soon!

What is the coolest, wildest or worst gig you have ever played?

Any gig I’ve played for Deevstock has usually felt pretty wild. Last year I was the penultimate act to close their Menagerie stage on the sunday. It was super special, wild and one of my best crowd connections, I love those guys.

My gig at Warmup was special, it was the kind of gig experience I’ve never had before playing to that many people, there was a lot of love there. On a side note, I love it anytime I play in Brighton as they really love their tunes and crazy dancing.

Honorary mention to The garden centre at Boomtown (also run by Deevstock), that was quite fun and playing One in the Woods festival was a good memory as it was my first and only time playing trance & techno in a literal forest. More forest gigs please.

How did you put together your guest mix for the radio show & what have you included – any exclusives or surprises?

I wanted to tell a story using tracks I have always liked and played in sets before but never in a recorded set. Whilst weaving in tracks from the EP and showcasing some of the range of my tastes. I managed to get 2 from the EP in, I would have liked to put some other unreleased material but I feel like those would have been an hour 2 thing if I had the time aha, so no exclusives in this I’m afraid. There are some nice trippy hypnotic tunes from Sakura Tsurata, Adam Pits, Marcus Henriksson, as well as some cool breaks and trancey stuff.