Originally posted on Schitz Popinov
Our dear Nick Bike has been stirring up our coastal waters of Vancouver in all the right places as of late. He’s been with us Schitz for an age to boot. So we thought it best to catch up with the hombre and get some of his words and experience out to you this fine Sunday afternoon. Click play and read on.
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Hey man, how are you? Give us an intro.
Real good. Going to be 23 in February and currently enjoying my new life in Vancouver.
What brought you over to the opposite coast? Was it our ravenous mountain scape?
University life was done in PEI so it was time for change. I’ve
visited Vancouver several times and loved it. No regrets about the
move.
Since your arrival to Vancouver you have shared the bill with a few
big name’s, Ladyhawke & Viceroy to name a couple. Who has been your
personal highlight to share booth / bill with?
I’ve played with Skratch Bastid and Grandtheft a wack of times now – those kind of shows don’t get old. Good individuals to have a conversation with.
How long have you been DJing and producing and which came first?
DJing was first. Been at it for over 4 years now. Haven’t really been
“producing” – let’s just call it being busy ha.
How did you start learning about producing electronic music?
A mix of personal trial and error and a few tutorials on the internet. After I nailed some of the basics I started trying to build things by sampling pieces of other tracks with cool sounds and hits. My friend Sp00nfed taught me a bunch while we were in the process of building our EP.
Tell us a bit about your studio, where and what is it comprised of?
My ‘studio’ is right in my home. Can’t be super loud but my Techs and
DJM800 rest there – along with a microkorg, trigger-finger midi pad,
soundcard, and my Mac running Live 8.
How is your time spent these days? Between being busy and DJing.
I spent a good month on the most recent mix (Bicycle Breaks 1) – this past week I was trying to gather myself for PEI and Halifax. I spend a ton of time listening to new and old music, trying to find the good shit. Just trying to keep up on music alone is a full time job. I make edits for my sets quite often. Usually once a week I trip down to the record store for a dig.
What would you say YOUR style is?
I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s got to be funky.
How have you gone about developing a sound that you felt comfortable calling your own?
Can’t say I’ve really got to a point where I can call a specific sound
“my style”. Another 5-10 years and maybe my answer will be different.
Would you say DJ’s style is determined by the genre he or she plays?
Perhaps, but style can also be found by the way a DJ mixes, their
overall flow, crowd interaction, or specific skills or techniques that
stand out.
Your an intelligent gent. What do yo think you’d be doing had you
not become a jockey of the discs?
I still work a real job at the hospital, and I have my business degree
– so something in either of those 2 most likely.
Word up is your a dope scratcher. Can you speak to that?
Haha I will reserve the term ‘dope’ for dudes like Hedspin, Bastid,
and Gaff. I’m still very much a soldier in training.
What is Remix 86?
Remix86 is a music blog based out of Newfoundland – mostly focusing on house, disco, good dance vibes, etc. A good place to keep up on that kind of stuff and provides some light reading and feedback.
Your up on your web presence. Where can people keep up with you?
Facebook, Twitter, and Soundcloud are all frequently updated. These
can be tapped into on my website – www.djnickbike.com
