[i:Vibes] Speaking With Niklas Harding

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Speaking With Niklas Harding

11:28 - April 12, 2004

by Steven H

Hi Niklas,
Firstly thanks for doing an interview with www.ivibes.nu
Pleasure is on my side :)

i:Vibes: Q. 01
First Of All can you tell us a little about yourself, your hobbies and your interests outside of music?

A: I am an 18 year old kid living just outside Copenhagen (Denmark), having this passion for the progressive and trancy sounds. A friend of mine got me into the music scene about 3 years ago, and I have been climbing up the steps since then, and I wont stop climbing, trust me :). Besides that I am spending the rest of my time on my school, girls, beers and more girls, as any other crazy student at my age would do.

i:Vibes: Q. 02
Do you go under any other aliases other than Niklas Harding?

A: So far I don’t, as I mainly have been dj’ing using that name. I am sure some producing aliases will occur in the near future, so just look out for some crazy names on future vinyl releases, one of them could be mine. I do have another nickname when I am spinning in Norway and visiting my friends there, but that’s another naughty story. Ohh and yeah, you can call me NikkiHaddi as well, but you got to ask Paul Moelands (Octagen) where he got that name from.

i:Vibes: Q. 03
What has been your favourite night so far in 2004, and please describe it and your experiences.

A: My favourite night so far in 2004 got to be the gig I had in Canada. I played at this event called Cloud City in Quebec. The club was awesome. The staffs were really nice to me – specially the bartender. The crowd and the atmosphere there was one of the best I have ever experienced. So definitely one of those nights I wont forget.

i:Vibes: Q. 04
What has been your favourite night since you started? Why?

A: The best gig I ever had, where spinning in front of 3000 people in St. Petersburg (Russia). The event was placed in an old theatre, the most beautiful place you could imagine. The crowd went nuts when I walked up on stage, and that really gave me goose bumps and a feeling you can’t describe in words. My set went perfect, and near the end I dropped one of my all time favourites, “Sixty Nine Ways”, I lowered the volume at the breakdown and people where screaming along to the melody – what a feeling.

i:Vibes: Q. 05
IS your vinyl collection large? How long have you been buying records?

A: It’s growing, and it’s growing, and it’s growing! I guess I have around 700 records. From Lenny Kravitz to the most evil Chris Liebing kinda techno stuff. I tend to buy some really weird records from time to time, but it makes the dj practice and mixing way more fun and challenging.

i:Vibes: Q. 06
What do you think about the digital revolution, such as final scratch, CD mixing and iPOD DJING

A: The digital revolution came here to stay, that’s for sure. The technology is unstoppable, and I like what it brings along. New ways of storing music and spinning it live like Final Scratch, promotion through the Internet and the easiness of burning and bringing a cd with a track you just finished in the studio last night, to play in front of a huge crowd the day after, is simply just a really nice thing.

i:Vibes: Q. 07
Which DJS or artists do you feel that deserves some praise at the moment?

A: The DJ I admire most these days, is Ben Lost. He has his own unique style, just like my self. On the Artist and producing side, I could tell you a list of people so long that it would go from here, down to my local pizza place. Though the best producers in my eyes these days, are: Mark Otten, Paul Moelands (Octagen), Filo & Peri, Menno De Jong, Ryan G, MK-S, Ozgur Can, Perry O’Neil, Workafiction and in general a lot of the Scandinavian artists. I better stop with that list now else I know where it leads, hint hint: down to the pizza place.

i:Vibes: Q. 08
Do you plan to produce in the future? Any plans for a release or remixes?

A: I have been fiddling with Reason and Cubase for the last two months time, though getting interrupted all the time by my schoolwork. So when my exams are over in end of June, I will be working 200% on my music career – which I am sure will end up in a 12” release in the near future. I am currently working on a track with Ryan G, which seems to turn out really really good, more info will follow on that at my homepage: www.niklasharding.com

i:Vibes: Q. 09
Whats your top three records in your box at the moment?

A: The three records getting most turns at my gigs and radio sessions these days are: Ficta – Eli [GU Music] such and awesome piece of progressive trance. Filo & Peri pres. Empire State – Niagara [Lost Language] If I meet a nice girl in town, and she asked me what trance music was, I would play her that tune. And the last one got to be: Odyssee – Freelancer [GT Records], that track has so much energy it could get my grandma dancing for hours.

i:Vibes: Q. 10
Have you bought any releases recently that you liked in the shop, but now you decide otherwise?

A: Heh, not really. But while being a little to drunk one of my friends, sold me this really shitty Hardcore record, claiming that it was the best trance record I was ever gonna have in my record bag. It has been used as a Frisbee since then.

i:Vibes: Q. 11
In general & overall, what can we expect to see from you in the rest of 2004, such as productions, remixes, big djing events or anything related?

A: I really hope to have every single month filled up with dj gigs, so you will be sure to see me dj’ing around the globe. Here in April I have gigs lined up in Turkey and in Sweden. May and June I am gonna focus on my exams. July I have some major gigs coming up in Europe. In the end of August I will be doing a US/CA tour, got gigs lined up in Vancouver, Toronto, Seattle, and Los Angeles. So a hint to the promoters out there, they should drop me an email for a booking. As already mentioned I hope to see a lot of producing from my side of in 2004, remixes as well as own tracks.

i:Vibes: Q. 12
Where do you see this style of music progressing to in the coming year or two?

A: I think the style of music will turn into being more and more progressive minded, with more deep bass lines and kicks. As a good example, if you take some of Armin’s first A State of Trance radio shows, he more or less only played this typical “hands in the air” trance. And these days it is really weird if he hasn’t mixed in at least 6-7 more progressive minded tracks.

i:Vibes: Q. 13
Are there any artists around now that you feel are pushing new boundaries and achieving good results?

A: Armin Van Buuren made this trance impact on a lot of people including my self when his radio shows and his dj’ing got really popular in start of 2003. Just like Armin did with trance, Markus Schulz and Gabriel & Dresden have made this wave of more progressive sounds into the music scene, which turned out to be really popular.

i:Vibes: Q. 14
Do you also listen to other styles of music such as chillout, breaks even rock and stuff like this?

A: I have two sisters watching MTV 24/7, so I am surrounded by a lot of different genres of music and getting input and inspiration from all of them. I can easily start listening to a hiphop album, and hear some nice breakbeats and try building anything similar into a breakdown of a trance track. So I am never limited to certain genres, when it comes to getting inspiration. I love grabbing a beer a Saturday evening, relaxing with my friends, and putting on my Foo Fighters or Kashmir album.

i:Vibes: Q. 15
Finally, are you a regular Internet user? And can we expect to see you in related forums around the Internet?

A: I spend a lot of time in front of the pc, and having around 20 msn windows open, do happen quite often. So my router is flaming hot a lot of hours every day. I am a regular around at the major forums, and been for a while by now. And yes I got an account at Ivibes forum as well, but lol I think I lost my password for it. I will go make a new one so I can receive all my fan messages :p

i:Vibes: Thank you for your time!

A: Was my pleasure, hope this gave an idea of who I am for those who didn’t knew me. And for those why did maybe, they hopefully got to learn me better. Don’t forget to check out my homepage www.niklasharding.com for future events, productions and bookings.