A crucial component in the AC Slater’s well-oiled Night Bass machine. A precision participant in the Birmingham bass sound with Low Steppa, Cause & Affect and Chris Lorenzo. A sledgehammer soundsmith with a high-defined sound that’s getting sharper with every production…. Taiki Nulight has smashed yet another year to pieces.
One particular mission that’s been key to the Brighton-based artist’s accomplishments this year has been his total switch on how he works; investing in hardware, pushing himself to think differently and experimenting with beat patterns have all led to an even stronger breadth in sound that before. From the break-based power of Warfare and splintered funk of XX to the chugging, crunchy grit of My Peoples and dubby, slinky struts of Steppa, Taiki’s displayed some serious diversity this year.
Release-wise he’s been unstoppable: his slew of releases on Night Bass, This Ain’t Bristol, Dim Mak and Insomniac amplified by remixes of Delta Heavy, Hotel Garuda, Destructo, Keys N Krates, Shift K3Y and more.
All this plus a packed DJ schedule that included his debut US tour. To say this year has been a banger for Nulight would be an understatement. Here’s his take on things….
2016 According To Taiki Nulight
“I’d say this year there’s been a great sense of diversity. All these crazy sounds and influences are coming into the house melting pot. There’s all these different sounds and styles branching out and I feel there are some of us really pushing to refine and develop our sounds right now.
That’s been the mission for the last three years, really. I’m trying to keep within the house tempo but play around with everything else possible; the sounds, the beat structures, the arrangements. I’ve stepped out of the box a little, too with some hardware including a Moog Sub Phatty and a Yamaha synth. They’re absolute delights and are helping me to move further and further away from familiar processes I’ve already done. It’s just a case of doing things differently and sounding differently.
A lot of this is me trying to find something that’s unique but I think it’s also motivated by a lot of demos and promos I’m receiving. You can hear a lot of very similar, samey sounds. It’s the use of the same presets and the same samples, it makes everything sound the same. So I kind of worry that there are a lot of people getting into this for the wrong reasons – they’re seeing the lifestyle, they think it’s cool. They’re not in it for the love of making exciting music. In a way, this is a good thing because the talent stands out by miles. But I’d much prefer to hear more originality in the demos and promos I’m being sent.
Another important thing for me this year has been my first American tour. I finally got my Visa to play out there and took advantage of it! One show I’ll never forget was Electric Forest where AC Slater hosted a Night Bass stage and handpicked all these UK artists – Flava D, myself, Lorenzo and everyone. All of us who’ve been building this sound for years, coming together at a massive US festival was the one. It wasn’t the biggest stage but was definitely the most lively. That was a real moment for me. Another one was in the UK at Boomtown straight after Chris Lorenzo. That was such a cool moment. A huge stage, a crowd crammed with people, all my friends there because it was in the UK and straight after man of the moment Lorenzo. It was incredible!
So yeah, it’s been my best year so far – both with things like that and really feeling like I’m developing my sound. Besides the fakers, there’s been some insane talent right now from Chris Lorenzo, Jack Beats, Cause & Affect, AC Slater, Shift K3Y, Born Dirty, Linden Jay to name a few. I hope for 2017 is that this continues to build and get louder. We’re going at a good pace right now and need to appreciate this and savour it.”
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