Nixxy Rain – aka Dave Kennett – is both a household name, and something completely brand spanking new, all at the same time. A delicious homemade meal and a fresh-off-the-rack dessert from a fancy new restaurant on Uber Eats, all wrapped up into one.
The split of British electronic duo SpectraSoul caused a wave of emotion throughout drum & bass. We grieved for a brilliant duo, whilst eternally grateful for the timeless back-catalogue they left behind. Quickly after their infinitely successful 15-year project concluded, Jack Workforce returned to the scene with his solo project, but for a few years, there was something missing.
In a timely manner – yet completely on his own accord – Dave returns once again with a brand new alias: Nixxy Rain. A gorgeous project that leans deeply into his love for soulful liquid, channeling his artistic flare in a way we haven’t seen before.
Radiating both positivity and a genuine eagerness to keep the scene moving forward, Dave spills the beans on his exciting new venture.
Dave/Nixxy Rain! How does it feel to be back with your new alias?
It’s really good to be back. After SpectraSoul wrapped up back in 2020, I’ve just had my head down since then really. I’ve been producing for other artists for a few years: something we always did, actually, but people never really knew about. During this time, I was also writing drum & bass, solo. Then, over the last few years I’ve just really knuckled down, finished tunes and got to a place where I was actually finishing music to give out to people. I always felt like I had so much more to give, so I put the blinkers on and didn’t listen to anything else. I didn’t absorb anything else, and I didn’t really speak to anyone else that much, even within drum & bass. I just wanted to see what that level of focus would do creatively. I think you’ve got to pick your lane and just go for it, and that’s what I did. I believe that when it comes to music, you can really tell when someone’s made something that isn’t true to them – you can always feel it – so it was important to me to really lean into this new era!
Exciting times. What are some distinguishing features of the Nixxy Rain project?
Vocals are really important in my new music and I have a specific approach. It’s a very instinctive process and sometimes I’ll hear a voice first and build around it, sometimes it happens the other way round. I don’t really over-brief people, I’d rather react to how something feels than steer it too much. I think of it more as producing people rather than producing sounds. It’s about creating space and a musical environment for someone to feel as comfortable as possible, so they can really express themselves and allow the magic to come through.
And magic it is! Sounds like this was a really natural next step for you.
It was. There’s been a lot of serendipity along the way. I kept noticing the 80/20 ratio coming up in certain situations, and over time it became less of a coincidence and started shaping how I worked. Creatively, it’s about a small number of decisions carrying most of the emotional weight. In music, that usually comes down to a few elements doing the work and having the restraint to let them. But it was also a literal stat I was given around the time of an ear operation I had, where there was a chance I might not hear in the same way again. The irony is that it’s actually changed the way I hear everything. I can now hear frequencies that other people can’t.
Tell us about the first EP released last year on Nixxy Rain Music: Built From Silence
Built From Silence sounds poetic, but it’s quite literal. I didn’t want outside influence or need validation, in the nicest possible way. When I started writing the EP, I didn’t have complete hearing in my left ear. I realised that even inadvertently hearing a song or a tune somewhere could stick and sometimes when I sat down in the studio, that would be all I could hear. That distraction was exactly what I wanted to avoid. So I shut everything out. I didn’t really listen to much music, and I didn’t play anything to anyone while I was writing, I just released it. I wanted to see what would come out if I followed instinct alone. That period genuinely changed the way I approach everything. Now I’m much more interested in what doesn’t need to be there, and in trusting the core idea rather than overthinking it.
Which leads us nicely onto your new track – released as part of Hospital30 – ‘Lawyer’!
‘Lawyer’ is my first release on another label, which is really exciting. I’d been self-releasing on my own label before that. The track itself is quite soulful, with a gospel vocal. There is a nice kind of mixture of emotions in there. It’s a bit happy and a bit sad at the same time. It came together quite quickly and I just knew while I was writing it that it felt special. Hospital has been part of my musical world for a long time. We’ve crossed paths on various things over the years so when I reconnected with them with my new music everything just fell into place and aligned perfectly. It felt like a great place to release the track. Hospital30 is about celebrating a musical lineage, and it’s nice to be part of that.
I am enjoying building the social media side of things, although I don’t really think about it as content creation. I treat it more like a discovery space. Sound, image, mood, that’s enough. If someone finds the project through a clip or an image, that feels like a good way in. I’ve always been involved in the visuals/art side of our musical projects, doing all of the photography for our first SpectraSoul Album Delay No More for example, so doing things independently now has meant I can really lean into my own personal style and taste.
What does the future hold for Nixxy Rain?
Creatively, I’m in absolute turbo mode at the moment. I’m sitting on loads of music, writing constantly, collaborating with different vocalists and artists. I like things moving quickly, so I’m working with people who are on that same wavelength. I’m also looking forward to DJing more under Nixxy Rain. Performance has always been a big part of how the music makes sense for me. Once the tracks leave the studio, they change. I’m very responsive to the mood in the space. My first solo gigs back were on the Hybrid Minds UK tour last year, and it was a great way to reconnect with the stage. I’m also loving finding all new music to play in sets, discovering some new producers & artists on the way.
So yeah, there’s lots of exciting things, music and projects coming up! Aside from that, for me, it’s really just about looking forward. Positivity is a big thing for me in general, not just personally, but overall. There are so many people doing really great things right now. I’m all up for celebrating the past, but I’m focused now on trying new things and pushing things as much as I can, musically and creatively. A big part of that is working with people who are as enthusiastic about the music as I am, because that’s where the magic happens.
Follow Nixxy Rain: Instragram / Spotify
