Interviews

Interview: Ric Niels

By Release Promo

Posted on 12th January 2022

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Although only eighteen months into his production career, Ric Niels has already achieved measurable success. Longstanding imprints such as Clubsonica Records, Mango Alley and Movement Recordings have played host to the Argentine’s groovy progressive sound, while the genre’s tastemakers, most notably Hernan Cattaneo and Nick Warren have been primary supporters. Now with new music forthcoming on The Soundgarden, Ric makes his Deepwibe Underground debut with ‘Lahkuma’, alongside a remix from Kostya Outta. We had a chance to catch up with Ric for an exclusive interview just prior to the release. Enjoy!

Hi Ric, thanks for joining us. What is your current mood and what was the last piece of music you listened to?

Hi guys, thank you for having me :).

After a break, I’m back at my home and working a lot at the studio, making some remixes and of course originals. The last piece of music I’ve heard was “Never Lose Your Innocence” by the great Khen.

What are your plans for the coming week?

Well, finishing projects and preparing music for my upcoming gigs (Christmas & NYE).

Can you name five tracks that were important in your musical development and why they are so significant for you?

Above & Beyond - We’re All We Need
Guy J - Lost & Found
Frankey & Sandrino - Acamar
Oxia - Domino
Grum - Builder

They’re my first connection with the underside of electronic music, that’s why they are important for me.

How did you come to settle on Ric Niels as an artist name?

Basically, I didn’t want to put my real name on stores with only one genre of music, because I like all the genres.

How did growing up in Argentina influence your music taste and direction? Or did it at all?

I don’t think that’s a thing about the place.. in fact, in the part of Argentina where I’m living, the people are not too familiar with this kind of music. It’s about passion and taste.

Progressive music is well known for being hugely popular in Argentina, how did your country become the genre’s mecca over the last 10-15 years? What would you attribute that to?

I’m going to answer this question with two words; Hernan Cattaneo. He’s such a big inspiration for everyone here.

Who from your home country inspired you the most when you first discovered the music?

Well, Hernan and two great friends of mine, Juan & Nico.

What are your favourite venues to play in Argentina and why?

Definitely at DMENSION parties in Resistencia, Chaco. I love how professional they are, and of course the people who assist at their events.

Who are some up and coming Argentinian artists to look out for?

Well, there are a lot.. Tiefstone, Fabri López, Kabi, Andres Moris.. just to name a few.

If you could set up an event with a line-up of five artists of your choice, who would you book and what set times would you ascribe to the artists?

My dream party it would be like

Ric Niels (opening) (of course I’d love to play here hehe)
Enamour (warm up)
Khen (Main 1)
Guy J (Main 2) (6hrs set if is possible)
Hernan Cattaneo (closing)

You have a new EP ‘Lahkuma’, out this week on Monograph’s Deepwibe Underground imprint, tell us about the release and please walk us through the production process on one of the tracks, whichever you like.

Well, this is a special one, cause I’ve been working on them just for the label, I mean, I always wanted to release there and I made it :))).

I’ll talk about “The Way”: I focused on the bassline, which is the main sound here. I wanted to have an electric sound for it, like a metal sound. Then with some notes changes we have the identity of the track.

This is your first release on the label, what made it the right home for your original material straight away?

It’s the right home cause the tracks were created for this label specifically ;)

What does your set-up look like? Do you favor physical gear over digital? And what studio tools featured heavily in the writing of these tracks?

My studio set up is

Mac Mini
Apollo twin mk2
Yamaha HS 7
Prophet Rev-2
Moo Subphatty
Eventide H9 max

Of course I always prefer analog tools but I actually use a lot of digital stuffs. Actually, for these tracks I’ve used Massive, Diva, and my baby the Prophet Rev-2.

I think for a lot of artists music allows you to write a sketch of your own personal universe in a way, your travels, life experiences etc. Is this something which is true for yourself and was there anything that inspired the tracks which make up your ‘Lahkuma’ EP?

Yeah, when I was at the studio creating “Lahkuma” I was remembering my trip to Estonia. One of the best places I’ve visited.

How much road testing or friend feedback is done before you’re ready to say a track is finished? And who is someone you share your new music with first for feedback?

Actually not too much. I prefer to show my creations just to one friend who also is my mentor.. and sometimes I send my new stuffs to Alex from Mango Alley, he helps me a lot searching the right home for my tracks.

What would be a musical extravagance for your studio you would pay for, if you were very wealthy?

All the Prophets and Virus.

What has the last year and a half been like for you? Have you focused more time on making music? And has the pandemic affected your creative spirit in any way?

Well, it was different.. has good and bad moments, but if I have to balance, it was great, because I was able to spend a lot of time at the studio.
About the creativity in the pandemic, yeah, it was hard but we have to adapt ourselves to every situation.

What is the current state of the pandemic in Argentina?

To be honest, I already get lost in our situation. But I can say that the events are coming up stronger than ever.

In your opinion, what’s the biggest risk you’ve taken and what made you do it?

Hmm, hard question.. Musically, I think it’s difficult living of this, but not impossible. Of course the passion and love is the thing that made me do it.