NuFects [Interview]

Conceptualized in 2013, Colombian artists Alejo Cortes and Carlos Lopez aka NuFects decided to undertake a project full of energy, joy, color and intrigue. They started producing progressive and organic house under the name NuFects (short for The New Effect), quickly earning recognition from Hernan Cattaneo, Nick Warren and Cid Inc, along with very important local talents Dabeat, Gux Jimenez and Kamilo Sanclemente, while legends like Paul Oakenfold and Solarstone playlisted their music. Now coming up on ten years of writing music together, Nufects takes another important step with a contribution to Juicebox Music's 'Fables 001'. We had a chance to catch up with the duo for an interview leading up to the release. Enjoy!

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

Hello guys, thank you very much for inviting us to this spectacular interview space and for the interest in knowing everything that we will talk about today. The last piece of music we heard was the Boards of Canada album, an inspiring piece that continues today.

How’s your year been so far? And what are your plans for the coming week?

This last year has been quite satisfactory, full of harvests of good successes on a musical and personal level, this is how the following time we will continue working hard planting dreams to harvest future realities.

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

● Pryda - Armed
● Frankie Knuckles - I'll Take You There (feat. Jamie Principle)
● 16 Bit Lolitas - Murder Weapon
● Slam - Eterna (John Digweed & Nick Muir Remix)
● Jamie Stevens - The Wonder Of You
● Dennis Ferrer - Touched The Sky

WHY?

They were songs that made us fall in love with what we do and can understand musical evolution.

How did you meet and eventually start collaborating as NuFects?

Being friends in the neighborhood, we began to know our musical tastes, Carlos being a very House musician and Alejo being a very Trance musician, we started with a great musical friendship that allowed us one day 10 years ago to decide to make music under the AKA of NuFects.

Do you guys consider yourself a DJs or producers first? And which do you enjoy more and why?

We have always considered ourselves more musical producers than DJs, although we both enjoy them to the fullest, being in front of the public generates many feelings and also brings fun, and regarding production, it is because it is something that we are passionate about.

Do you think growing up in Colombia had any effect on your career path into music? And if so how?

We would think so because it is a country where support for music and more electronic culture is very low, although as time goes by. It has changed for the better. Now, many have been motivated to exhibit their art with quick results, ten years ago this was quite complicated.

What are some of your best memories from first going to clubs and events in Colombia? Were there specific nights or sets that really made you feel you wanted to pursue electronic music?

The first night at the legendary Amador lounge club in Medellin, where we played for the first time, we felt great energy with the people. And the event was very charismatic, one of the most anticipated by us was also the invitation to deliver a very special warm-up for Ezequiel. areas also in the legendary Amador room where there was a very good vibe and people reflected with us in the middle of our presentation.

What have been some of your favorite venues to perform or attend events in Colombia and why?

We really like Salón Amador, it is a good place to share with friends, talk, dance and have fun with very good progressive

There are a few countries which always get associated with progressive house and Colombia would certainly be one, what do you attribute the genre's popularity to in your country?

In Medellín, we can find the SALON AMADOR, a great club where many want to make their presentations, SONORAMA and VIUZ have also received great world-class artists in the company of ONE CLUB (former carnival). In Bogotá, there is the EIGHTH great exponent, in Cali, there is SONIDO CENTRAL, in Pereira, there is the TUNNEL. Just to mention a few, but the offer and popularity of Progressive House clubs in Colombia are becoming more and more abundant compared to 10 years ago.

How do you feel about coming up in a country with so many new and talented producers? Is it inspiring? Challenging?

It is a challenge that we love that it has given that despite spending so much time in music production, we are very happy that Colombia is increasingly becoming a capital of progressive house worldwide and a great reference for talent, this is very inspiring for us.

What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in yourselves, both as producers and DJs since you first started out?

For us, it seems to us that it is very good because they also grow the progressive scene in the country and they realize that what we have been trying to fight for more than 10 years is to take the genre to a higher level than what that's it, both as a country and internationally. The good thing about good talents is that they have been very well received worldwide and we have managed to consolidate ourselves as a great Latin American progressive reference. Taking that into account, we feel a very good way as there are many very talented producers, besides being great people we all support each other, and we know that it is a difficult road, so it is very inspiring.

A successful partnership is generally based around balance and compromise; how do you manage these things within the NuFects dynamic?

We have been working together for a long time and we have learned from the positive and negative things, we have always been very optimistic and our biggest change is the maturity in speaking musically, and the improvements in our music.

Do you have different roles in the production process? And if so elaborate, please.

The commitment to NuFects has always been the same since we started, although sometimes the consistency is not great, but we are always in contact and we highlight new ideas and work on them.

You have a new track ‘Corelia’ out this week on Praveen Achary’s Juicebox Music imprint as part of their ‘Fables 001’ collection, tell us about the production and how it showcases your sound.

Initially, the production of this song was thought to do something totally different, irreverent, and full of Sonora experimentation, that's where Cordelia was born, a strong track in its sound, misunderstood by other more common progressive sounds but with a very good energetic vibe. for those who want to give a peak moment to the club.

Juicebox Music would be India’s premiere imprint for progressive music, a label which you’ve just made your first appearance on, what makes the label a great home for your music?

In short, we have agreed that what adds value to a good label is based on the good treatment of the artist and the importance they give him, the way in which the record label carries out its entire promo system also becomes too important since that depends whether or not you have a good exposure. This was what we found at Juicebox Music and when we shared our music, they allowed us to be part of such an incredibly musical family.

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

We believe that something essential is sound, that is why we have invested the most in things, good studio monitors, good monitoring headphones, and two other auxiliary headphones to have different references at the mixing level, additionally we have some equipment analogical that give us a texture and a character to our sound, this was the case of corelia, where under the modular synthesis, we managed to design sounds and give them a special and different character.

The truth is that everyone has their studio, and this makes us work in different ways, but when it comes to getting together to create music there is no role.

Generally speaking, do you find it more difficult to come up with original tracks than remixing a track from another artist?

For us it is a little more difficult to face remixes, in short it can be something that can limit you in your creative process, perhaps rescuing some main sounds is the key while giving it your personal touch. Our head is constantly full of musical ideas, which can even be realized in record time when inspiration overwhelms us, that's why it's easier for us to make original works and we want to psychoacoustically interpret the public that would listen to our music. (something like providing the best user sound experience possible)

What’s the task you enjoy the most when producing and what is something you’d rather have taken care of by somebody else? And why?

Our favorite part when we are producing is in the compilation of the creative idea, where we let all our imagination fly and we play with all the possible modulations to create textures, dynamics and creatively mix everything, for our character is extremely important of the mixture, that each built piece has a soul.

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?

For us to say that a track is completely finished, it must first pass through a first filter of ours and based on our hearing, verify if that composition makes us move our heads, that is the first point to know that something was good. One of our great validators in production is our friend JHONNY LP, a great producer and specialized sound engineer who provides us with good feedback. Lastly, the public is our great validator, if it vibrates with what you hear, it will surely work.

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?

- Martin García
(10:30am – 12:00am)
- Ricky Ryan
(12:00am – 1:30am)
- Simon Vuarambon
(1:30am – 3:00am)
- Hernan Cattaneo
(3:00am – 4:30am)
- Kamilo Sanclemente B3B DABEAT B3B Juan Pablo Torrez
(4:30am – 6:00am)

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

In short, we would pay for a lot of similar equipment AND a totally special acoustic treatment for what we do, a huge piece of furniture in the back and very comfortable and lots of lights and lasers inside the studio that give it life and inspire us to be even more creative.

What’s a book you’ve read or film you watched that has left an impact on you, and why?

A book that has impacted us a lot in its reading and in everything it can bring us is called the power of now by Eckart Tolle, a book that without a doubt transform lives, thoughts, and many positions about what we have today and we can get to achieve

What’s a superpower you wish you had and how would you use it?

Fly, because going to different places, we cannot imagine the level of creativity that we could achieve knowing different environments, landscapes, experiences, experiences.

If you could travel anywhere for one day, all laws and limitations void, where would it be?

We would go to all African cultures and feel how their rhythms, their voices, and their essence resonate and be inspired by them.

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

Sacrifice time of our life, our time, our money to pursue a musical dream and obtain great fruits, Happiness, and expose what we do to the world.

What is your current favorite place to eat and what do you generally order there?

Our favorite place is going to eat chips on the street, they are called Mandingas and we enjoy them a lot and we eat before any musical session that we are going to have. It’s curious but it makes us feel inspired.

Apart from music, what makes you happiest?

Love is in the air, love is the real inspiration for everything, the capacity of breathing and wake up with dreams ahead, that's the goal of life.

What does the remainder of 2022 hold for you? Anything you can share with us?

Continue working with discipline, enjoying the process of building the dream. Tour around Latin America, Eurasia, Europe, and the world leaving our music on board.

'Corelia' is out now via Juicebox Music: https://bit.ly/3OyX9vy