Nick Bee Interview

NickBee, a 22-year-old wunderkind from the Ukraine, recently delivered a massive game-changing LP for the Dispatch family that not only blurs the lines between genres and tempos but also conjures up the very best the international drum & bass scene has to offer.

As his aptly titled Empty Your Mind album is unleashed on the public, Kmag sits down for a chat for a glimpse behind the scenes.

First off introduce yourself to our readers. Any special meaning behind your production moniker?
My production name is NickBee, when you see it the first time it may look like a simple name without any logic but let me explain: Nick is my real name and now the main part is "Bee" – which as you know is an insect, a hard worker, what we call here a "symbol of hard work," so basically the name means that I am a hard worker with music.

 You're often cited as a "prodigy" which we take to mean you're young and talented. Let's start at the beginning then - what sort of music were you listening to growing up? Any special musical training? Was your family particularly musical?
In my childhood I was listening to the same music as my mother and thank God that it was intelligent pop music like Madonna, Robbie Williams, and many more. I was getting kind of a special taste - maybe someone will disagree but for me it was a proper musical education.

 I did not train in any musical school or so, only some sports. My mother was not so musical but I know that she did go to musical school in her childhood so perhaps there is some influence there.

I was 12-13 years old when I met Sunchase, which were already producing well. But even before that I had heard drum & bass from my mother’s friend and had been listening to Noisia, Calyx & TeeBee, Pendulum, Gridlok, Bad Company and many more.

 People are always fascinated with artists that come from countries outside of the United States and UK because we imagine the access to drum & bass to be so different. Coming from the Ukraine, what was your window into drum & bass?
During my growing years I was trying to communicate with foreign producers and like many others, the internet was my window. Alex Sunchase was responsible for showing me Cubase but I was talking online with many guys like Pyro, Kenei, and N.phect.

As to the source of music, it was MySpace! I think all musicians were very active on there back then – it’s a pity that today it is totally bullshit.

Your take on d&b is definitely deep, dark, and experimental - it blurs the lines between what may traditionally be considered drum & bass and what is bass music, garage, ambient, house.... How do you personally conceive of yourself as an artist and define your output? Do you see yourself as a drum & bass artist or something more or different?
I try to keep classic drum & bass alive - as it was during the 2000-2005 era. I’m not trying to keep up with the modern trends of music as a lot of others have lately. I have been focused on making drum & bass and nothing else and so about two years ago I started the ‘Empty Your Mind’ album and my goal was to make something different.

 I didn’t necessarily want to create a whole album of d&b as I think every producer is always looking for ways to grow during his practice. Of course, I don’t see myself as ‘only’ a d&b producer and I should say that I am capable of making everything or almost everything that features music – in other words, I would love to work with video games or even movies.

 I imagine that's part of your attraction to drum & bass as a musical genre in that at its very best it draws on so many disparate influences to create something uniquely new and different. You've been able to sort of carve out a nice niche for yourself in that you've been able to find a home for your vision on imprints like Horizons, Eatbrain, Vandal and of course, Dispatch...

Yes, I think it’s more of a right position than not. My style of d&b is underground, true, but I think I do my best in that style, because the thing I wanted is to be recognized by big names as Noisia, BSE, Ed Rush and the whole work of dnb.

 Your album, ‘Empty Your Mind’, is the very first artist album for the Dispatch Limited label. Talk a bit about how you linked up with Ant TC1 and if there was any nervousness on their part when presented with the non-d&b tunes you had hoped to incorporate into the LP?
Dispatch LTD or just Dispatch is a big stable label and I like the music they release. I’m not sure exactly how long I’ve known Ant TC1, my guess would be about two or three years and last summer was the first time I finally met him in-person in London.

 As for the non-d&b tracks on the album, I had explained to Ant TC1 that this album collecting about two years worth of material and that I was hoping to include the best ideas for the project, regardless of what genre or tempo they represented. These 11 tracks were more about just giving out my soul and so Ant was very open to putting those non-d&b tracks on the album.

 The album is such a thing where, in my mind, a musician should show people the full range of who he is and what he is capable of as an artist. I think it’s much more interesting than stamping only d&b albums.Tracks like "Black & White" and "Kloe" in particular seem to belie a love for house and garage music on your part. I even noticed you have an unused Soundcloud profile called "nickbeehouse" so I imagine this has been an interest of yours for a while?
Oh yes, house, especially deep, melodic house is a favorite of mine BUT I've not heard too much music from this style. My favorite artist would have to be Paul Kalkbrenner, specifically his album ‘Berlin Calling’. It’s an old album, simple in scope, but truly soul in my mind. It’s true that I’m also working on some house projects as well – I have a few things in the works but it is hard to find the right label for my style.

Similarly, a tune like “Moonlight" is straight up ambient or even classical... I think these songs reflect what is most attractive about you as an artist and that is your ability to seamlessly move in and out of genres and influences in a very powerful way. Is that you on the piano? Any plans to do a full-on ambient LP project?
Yes, that is me on the piano. I’m not a pianist but the main idea was to capture the mystic and tragic mood I was feeling as I was making it at 3 am with the moon shining. I think it would be a nice idea to make a full ambient LP project but maybe for a video game or as a release to simply listen to.


In addition to exploring various genres, there is a very solid sense of you telling a story, of piecing together a narrative and inviting the listener on a journey. Does the title of the LP have any influence or meaning on that?
As I mentioned earlier, I have been working on this album about two years and it was a long journey to get it all together. Every track has soul and the idea, as the title of the album states, was to “empty your mind”, to forget commercial stuff and fill it with soul-able music.

 Maybe you will not understand it the first time, so listen for a few times and try to understand. I am only telling you this because many people were telling me that my music is the kind that can be understood only after a second listen.

 As for the larger story – I don’t think this album is a story - it is a series of well-placed tracks.  Every track has a story. That is something that I try to do with every track I create.

 As if all of your success as a producer isn't enough, I noticed on your personal Facebook page that you are listed as a 6th Year Medical Student at the Dnipropetrovsk State Medical Academy in the Ukraine! Tell us a bit about this secret side of your life and if you have plans to abandon music for medicine anytime soon.
Right, I’m on a 6th course of medical academy. This year is my last one, after which I am going to be a doctor but don’t worry, I will never leave music. I have spent a great deal of time on it and I like to make it so I’m hoping I will be able to mix work and music and gigs just fine.

The past year has no doubt been a big one for you as you continue to go from success to success in your musical career. Where do you see yourself going from here and looking back, any advice you would have given to your fifteen year old self as he began fooling with software in his bedroom what no doubt feels so long ago?
Nice question. I remember myself at that age and it was like sitting at home, all the time at the PC. My advice would be: to tell myself that “I can do it" and to have enough patience, to not stop working even if it seemed that there was nothing great I was doing. The best way to practice making compositions is to try to finish every track which I started. It’s the only way to learn.

I think every producer, no matter where they are from, starts out trying to make something similar to what he likes to listen to. So of course, in those early years, I was trying to copy some things, but let’s say, you will never copy in the same way, it has to be filtered through your own mind so to speak. That’s how you start creating your own style.

Words: Chris Muniz/Kmag   Nick Bee/Facebook