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HBT Chats With Nellis
What first drew you into music?
I’ve been into house music from a young age, I remember my dad playing “Turn up the Bass” cd’s when I was 14 
Then first during my earlier nightlife days, it was mostly commercial style house, but then me and a friend started going to a club in the Hague/Holland called “la DS”. Dj Ramon was spinning Underground style House and I got into it more and more. Then I learned that the style I loved most was when you go into a club around midnight and you get those floorfiller buildup tracks, I always had to be in clubs around that time In all those years I was also dj’ing myself and had a number of gigs around the Hague. Then, when my first daughter was born, I didn’t go out as much, but discovered Music Production and that I could put all my passion into my own made tracks. I can clearly remember one of the first tracks I made and that I was just grooving away like a madman at the kitchen table. I loved it!!!
You are one of the best up and coming musicians we have encountered on the internet! And your track “Do You Know” is probably your best track yet! Could you tell us more about the story behind this track?
The story behind the “Do You know” track is just some fun info. I was doing a Point Blank course a few years back and I was building a track with these free vocals I found. Then the assignment was to do a coalition with a vocalist so I took those “Do you know” vocals out and worked together with someone else. I didn’t use the vocals for a few years, but they always stuck with me so one day I threw them back into some beats I made and it just grooved right away
Going over your Soundcloud we can tell you love experimenting with new sounds. Can you tell us more about your studio setup and some of your favorite plugins/instruments?
I mostly make all my tracks while I’m on the road for my (normal) job, which is pro Pool Player. I travel the planet for tournaments 5-6 months a year so at all the airports, hotels and airplanes, that’s when I start vibing out At home I have the least time with two young girls and family life. I just do most of my final mixing, car stereo check etc when at home. My studio setup at home is Dynaudio speakers, Akai keyboard and a massive TV as my work screen I use Logic as my DAW and on the road I use KRK 8400 headphones with Sonarworks plug in to flatten out the sound for a more neutral sound. Some of my favorite plugins at the moment are “Arcade”, “Exhale”, which inspire me a ton.
Your signature sound is already very professional and amazing to listen to! How did you manage to achieve such a professional sound in such a short time? Can you tell us more about your musical background?
Thanks for the compliment. When I started making tracks a few years ago, one of my dj/producer friends Melvin Reese said ” If you want to go from a 6 to an 8 as a track it’s all about the Mixing. So I took some time to really study Mixing. I did the “Rethink Mixing” course for the basics and then the Faderpro courses still help me a ton with tips and tricks. Melvin Reese helped me a ton over the years by listening to all my tracks and telling me what to watch out for like “Hey the clap is too harsh or your Bass is too loud or you need to put in a different Kick” It’s extremely valuable to have an experienced producer in your corner to ask for help. And also just taking a few lessons when you get stuck on stuff. I took lessons from Rui da Silva and feedback sessions from Donny Carr for example. Also the Hyperbits courses and freebies are awesome! I always believe in investing in smart things, not just another $200 synth..
All of your tracks are very melodic. Do you play any real-life instruments?
I don’t play any instrument at the moment. I started with some piano training but it’s too time consuming at the moment. I would love to pick it up one day. The small melodies I do make it just by messing about.
What are your goals for the coming months? Any upcoming projects we can get excited about?
My #1 goal is to break through. That means getting tracks in the top 100 for my genre and then top 20 etc. My dream would still be to eventually get gigs and switch careers This could be a longer journey, but it can also happen with just one track. At the moment I’m just enjoying the process of developing a lot. It makes me feel alive tremendously and I feel I’m getting better and better. I’m really excited about an upcoming big EP on Wachufleiva run by Behache. He contacted me to do 4 tracks for his label and him and others are doing remixes for my 4 tracks. It will come out in the next months and I believe it’s gonna be very strong. Looking forward to it a lot!! :)Tnx for your support!
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