Niki B and Christian E.F.F.E. hail from the beautiful city on the Mediterranean Sea cost called Genoa, in Italy.
Their productions created quite a swirl lately on the dance scene, with material released on various respected labels including SAW Recordings, Swift, Star 69, Renaissance, Stereo and others… Together they created their own sound at their Essence Studio, a place where Niki and Christian meet every evening.
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BF: What has been your first introduction with electronic music?
Niki: I‘ve worked in a record shop… In that time I’ve found my music way.
Christian: From 10 to 15 years old I’ve heard music of Enigma, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson and others… But my first ‘contact’ with the electronic music was in the 1992. My friend gave me a ‘mix tape’ of Club Imperiale (very important club in the electronic scene in that time)… It was a great discovery for me!
BF: Where do you get the inspiration when producing music?
N&C: We hear a lot of music… from the club music (minimal, house, techouse etc. ) to rock music, punk music, pop music… everything!
BF: Your work is directed around your own studio in Genoa, called Essence. What do you have in your studio, what gear setup do you use?
N&C: In studio we have: Novation supernova 2, Korg Triton, Access Virus c, Mixer Yamaha, Dbx DDT. We work with PC and we have Cubase SX and a lot of virtual instruments and virtual plug-ins like Reaktor 5, Korg legacy waves plug-ins, Tc plug-ins, Antares plug-ins…
Monitor Yamaha MSP10 STUDIO and JBL L 100 CENTURY
BF: How did you two meet and started to work together as a duo?
N&C: Initially we played together in the local clubs (about from 1996…). In the 1999 we've started to produce.
BF: What came first, dj-ing or producing?
N&C: We are Dj from the 1993 and we started to produce in the 1999.
BF: Your first release that made your brake into the industry was “Behind The Fame (There is a Person)” released last year on SAW. What’s the story with this track? What exactly stands ‘behind the fame’?
N&C: About the tune… in that time we found a cool samples voice of Tracy Chapman, and we decided to produce something with that. The result was 2 versions. 1 was too proggy-tribal (suspensive mix) and 1 was too techy (dynamic mix). Then we sent the cd to SAW Recordings and after 2 weeks, Satoshi and Hector say to us: “Hi guys, we played your ‘Suspensive mix’ last Saturday at Stereo club in Montreal, and we feel the right vibrations. We want to sign the trak for SAW”
About ‘Behind The Fame’ (There is a Person)… it’s dedicated to who believes on the meaning of this title.
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“We always search for something new and we think that right now we’ve found the real sound that we like...”
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BF: When you work on a track do you have specific tasks to accomplish individually or do you work together from the start to the end on everything?
N&C: We always work together. Sometimes Niki looks for new programs, new machines. Sometimes Christian thinks to new ideas listening old vinyls and old cd’s.
BF: What releases do you have scheduled at the moment and for the next six months?
N&C: Out Now:
‘I Remember’ - Stereo rec/Solar rec (Spain) – out August/September 2005
Next:
*Niki B & Christian E.F.F.E. - ‘A Night In Studio EP (Elegante/Evolution) - Lajja rec (Portugal) –September 2005
*Niki B & Christian E.F.F.E. - ‘Can’t stop The Fire (of the vinyl)’ - Distraekt (UK) - Out September/October 2005
*Niki B & Christian E.F.F.E. - ‘It’s too late to turn back’ - Mantra rec. (I) - September/October 2005
*Niki B & Christian E.F.F.E - ‘Massages’ EP – Redflux (UK) September/October 2005
BF: Your style was initially darker, progressive house oriented, but today is mostly influenced by tech-house, electro and techno. What made you choose this transition?
N&C: We always search for something new and we think that right now we’ve found the real sound that we like… then we will see..
BF: How is the Italian dance scene going these days?
N&C: No good… we’re waiting for better days…
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