pic: Jonathan Kope

Podcast #12 March ’09: Niskerone

“To kick off our March podcasts, we have the ever talented and established Cape Town Drum and Bass DJ – Niskerone, dropping a 60 minute mix, combined with an interview which we recently hooked up.”

Biography
“Mark Stevens better known by his DJ name “”Niskerone”" is an established and well known artist that has been working the South African Drum and Bass (DnB) circuit since 2004. Niskerone first arrived on the DnB scene hosting and promoting monthly events. His passion lead him to master the craft of DJing, gaining respect from all the key players in the industry that would pave the way in securing Niskerone’s future in the DnB circuit .

Niskerone was fast becoming a household DnB name with growing list of permanent residencies at leading clubs hosting DnB such as Stones, Babbaloos and Black Sheep. He combined his DJing skills with his knowledge of the genre and started hosting a radio show on UCT radio for two years alongside internationally recognised artist SFR. It was just before this time that SFR and Niskerone joined forces to create the much acclaimed Drum & Bass duo namely – Dhala Kulture. This introduction to radio fueled Niskerone’s love for live music and lead to a further year on radio hosting a show on Mutha Fm alongside South African DnB ambassadors, Counterstrike.

In 2006 after a continuous rise in the industry, Niskerone created a weekly DnB event at one of Cape Town’s most popular clubs, Fiction DJ Bar. With a weekly residency and an expanding fan base, Niskerone has played alongside some of DnB’s most internationally acclaimed artists such as Pascal, Counterstrike, Break, Nymfo, Temper D and TKO & Miss Wendy among others. This was also the platform were Niskerone constructed a dynamic vocal DnB act teaming up with Natalia Segerman a talented, young emerging Cape Town singer/songwriter.

Niskerone has played at some of the biggest events in South Africa such as Obz Festival, New Years Revolutions, Vortex, Oppikoppi, Lucky Fish Festival, The Long Street Festival, Earthdance and regular appearances at Homegrown and many other clubs around the country. Internationally, he has toured in Germany, Sweden and Spain, playing at some of Europe’s best regarded clubs. Recently, his different, yet still energetic approach to blending the genre – Dubstep – has obtained him bookings and appreciation around the country.

Niskerone’s influences derive from internationally well known artist such as Pendulum, Noisia and High Contrast. It is due to this that one could describe Niskerone’s style as a mixture of Liquid to Jump Up to Neurofunk with the bits of Dubstep thrown in for good measure. The sound that emerges from the speakers when Niskerone is in the driving seat has been described as “”a bowl of deep, pulsating subs mixed with fast two step rhythms and topped with subtle hints of dub, electro, jazz and funk”"

Can you describe your personal sound in a bit more detail?
It’s quite simple really… I play “Fast Soul Music”. lol

What/who have been Influences in your life?
The love of music… as cheesy as it sounds, that’s what i think it was. While growing up, i spent more time listening to my family’s record and cassette collection than actually playing out in the park. It started when i was young

Who are some of your favorite producers?
High Contrast, Mistabishi, Logistics, London Elektricity, Phace, Noisia, Metrik, Calibre, Alix Perez, Donny, Nymfo, Lomax and Shimon. My South African boys – Counterstrike, SFR, Mix n Blend, Sibot, Dank, Markus Wormstorm, Hyphen, The Bulgarian.

Who are some of your favorite DJ’s
The guys doing it for me ranges from Brazil’s Marky, UK’s Andy C, Friction and DJ Hype to Nymfo, Q-Bert, The Scratch Perverts, Fletcher of Krushed & Sorted, 2Many DJs, Richie Hawton, Sven Vath and Germany’s OBI, to name a few.

Best memories as a DJ?
“Here’s 2:

*This one happened a few years ago, i was playing at a Homegrown @ Mercury Live and dropped “”Logistics – Blackout”" for the first time in Cape Town. The club was packed and by the 2nd breakdown, everybody started cheering, lifting their hands in the air, and giving a round of applause basically. I was completely stunned, sweat dripping from my face, all i could do was watch in amazement and what that tune did to the club. I’ll always remember that!

*This occurred last year during a trip to Europe. My longtime friend and DJ partner, SFR and myself were booked for a show in Stockholm. During our set it was amazing to see a crowd on the other side of the planet go off so much to our music. The thing that made this a memorable affair was that SFR and I started playing out together and we always had these dreams of playing overseas, and here it happened. From Babbaloo’s in Tableview to DB in Stockholm, it was worth remembering ”

What equipment do you use?
I prefer using Technics SL1200 or SL1210 turntables, Pioneer CDJ800 or CDJ1000 CD players and my mixer of choice is the Pioneer DJM800. That setup gives me the freedom to experiment with different mixing styles

What can listeners/dance floors expect from a typical set of yours?
I generally take extra special notice of peoples reaction to my music on the dancefloor. I try and figure out which style of Drum & Bass would get the attention and that’s what i start off with. The rest of my set usually ends up with me building on that to take you where i want you to be, like for eg. i’ll start my set off with something you might know, or a sound that you can relate to (hip hop break or something) and by the end of my set i’ll have you going wild to the dirtiest neurofunk or even the most sublime liquid rollers. It’s as varied as that.

Take us through this podcast
1.    Mistabishi – She Lied
2.    Baron – Turn Up The Sun
3.    SFR – Worst Enemy
4.    Kanye West – Gold Digger (High Contrast Bootleg)
5.    Nu Tone – Troopers
6.    Brookes Brothers ft. Furlonge – Drifter
7.    Spor – Claret’s March
>>    Die ft. Lenny Laws – Little Punk
8.    Calibre – Electric Soul
9.    Agent Alvin – Don’t Look Back
10.    Logistics – Cosmonaught
11.    Brookes Brothers – Tear You Down
12.    Culture Shock – Kronix
13.    Phetsta & Shock One – The Sun
14.    Commix – Bear Music
>> Adam Freeland – We Want Your Soul (Ed Rush & Optical Remix)
15.    DC Breaks – Taken
16.    Donny – Feast
17.    Taxman – Embalmer
>> DJ Fresh – Submarines (Pendulum Remix)
18.     Drumsound & Bassline Smith – Welcome To The Jungle
19.    Sub Focus – Join The Dots
20.     Mix n Blend – Captain Tokolosh
21.    KG – Textures & Sound
22.    London Elektricity – Southern Dream
23.     The BPA ft. Emmy The Great – Seattle (Brookes Brothers Remix)

This mix is a bit of a journey into the world of “”what i like about Drum & Bass right now”". It starts off with the amazingly sculpted “”She Lied”" by Hospital’s latest signing, Mistabishi and weaves through tracks from many different spheres of Drum & Bass music.

I had quite a lot of fun putting this mix together, especially when it came to mixing “”Taken”" with “”Feast”", i was jumping up and down all alone. If anyone saw me, they probably would’ve called the funny farm to take me away

The tracks that stand out for me here are “”Captain Tokolosh”" by Cape Town’s Mix n Blend, this will be released on their new album coming out soon on African Dope. High Contrast’s bootleg of “”Gold Digger”" always sits in my bag, a tune for good times and bad. London Elektricity’s proper jazz anthem, “”Southern Dream”"; Commix’s bass-tastic “”Bear Music”" and let’s not forget that deadly duo The Brookes Brothers on “”Tear You Down”".

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