UK Blogger, Traveller, Liquid Drum & Bass Producer

Melodic Drum & Bass Podcast anyone?

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Yes, the Havey’s Highlights podcast is back with a bang as the 10th edition was aired on Drumbase Radio this weekend! A big thanks to Detroit Raver for asking me to be a part of the online platform and indeed, giving me the impetus to push these forward. There will be a new podcast each month and I’ve assembled a crack team of previous “Havey’s Highlights” artists who are willing to share their new sounds with you in this format! Exciting times ahead 😀

 

There is some scope to do this all live (ooo-errr) in 2017 when I have configured my equipment (and myself) accordingly so there is a chance for you to get more involved with the show. I’ll keep you posted on that as it develops!

 

For now though, enjoy the podcast and don’t forget to show your support to the artists as well! The track list is at the bottom of this article 🙂

 

Thanks to everyone who joined in the chat room last night, I feel fortunate to know a great bunch of people! What was your favourite part of the podcast? Drop your comments below 🙂

 

Take it easy

 

Nicky

 

Free download here

 

Tracklist:

00:00 – 04:25

Nicky Havey – Wish You Were Here

 

04:25 – 08:01

Bronski – Drive Assistant

 

08:01 – 13:03

R-Vee – Mind The Gap

 

13:03 – 15:56

Matty Woods – Aurora

 

15:56 – 20:35

Four80East – TKO (Al Pack Bootleg)

 

20:35 – 24:12

Macca, Hosta & Jodi – New Beginnings

 

24:12 – 27:26

Nuvaman & Dakota Sixx – Innocence (Zen Dub & Karas remix)

 

27:26 – End

Apaza – At The Periphery

 

 

 

Drum & Bass Podcast August 2016

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Welcome back ladies and gentlemen to a brand new Drum & Bass podcast! My monthly attempt at pretending to be a DJ sees me supporting artists and songs that you may not have heard before, loosely mixed together in a 30 minute set. I always ask these talented producers for permission to use their songs (because you never know) and they’re game for it!

 

Shout outs to:

  • RpM DnB for putting my track Far Away in his set recently,
  • Allowance Records for releasing my music (more blogs about that coming up),
  • All of the artists who let me use their tracks in the podcasts,
  • All of YOU for listening in and showing the support!

 

If you are a Drum & Bass producer and want to be featured, or you’re a fan who has heard some amazing dnb track from an underground artist, send me a message or write a comment below!

 

You can get the free download of the podcast here.

 

Take it easy

 

Nicky

 

Track list:

1 – 00:53 – 04:15

Northern Zone – Fallen

 

2 – 04:40 – 06:50

Niacin D&B – Summertime Haze

 

3 – 06:50 – 10:28

Bronski & Defree – Rio Bravo

 

4 – 10:28 – 15:09

N-Joi – Anthem (R-Monix bootleg)

 

5 – 15:09 – 19:06

Takuya Kuroda – Afro Blues (Al Pack bootleg)

 

6 – 19:06 – 23:04

Marc OFX – La Baie de Rio

 

7 – 23:04 – 26:18

FOTH – Godfellas (Nicky Havey remix)

 

8 – 26:18 – end

Chromantis – Your Love

 

 

In the Summertime

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Summer bangers

 

August has arrived (frighteningly quick by the way) and to follow on from the Spring Breaks album, the artists of Allowance Records have pulled together and created a bonanza of tracks for you to make sure that you get the most out of Summer 2016! I feel very lucky to be part of a label with a talented group of artists bringing you a variety of different styles and I managed to hear from some of them about their tracks on this compilation. Here’s more from the artists involved with the Summer Bangers compilation (released August 5th 2016):

 

Nicky Havey  – Far Away

You might have heard this one on my latest Havey’s Highlights podcast if you tuned in (click here to listen to it). I made this one to reflect the feeling that finding a special someone appears to be so far away at the moment and I’m almost frantically drifting along (represented by the trance elements of the song). It will sort itself out in the end I’m sure. I had a recent conversation with a work colleague who gave me some hope that it will happen. “You’ve both been waiting for each other your entire lives but your paths haven’t crossed yet”.

 

Nicky Havey – Smash & Grab

If you have been following me since the beginning, you might have heard an older version of this track. I decided to give it a re-work and gave it a diet (it was around 7 minutes 30 seconds when I first made it). I think the main melody of the drop is based around a memory I had of some background music that was playing during the interim on some talent show, possibly on Pop Idol, way back when. I was trying to emulate its fairly simple melody on my keyboard and wondered how I could turn it in to a hard hitting Drum & Bass track. Lo and behold, Smash & Grab was born with it’s fast, driven beats for you to power your way through to the beaches this summer!

 

K@oSinFusion – Inner Peace

“Smooth liquid vibes to calm the soul” – K@oSin Fusion

 

Nicky’s comments

This is one of the more liquid drum & bass style tracks on the compilation and a nice way to open up the proceedings. A chilled track that will take you to calmer waters.

 

K@oSinFusion Ft. Baby Gee – Addicted

“Epic cinematic vocally driven track with a slightly dark twist” – K@oSin Fusion

 

Nicky’s comments

So from the liquid vibe of the opening track, to a more darker sound with some haunting vocals from Baby Gee, this can turn the mood around in an instant. Great drum beat used in this with a hypnotic vibe to the over all track, for those who enjoy their summers a little on the darker side!

 

Carbone – Angle of Trajectory

“Rough & Raw piece of DnB Tune, Spectral Bassline & Cutting Neuro’Bass with Dirty Breaks & Wiked Synths Vibez” – Carbone

 

Nicky’s comments

Instantly from the intro, you can tell something big is brewing here as the sounds grow and build before giving you a heavy, gnarly drop. Not for the lighthearted this one!

 

MisterB – L.E.O.

“Spacey minimal chlled vibez” – MisterB

 

Nicky’s comments

This one definitely has that minimal feel to it with the reversed chord sounds, almost like “Mad World” by Tears For Fears. A chilled out, eerie vibe going for it, this is for those who want to use their summer holiday for introspection.

 

Opius – Dub Power

“One for the carnival!!! The summer hasn’t shown but the carnival is in the bible!!! Big bouncy Ragga jungle ShIZz that you can actually dance too.” – Opius

 

Nicky’s comments

Opius brings the old school dub sounds to the fray as he delivers a high energy drum beat from the off, leading to a great energy on the drop for all generations.

 

FiendReflex – Anything You Want

“Vocal, tech, roller, giving everything you want with a side of future sounds and revved up bass lines.” – FiendReflex

 

Nicky’s comments

The intro in this one is what we’ve come to love about FiendReflex, a slightly trance feel to it filled up with great female samples before delivering his trademark neurofunk bassline style to drive that energy through.

 

Dj Relitivity & FiendReflex – Electrick Beauty

“The beauty of a collab, that brings the euphoric sounds and lush pianos from Relitivity and the dirty, pumping bass lines and tech roller drums from FiendReflex. A collab that just keeps giving with every minute.” – FiendReflex

 

“The original track was experimental and didn’t fall in very well with the album so Fiendreflex offered to do a collab and I happier than larry with the out come” – Dj Relitivity

 

Nicky’s comments

The piano opening sets the tone for a light, melodic intro that you think will keep a liquid vibe throughout… but wait for that drop, you will be surprised and delighted I’m sure! You can definitely hear the two different styles of the artists come together in eclectic harmony with this one.

 

Lost in the Wreckage ft. Jacoby Riot & C4Z – On The Beach Tonight

“Vocal DnB with a big crossover feel thanks to the snarling live guitar riffs, which captures the vibe of freedom and elation just as a spontaneous beach party hits it’s peak” – Lost in the Wreckage, Jacoby Riot & C4Z

 

Nicky’s comments

The tranquil spacey opening chords with the vocals are perfect for getting your hands up in the air as the build comes to deliver a big drop. A great feeling for this song, which combines sounds from all sorts of genres, from trance, to a bit of rock and then drum & bass. Really nicely done!

 

Szero – Metadata

“Straight hard hitting neurofunk roller to start the day.” – Szero

 

Nicky’s comments

There’s no messing around with this track, the dark atmosphere should be no surprise as the intro hits you straight away with an intensity that grows into the drop. One for the heavy hitting drum & bass fans here!

 

G&J – Vision

“Bringing you some nice electric summervibes with this one.” – G&J

 

Nicky’s comments

Definitely gone for the electric sounds with this track with a nice chord progression that maintains and develops after the drop for a futuristic sounding summer!

 

G&J – Raw

“Neurofunk roller with a deep bassline and hard hitting drums.” – G&J

 

Nicky’s comments

I would use the name of the track to describe it, no pleasantries, it is just raw. With a different feel to G&J’s other track in this compilation, it just goes to show the range of styles on offer. Another one for the hard hitting fans here!

 

Final Comments

So there you have a brief insight in to this compilation. Plenty of different styles from a variety of different artists, touching the huge spectrum that is the Drum & Bass genre. I’ve included some links below to buy the songs and show your support to the underground artists:

 

Click HERE to buy the release

 

Szero Facebook Link – http://www.facebook.com/szerodnb

Matty Bdnb Facebook Link – https://www.facebook.com/matty.bdnb.9

K@oSinFusion Facebook Link – https://www.facebook.com/kaosinfusion/

FiendReflex Facebook Link – https://www.facebook.com/fiendreflex/

Nicky Havey – https://www.facebook.com/nickyhaveyofficial/

 

Thanks for your support and enjoy the release!

 

Nicky

Back in Action! New Drum & Bass podcast :D

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It’s about time I posted something again. After being inspired by some comments and activity recently with my music from DJ Pi and Maya Stone (as well as encouragement from Bronski and my friends), I decided to get another podcast going (click here to download it)! Pi put in my track “Burning In My Soul” recently in one of his shows (click here to listen to it) on to BassPort FM and had some really positive things to say, which got me out of the rut I was feeling and Maya Stone has been supporting Allowance Records artists for a while now, including my latest track Happy Days in her show (click here) this morning. So a big thanks to you both!

 

You know the drill by now folks, I post a 30 minute mix featuring 8 tracks from artists who I’ve been following for a while and deserve more views, as well as a track from yours truly! Be sure to show your support to the artists in the track list below and stay tuned for more content!

 

Take it easy

 

Nicky

 

Track list

00:00 – 05:00

Chromantis – Hopes & Dreams

 

05:00 – 06:38

Dynamic Minds – Launch

 

06:38 – 09:31

Paul Carlin – The Journey Goes On

 

09:31 – 14:12

Eight Arms – Humanity

 

14:12 – 19:14

R-Monix feat Gangstarr – The Right Way

 

19:14 – 23:12

Youngen – Ironbreak Owl

 

23:12 – 26:47

Nicky Havey – Far Away

 

26:47 – End

Mitekiss – Bridge

It’s time for Spring Break!!!

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Artwork

Yes, the Spring Break compilation is finally here from Allowance Records artists after the months of hype and it features a variety of drum & bass tracks ranging from liquid to jungle and anything in between! Two of my tracks feature on this one so naturally, let me tell you a little bit more about them!

 

Trixta feat. Elle – Submersion (Nicky Havey remix)

I was asked to remix Trixta’s original last year but I never got around to finishing it until the early part of this year. The original had a very lively feel to it so I took a more mellow spin and kept elements from the original such as the beautiful vocals from Elle through in to my remix. I hope you enjoy!

 

Nicky Havey – Happy Days

 

Happy Days is all about reflecting on our happiest moments in life and as Spring is here and Summer is on it’s way, I hope that you get to enjoy many more happy days 🙂 This was a long time in the making and in fact, started out back on 29th January 2012 (crumbs) before finally getting the finishing touches applied for this Spring Break compilation!

 

What about the others?

I’m glad you asked! To give you a little flavour of what else is in store, I caught up with a few of the artists featured on this album and asked them a bit more about what their song is all about. Here’s what they had to say, along with a bit of my notes on the tracks too:

 

Tailwhip – Virus

 

Nicky’s notes:

As this track starts off on a light melodic vibe, the dark vocal quickly lets you know that some serious bassline is about to be dropped and Tailwhip delivers a hard hitting jump up style drop which gets you bouncing.

 

Tailwhip says:

“My track was literally conceived whilst watching a really bad zombie movie with a sick spoken word sample. It reminded me of 2 step dirty jump up samples, so chopped the sample and laid the track down in a few sessions in the studio. Bangin’!”

 

K@oSinFusion – Clique

 

Nicky’s notes:

With the opening string melody building and developing as the track progresses, the vocals deliver a powerful message for us to take a step back and think about the deeper things in life.

 

K@oSinFusion says:

“Personal fave from the heart this one 🙂 created on a deep notion of unity and personal growth over materialism 🙂 ”

 

Marcus Tee – Emergency

 

Nicky’s notes:

The old school style of drum & bass returns with this one from Marcus. Starting with the opening drum break and the song progression with introductions of heavy basslines and catchy chords, this track has a very nice combination of old versus new.

 

Marcus Tee says:

“Originally this track was made exclusively to be dropped at the EmergencyFM 5th birthday party at the Queens Head in Redditch – a dancefloor orientated party tune with a touch of liquid & a nod to the old school. Soon after it was finished, Peter asked if I would like to submit a track for the Spring Break album & I thought this would fit well.”

 

DJ Relitivity – Synthetic Solice

 

Nicky’s notes:

The classical sounding violins and piano in the introduction add something very different to this compilation. You wonder where it’s going to lead but when the drop happens with the amen drum beat and bassline, it’s a great combination.

 

DJ Relitivity says:

“This track is based around the original euphoric liquid tracks that I first fell in love with and I decided to work with a classical violin and piano sound in the track to give it a really authentic feel.”

 

Trixta UK feat Ella Sopp – Deeper Love

 

Nicky’s notes:

Trixta comes in with his signature style of big opening chords and loud basslines, mixed in with great vocals from Ella Sopp, to give you a track that will grab you tight and take you for a ride.

 

Trixta UK says:

“I wanted to create a feel good vibe liquid track featuring beautiful chords and lush pads, with the awesome vocals of Ella Sopp, I thought that the track complimented her voice, I put the usual Trixta UK basslines to it and created the Spring time banger……! The drums I used were mainly from tech and liquid styles. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did making it…..! Peace Out.”

 

Prizm Prime feat. Gina Lola – My Future Me

 

Nicky’s notes:

For a guy who doesn’t usually make liquid drum & bass, this track is very good and I hope he dips more in to liquid dnb! The opening piano chords set the tone and when Gina’s lovely vocal work come in, you will start singing along and click that replay button.

 

Prizm Prime says:

“My first attempt at Liquid DnB genre (I usually do harder and more bass heavy DnB). Original vocalist flaked out on me and Gina agreed to fill in on vocals even though we had hardly any time left before the deadline. She NAILED the PERFECT vocal and the track became one of my favorite tracks I have ever made – EVER! BIG UPs to AR and also to Gina!”

 

Emotion1 – Turning Point

 

Nicky’s notes:

Emotion1 providing an upbeat track here which has that late night cruise  around town feel to it. It is very catchy and should get you hopping in a car in the evenings for a little drive around in no time.

 

Emotion1 says:

“Turning point is a track I did because I felt I was at a point in life where a change had to happen, a new direction for me so I can concentrate on music more. So it has a mellow but catchy vibe to it to get you head nodding hopefully 😉 ”

 

Quartizone – Unlock The Sun

 

 

Nicky’s notes:

Quartizone brings her unique trance/melodic style in the intro before delivering big sounds on the drop in the instrumental version. The vocals of Josiah provide another dimension which compliment the instrumental very nicely indeed.

 

Quartizone says:

“This summer inspired tune is an upbeat roller to get the sunshine vibes going, need cheering up, look no further. Quartizone made this as part of a university single project and asked her classmate and lyricist Josiah to work with her. The rhythmic catchy leads and rhythmic baselines make unlock the sun a track to get the summer started.”

 

FiendReflex – Say Good Bye (feat. Chantel)

 

Nicky’s notes:

FiendReflex + Liquid = Winning Formula. Always love hearing his style of liquid and this one has that anthem feel about it with the great melodies and Chantel’s vocals fit in very well also, giving it that extra level.

 

FiendReflex says:

“Say goodbye is a beautiful track with tuning that tugs on the heart strings, and heartbreaker lyrics, this vocal roller will have you nostalgic and wanting to hear it over and over. Not fiend reflex’s usual style, he decided to make a melody to fit the mood of the time as he was suffering a lot of pain from his previous back injury.”

 

These are just some of the tracks that are on display in the release. You can click here and check out the other tracks on the release and show your support to the artists as well.

 

Thanks for listening in and stay tuned for future releases 🙂

 

Take it easy

 

Nicky

New stars in the making? Tune in to the latest podcast and find out!

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It’s that time of the month again… drum & bass podcast time that is! Yes, this is where you get to hear my mad scientist voice introduce some energetic beats from my friends and underground artists on SoundCloud. I’ve trawled through a back catalogue, sent a message out to the artists who’s tracks I have featured and they have all happily agreed to let me mix them together for you in this 8 track bonanza!

 

In other brief news, I’m on Twitter now (ooo err) so come along and say hello over there and as always a big thanks to the artists, friends and fans who have kept the positive vibes going this past month. As a way of saying thanks, I’ll be giving away another free download at the end of this month where YOU get to decide which track you want. My remix feat. TigerPaw of “York – On The Beach” has been well received after winning in April, which one will be the winner come the end of May?!

 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the mix and show some support to the artists, their links are below along with the track listing. You can download the podcast here.

 

Take it easy

 

Nicky

 

Tracklisting:

00:33 – 05:16

1 – Bronski – I Would Be A Liar

05:16 – 08:10

2 – Coercive – Revival

08:10 – 11:52

3 – Nicky Havey feat. Vechal – Burning In My Soul

11:52 – 16:14

4 – Mr SeSs – Waste Land

16:14 – 20:20

5 – Exit Point – Tell Me

20:20 – 24:04

6 – T:Base & Identified – The Truth (Northern Zone remix)

24:04 – 28:03

7 – Greekboy – Searching

28:03 – end

8 – Mediate – Everytime (Aperio remix)

 

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