Starting off this month's interviews is none other then the imfamous James Nardi. Having played all over the world at such places as Africa, New Zeland, Ireland, and with tracks signed to labels such as Vicious Circle, Tripoli Trax, Short Circuit, Toolbox, Flashpoint just to name a few, James is with out a doubt one of the scene's leading producers and DJs.

The Beat Ranch presents, James Nardi

Welcome to TheBeatRanch James, we want to thank you for taking out the time to do this interview with us. Lets start at the beginning. What got you into the style of hard house that you play today?

Well I’ve been into hard house for a long time now. I started going clubbing in London at Club UK & then onto Trade @ Turnmills & Pete Wardman’s club Sherbet. This was almost 15 years ago. Lol I was only about 15/16 at the time & it defiantly left a lasting impression on me. 10 years ago in 98 I was made resident for a club called Savage playing regularly with Pete Wardman, Blu Peter, RR Fierce, Ian M etc.. My style hasn’t really differed too much since those early days to be honest. I still love that hard & chunky true hard house sound with hard & nasty synths & uplifting riffs.

What came first for you, DJing or Production?

DJing defiantly. I can remember this one night seeing Tony De Vit. I had never dance so hard & fast in my entire life!!! I wanted some of that!! lol I got into producing soon after. Mainly through friends at the time who were into it. We all used to go out clubbing & the next best thing was to hook up (sometimes during the same weekend as going out) and ‘try’ to make a track. This was with Julian Dwyer & Filipo Del Moro (DMF) & then Nick Irwin (Aftermath)

You are well known to produce tracks with your mate, Julian Dwyer, under the Killer Hurts guise, is there any new tracks in the pipeline for you both or any solo tracks, that we can expect?

Yeah, Julian & I have been working together for a long time now. Heartbreaker & Huggy Bear are our most recent releases & probably the two I’m most proud of. Both have sold very well & had a lot of support from DJs right across the board. We’ve done a track for the new Toolbox ‘Back to the Rootz’ CD album which is called Heaven99. Details of this release should be on the Toolbox site soon. Also another new track untitled at the mo which we started before I went off to Australia a few weeks ago which is along the lines as Evil Genius. Relentless!! I have just finished a solo remix for the Severe Impact label called ‘Chemically Fuelled’ & I’m working on a remix of the brilliant ‘Brahma’ by Nik Denton & Rikrom. Other than that mine & Marc Johnson’s collaboration ‘In Deep’ is the next Tripoli Trax. This just got featured in DJ Mag as this month’s ‘Dancefloor Destroyer’ release!! Next up is a James Nardi EP on Toolbox (TB056) which features ‘Makes me wanna’, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ & hopefully a third funky number if I can get it in on time. lol

Speaking of KillerHurts, you recently started up Killer Hurts Digital, which has gone on to release some older tunes as well as some brand new tracks, what can we expect from Killer Hurts Digital in the rest of 2008?

The plan is to release all the old back cat from the Killer Hurts Vinyl label, then once they are all up, start with some brand new tracks. Mine & Defective Audio’s track ‘Kushu Radio’ went live on www.trackitdown.net today. Heartbreaker will be next & I’ve also lined up a couple of remixes for it, exclusively for the Killer Hurts Digital release. After that is a solo track from me called ‘Come Play House’ this has been going down really well at recent gigs. Keep an eye on http://www.dontstayin.com/parties/killer-hurts-recordings for all the up to date release info.

What about the vinyl side of the label, will we see any new wax hittin the sleeves?

I’m still undecided on this at the moment. It’s such a difficult time for vinyl labels. Our last release (Heartbreaker) has sold really well, but it’s still a struggle & I’m not sure it’s worth the risk or costs involved. With so many labels either stopping completely or moving to downloads only or to CD releases I think this year is going to be key to determining the best format for our much loved hard house.

You have had the chance to work with some of the scene's top producers, is there anyone out there that you haven’t worked with, that you would like to?

Yeah, there are a few people who’ve spoke to me about hooking up on tracks. Superfast Oz & Nik Denton, we’ve actually been meaning to get something done for a couple of years now, but it hasn’t happened yet. I love both their sounds & think we’d come up with something very cool. More recently Butcher Boy from Omega3. I’m waiting for him to arrive in the UK & I’ll get him over to mine to work on some projects.

Whats your current studio set-up? What is your favorite piece of kit?

I’m just upgraded & currently running a brand new Quad Core PC which is an absolute monster! Running Cubase SX V3 & Wavelab V5 along with Battery3 as my sampler. It’s loaded with VST’s including all the old favourites Preditor, Blue, Korg Legacy, Mini Monster.. 14 channel Mackie mixer, Roland Alpha Juno 2 keyboard & a smaller Ozone keyboard. That’s pretty much all I need these days. We used to run the Powercore card at Julian’s old studio, but I haven’t yet invested at mine.

Do you have any formal music training? How long did it take you to get to the point where you were happy with your tracks?

I attended SAE (Sound & Audio Engineering) & did a music production course, but that was about 6 years ago now. The rest is all pretty much self-taught & what i learnt messing around in those early sessions when we didn't really know what we were doing. I've always had a pretty good ear for music. I know what notes work well together & what keys work; i can usually jam away on the keyboard to get the riff i want. It probably took about 3 or 4 years or learning Cubase & messing around before i thought something sounded like a 'proper track' lol

On the DJing side, you have had opportunity to play at some of biggest events in hard house, if you could play anywhere in the world, where would it be?

It would probably have to be one of the big outdoor festivals (but only if it’s a hot summers days). lol

Which producers have been making thier way into your record box? Who do you think will make a big impact on hard house in the future?

There seems to be a lot of people going to the same engineers & coming out with a track that sounds like it could of been done by the engineer themselves. Certain people have a distinctive sound & the way they make their tracks & as a producer/engineer you can pick up on it, sometimes from the first bar of the track. I’m supporting the guys doing it for them selves & adding their own new twist to the hard house sound. Butcher Boy & Tim Stokes have impressed me lately & their tracks have featured in my recent sets.

Whats been your best & worst experience DJing?

I can’t honestly say I’ve had any really bad experiences to be honest. Never stopped the wrong deck or anything like that. Lol My best would probably have to be playing Fevah’s 10th Birthday in New Zealand last year & Bezerk also in New Zealand the year before. These places are unreal!! Like how the UK hard house/NRG scene was about 8 years ago times about 1000%!!! Brutal stuff! Also Insekt @ The Fridge last January was unreal! Seeing over 1100 people packed onto the dance floor on a cold January night was fantastic!!

When you are not producing or DJing, what do you like to do for fun?

I don’t seem to have much free time for fun at the mo, but when I do I spend time with my lovely wife (who is pregnant with our first child!!!!!) and our friends & family. I’m also mad on a couple of TV shows. Prison Break, 24, Lost & Heroes. That’s my lot! ?

When can people see you play out next?

Next up I’m playing in Brighton on Saturday 5th July @ Harder presents Killer Hurts

Any last words?

Thanks for the interview & all the best with TheBeatRanch. Keep up the great work!!

My new mix will be online very soon.

Precision DJ Management has recently taken me on board, joining a fantastic line up of hard house dj/producers. Email: dave@precision-artists.com for bookings UK & International.

Please contact me direct with any production queries, remixing, engineering & the Killer Hurts Recording label. Email: james@insekt.co.uk

Other Sites

www.myspace.com/precisionartists

www.dontstayin.com/parties/precision-artists

www.myspace.com/jamesnardi

www.dontstayin.com/parties/killer-hurts-recordings

Click here for Jame Nardi's Mix
Click here for tracklisting.

Past Interviews