T.H.E Interview – Nekter Gun

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nekter gun interview

Nekter Gun Interview

Nekter Gun is an EDM artist who makes varying degrees of House music and Pop. With his solo debut – Neon Night out today, we caught up with him to discuss the single, how it came about, and the fact that he just recently started pursuing DJing!

T.H.E – Hey! Welcome to T.H.E – Music Essentials. How have you been keeping yourself productive during the lockdown?

Nekter Gun – Hi! Thank you. I’m glad to be here. Ok so for the first week or so I was not productive at all. I basically just binge-watched Netflix and played Final Fantasy 7 Remake until 3 am every night then woke up at noon every day. Rinse and repeat… After a while, I realized I needed to get back to a healthier routine and just forced myself to wake up early, make my bed, take a long drive in the morning to get out of the house, not eat out of boredom etc. When I got back to a good routine, I just went into work mode and produced 5 new songs. Mindset and discipline are so important for the creative process. I force myself to work on songs for about 6 hours a day even if I’m not feeling inspired.

T.H.E – You started producing dance music in 2016. What made you pursue it? Were there any artists you looked up to, for inspiration?

Nekter Gun – I started composing my own music and lyrics when I was 13, and mainly wrote rock and reggae music for about 13 years. My love affair with dance music started in 2011/2012 when one of my best friends, Bobby, dragged me out to a local club. He was heavy into the rave scene for years but I never indulged. The songs that instantly come mind when remembering those days are:

– “World Hold On”- Bob Sinclair
-“Beautiful People”- Benny Benassi and Chris Brown
-“Calling (Lose My Mind)”- Sebastian Ingrosso and Alesso (featuring Ryan Tedder)
-“Feel So Close”- Calvin Harris
and a little later on “Animals”- Martin Garrix

Those songs really put me on the path. Finally, 3 years later I took an Ableton course at Dub Spot NYC and just put my head down and worked as much as I possibly could to become a legit producer. I’m still working hard to get on those guys level.

T.H.E – Your sound is largely based within house music and pop. Do we see you experimenting with other genres in the future?

Nekter Gun – Yes definitely. I’m experimenting with Reggae Dub and Future House a lot lately. But You’ll be seeing varying styles of House Music from me for now in a single format. I’ve been working on some Big Room stuff too. We’ll see where it all takes me. I have folders filled with completed songs. I want to build an album around a certain style and drop it sometime in 2022.

T.H.E – As a producer, what do you feel is the most important part of a track – the melody or the drop? How do you usually start your production process?

Nekter Gun – I like to start with the drop right in the middle of the song then build outward. I start with drums and chords first, then I’ll compose the bass line, then the lead. At the end of the day, dance music is all about the bass and drums. Don’t get me wrong, the lead is extremely important, but you can’t dance to the lead.

T.H.E – You have also recently started DJing. How did this come about?

Nekter Gun – I have a history with performing my music, and I love the atmosphere of a live show. I wanted to be able to play my new music at shows, and I wasn’t too into doing the live electronic performance thing. I have nothing against it, I love watching people do it, but it just wasn’t really for me. When I was at Dub Spot, I got to sit in and watch some of the DJ classes and it just seemed like a whole lot of fun. I finally started trying to do it last year and I realized that I get the same rush from DJing as I did from singing and playing in a rock band. The feeling is identical. I love it. I’m still working on getting better at it though.

T.H.E – Your new track is out – Neon Night. Could you tell us how it came about? What can fans expect from it?

Nekter Gun – Speaking of experimental. This track really came from me trying to do an 80’s style arp-bass. Think Stranger Things, and mix it with a Future House vibe. I also wanted it to have a Michael Jackson pop kinda 80s feel, so I chose to write it in Dorian Mode, which is the mode used in the song “Billie Jean”. The lyrics were written by my songwriting team and I. We just sat down and closed our eyes, imagining what visuals can go with the song. I instantly thought of the desert and Las Vegas, the other guys thought of a beautiful desert goddess and her intoxicating effects. So we crafted the song to be like a trip through the desert and encountering something or someone that may or may not be real. (We will never know)

T.H.E – How was it working with Gunlock Records on the release?

Nekter Gun – Gunlock Records is my family. We are like brothers and sisters at this point. I can’t imagine working with anyone else.

T.H.E – Lastly, what do the rest of your plans for 2020 look like?

Nekter Gun – Tons of work. I’m in my senior year at Berklee Online getting my music production and composition degree. And I’m also producing 3 other up-and-coming artists at Gunlock Records. We are opening up a subsidiary company called “511 Hit Factory” as we speak, and through that company, just cranking out tracks to lease out to artists looking to make waves in the industry. Our schedule is already full all the way to 2021. Be expecting a lot of new music coming out from us this year. Cheers

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