Nick Warren, veteran of six Global Underground releases and three releases from Way Out West, his project with fellow Bristol producer Jody Wisternoff, has seemingly been around forever! Growing up on punk, reggae and pop, Nick was seduced by the UK house music explosion in the late 80s and brought a true musical fusion to his DJing, catching the attention of Massive Attack. Their invitation to join them on their first US tour set Nick’s international exposure on track and his subsequent globe-trotting has earned him a place on the “superstar DJ” list.

His set from Shanghai is number 28 in the Global Underground series and was just released last month, so I ask Nick what the reception’s been like. “Oh, just fantastic, it’s going really, really well. Even all the internet message boards have been positive, which is weird! There’s an interesting mentality behind message boards – people can hide behind the anonymity and so sometimes I get a right slanging from them, but not with the Shanghai CD, which is great.”

There are quite a few new names amongst the Shanghai CD artists and it seems like Nick has made it a bit of a mission to gain exposure for young and upcoming talent. “Definitely!” he says. “When I started out over a decade ago, myself and Jody got talent spotted and signed up for a record and publishing deal. We could spend years making music and not have to worry about money, but that’s all gone now because of this downloading mentality. Most people don’t expect to pay for music now, which is no problem if you’re selling millions of albums like U2 or the Rolling Stones. It’s the young guys who are just starting out, 18 or 19 year olds who are investing all their money into equipment, that are having a really hard time of it. It’s like people are walking into a store, picking up a pair of jeans and walking out without paying for them – it’s exactly the same! This is why I wanted to pick up unknown, unsigned guys – to give them platform to showcase their talent.” Does this explain Nick’s long-standing relationship with Global Underground too? “Absolutely! It’s important for me to continue the association with Global Underground, as they don’t dictate the playlists and they give me a lot of freedom.”

Nick’s touring has taken him just about everywhere and he’s pretty excited about Eastern Europe right now. “Communism’s been gone for few years now and they’re really embracing Western culture. In the last 2 years, the club and rave scene has just exploded, with places like Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Bulgaria and Macedonia having big parties. It’s the same vibrant scene that kicked off in the UK 15 years ago and you guys would’ve seen in Australia about 10 years ago – it’s so fresh and exciting. I’m very lucky to be involved with these scenes and uncover some amazing talent, like DJ Ignis from Lithuania who’s the best DJ I’ve ever heard!”

With Nick touring in Australia soon, will he be showcasing the Shanghai CD for us? “No, don’t expect the Shanghai set. I’ll be playing young fresh music and sourcing some later tracks. It’ll be very varied, although I’m still right into the breaks and British stuff at the moment, and it definitely won’t be the electro stuff that everyone and their wives are playing right now!”

I ask Nick for his take on the CD vs. vinyl debate. ” That’s an easy one – over the next few years, there’s just going to be less and less vinyl. DJ’s will be buying and downloading tracks onto their computer via iTunes and so on. Of course, there’ll always be a few still producing vinyl, like Kompakt Records in Germany, who only release vinyl. Vinyl is a pain in the arse to carry around, especially if something goes wrong with your baggage on an international flight – which has happened to me a few times! Some of the most amazing tracks I’ve been playing this year aren’t on vinyl and probably won’t ever be. However, I am still part of the old school guard and I enjoy playing vinyl if I can. The key is to not limit yourself.” 

With Way Out West producing the tracks that helped launched Nick into superstardom, it’s an important part of his life, although the project is on hold for a short while at the moment. “Jody’s pretty busy DJ’ing at the moment too, so we’re taking some time off this year. As far as what’s coming up next, we’d like to produce some more straight up club tracks with less of an emphasis on vocals. We’ve had more of a band-oriented style recently with Omi on board and I fancy doing a bit more club-oriented stuff. There’ll be a more down-tempo focus next year – we might go down that Royksopp vibe, slow and weird sort of stuff!” Slow and weird? Could you expand a bit on that please, Nick?? “Oh, the Scandinavian and German weird, techy, progressive stuff – that off-kilter sound that’s slightly uncomfortable.” So more of a lounge-club than night-club sort of appeal? “Yeah, very much so.” 

Bristol, Nick’s home and capital of down-tempo and slightly off-kilter sound, spawned such acts as Massive Attack, Portishead, Roni Size and, of course, Way Out West. I ask Nick to define what it is about this city that inspired such a unique fusion of sound.  “Bristol is such a multicultural city – there are loads of people from Africa and the Caribbean and lots of students. There’s a mixture of hip-hop, house, techno, trip hop, reggae – everyone listens to everything. But when it comes down to it, reggae and smoking weed are the biggest influences on the Bristol “sound”!!”

With all his experience in the music industry, I wondered if there was anything Nick wished he’d known back when he was first starting out? “I wish I’d saved more money!” he laughs. I think we all wish that though, don’t we? “Yeah – it’s easy to say that, but I read a great quote last week from some rock star or other that sums it all up. He said – If I had all the money now that I’d spent on drink on drugs back then, I’d spend it all again…on drink & drugs!”

Catch Nick on his Australian tour on these dates:

Sat 1 Oct - Brisbane, Parklife (BUY TICKETS)
Sun 2 Oct - Sydney, Parklife (BUY TICKETS)
Sun 6 Oct - Canberra, Lot 33
Fri 7 Oct - Perth, Gods Kitchen
Sat 8 Oct - Melbourne, Gods Kitchen (BUY TICKETS)