Nick Galea stands out in an era where the artistry of the warm up DJ shimmers as a highly valued commodity. He is particularly luminous as a supporting DJ; his set following Nick Warren remains as one of Brisbane’s most epic finishing sets. But it is his dedication and humility for his craft where Nick dazzles. He can – and does – unleash anything on the dance floor, from progressive rhythms to tech layers, electro textures, techno melodies and house beats. Armed with a powerhouse of his own productions he is signed to OneLove, featuring on Ministry of Sound Radio, Triple J, Novanation and Wild Weekends. His first hit The Little Things was the aurora for many to follow, leading to his most recent release I Believe flashing across Aria Charts, TV sets and dance floors. He remixes and re-edits; his bootleg of Bjork’s Hyperballad comes to light under the hands of stars like Dave Guetta, Dave Seaman, Fedde Le Grand, Hernan Cattaneo and James Zabiela. When he is surrounded by the speakers and LED screens of the main stage, it is his Shure Inner Earphones that overshadow the sparkling bling in his ears. And in the lead up to his feature night for inthemix50 at The Met, it will be the main stage from where Nick will shine.

You’ve had an awfully big year for 2010. What can you say you have learnt from this?

I guess the big lesson that I’ve learnt and accepted in 2010 is that working hard definitely gets you places. I spend a lot of time putting the hours into my music. With the recent success that I’ve had, it’s good to see that those long hours are paying off. If you put in the effort, you will eventually reap the rewards.
What inspires you to put your Shure inner ear headphones in and get those tunes churning out?
When I play new productions of my own – or other artists’ “fresh” tunes – and seeing the reactions that it gets – it’s a good feeling. It’s one of the best feelings in fact, especially when it’s a positive reaction.

You’ve really become cemented within the national scene as a DJ/Producer of note with your tunes making it to #2 on the ARIA Charts, your originals making it onto MOS compilations and Carl Cox even dropping your tunes at his gigs. What do you pin this down to?

Hard work. Being consistent. It also helps to do the ground work in the Australian club scene; going out to various clubs and mingling with other DJ’s who are in town – networking. Sometimes it’s not what you know, but who you know. At the end of the day, however, if a track is good, it’s going to get support. It just has to find its way into the right hands. Like “I Believe”. I always thought it had good potential but that was just my opinion. Luckily, other artists agreed and it got to #2. Now, Channel Ten has got a hold of the single and they’re using it as the official backing track for the mid-year launch to Neighbours. I think that’s pretty cool.

Acquiring knowledge and technique in music is an eternal quest – particularly for a DJ/Producer. Can you point out what is needed for a producer to be focused and motivated?

I already knew how to produce before I did a SAE course, but the key is to learn and expand on your prior knowledge base. Doing things like the SAE course taught me information that I could have never figured out for myself. It gave me a different perspective on how to approach certain situations in the studio in regards to making a track but more specifically, when it comes to final aspects of production like mastering and mixing down. I’m now about to start learning even more, with guitar and piano lessons just around the corner, so fingers crossed this will help me deliver quality productions.

How would you compare performing to a live audience, putting together a radio show and producing in your studio?

All three things are totally different. On radio, you’ve got to keep everything at a very high energy level so that the show remains interesting. You want to keep your listeners engaged. This changes when you venture out to a nightclub and play live. Here, you’ve got more time to build a set and you’re not just playing to people who want to hear radio tunes. You’ve got a dedicated audience to take on a journey. In the studio, on the other hand, it’s all quite selfish. I’m making what I’d want to hear in a nightclub.

Where do you think Australia fits in the dance world?

Seeing other Australian artists succeed inspires me to work harder, to also achieve that level of success. But, we’re on the other side of the world to the upper-echelon artists of the global dance scene like Axwell, Eric Prydz and Sebastian Ingrosso, so we can get overlooked. We need to be focused, hungry and driven to work a bit harder in order to achieve success.

With such big names like Tiesto, Hernan Cattaneo and Nick Warren noting Brisbane as a highlight on their tours, why do you think Brisbane stands out so much?

A lot of DJ’s have said that Brisbane is a highlight of their tour – including Ferry Corsten. He once said that “Brisbane parties harder”. I can’t really put my finger on what makes Brisbane crowds stand out. I guess it could be the hot climate that makes people go out and get loose at night. Also, having the big super-clubs definitely helps. People become more aware of the music.

What are your thoughts on ITM50?

The ITM50 is a great way to get recognised. Take a look at *tyDi – ITM50 has done great things for his career. To place highly in the competition can also be a burden to some artists. Ironically, some DJ’s don’t want all the attention that a high placing virtually guarantees. I would love to be recognised for the hard work that I’ve put in. Hopefully, the amount of hours that I’ve sacrificed and the recent success I’ve enjoyed, will be represented with a placing.

ITM50 brings you to your feature night at The Met. What can your audience expect to hear from you on the dance floor come Friday night for your set?

Expect to hear lots of new Nick Galea originals – I’ve been focusing on them lately and haven’t been doing many remixes. There will be a lot of my cheeky re-edits of some of the big tracks doing the rounds at the moment. Fingers crossed everybody is down for a good time, because the set will be energetic and fun and set the platform for a good party.

inthemix50 week 3 hits The Met on Friday August 27, featuring Nick Galea and The Met residents