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Nutty T saves it for the trance squirrels
Reported by Dean Zone
/
Submitted 20-11-07 13:05
Hardstyle. Love it or hate it, it’s here to stay whether you like it or not. Whilst the London scene may still be adapting to the sound of the newest revolution in hard dance since the BK track of the same name, in other parts of the country it flourishes. At the forefront of this is Nutty T, probably the UK’s fastest up and coming hardstyle DJ/producer, who has kindly taken some time out of his schedule to give us the low-down on what this noise is all about!
First off, for those who don’t know you, what’s your name, where are you from and what are you about?
Well first off my real name is James and for those who don’t know who I am my DJ/producer name is Nutty T. I'm from Surrey, originally good old Doncaster, and well what I’m about is the darker styles of hard trance and hardstyle. I tend to try and push the darker sounds and love new original sounds that are coming out. I'm originally from a hard house and hard trance background but I just love the dark, off beat screaming sounds that make Hardstyle what it is.
Nutty T is an unusual name, even for a DJ. How did it come about and does it mean anything?
Well I did start out with DJ Reaper and was going to set up Reaper Records but I found out the name had already been taken. I then thought about a really mad, crazy name for a label and Nutty Trance came into my head. Then from that day forward the madness was born in the form of Nutty T as my DJ name.
How long have you been mixing for and who/what inspired you to do it?
Well I started out mixing a while back in about 2000 when my dad ran a pub in Doncaster. At that time though I wasn't really beat mixing it was more or less fade in, fade out at mobile discos but I used to hate getting asked for bloody Motown rather than playing hard dance! I started beat matching in about 2001 when I was listening to hard house compilations. I really love it now and have never looked back.
You run both Nutty Trance and M3ntal Records. What is the difference between the two, how are they going so far and what do you have lined up for them in the future?
Well Nutty Trance has been going since December 2005 when I set it up as a vinyl label and it's been going from strength to strength just lately with Attention going down a storm with hardstyle fans. We've just released the new sample pack Hardstyle Manipulation Vol.1 that has had a very good response already and has already hit the top 10 on Trackitdown.net.
M3ntal Records is really a mix of hard dance. I can’t really break it down to a genre because it is so diverse. I'm really into Joe E's stuff lately. I have just released Eternity Has Past with a remix by myself and have had superb reviews in DJ Mag and IDJ. I'd like to thank everyone that’s supported the label especially these people: Kutski, Mark EG, Sasha F, Danny Slade, RushGBH, Tyronnster and Mr Zone for this interview.
Why Hardstyle? Why not play something a bit more, well, user friendly?
Very good question! I do tend to DJ other genres like hard trance, but it doesn't seem to have the same impact on me as hardstyle. It has to be dark and twisted to get me in the mood. I like my uplifting stuff but it doesn't have the same effect on me. That’s probably why I have been labelled as the demon of hardstyle, haha!
Is it true you got airplay on BBC Radio 1? How did that come about?
Yeah it is true, Kutski played Intensify The Treatment on his show In New DJ's We Trust. It was an awesome feeling and an absolute honour to get it played by such a well respected DJ as well as a sound bloke. I really respect what he's done to the scene, he's brought some quality names into the spotlight.
Let’s talk about your events. You had the courage to do a hardstyle night in London when you brought Hard Attaxx to the Mass in Brixton. Will you be returning anytime soon?
I'm not too sure about Hard Attaxx. There are talks about it but I am concentrating more on my main event, Retribution UK, which will be making a big comeback at Basingstoke in March with Sasha F from Straight On doing the honours and coming over from Estonia. If you haven't seen this man yet you’ve been missing out. We've also got an exclusive DJ battle booked for June which will be awesome, plus I have got a fair few sets at other events, including Dimension, Frequency, Influence and many more coming soon so be on the lookout.
Do you think hardstyle can ever take off in London?
Hmmm, tricky. I don't think the hardstyle scene in London will ever conquer the hard house scene because you don’t hear of many events playing that much hardstyle, which we wanted to change with Hard Attaxx. Hardstyle has a massive following as well so we wanted to bring an original line up for the London area. Massive respect to everyone that was involved and made the night a success, we had people come from all over the UK for this including Peterborough, Brighton and Plymouth.
You’re remix of Double Penetrator by Karlzee on Nutty Trance was one of my biggest tunes of 2006. What do you rate as your best piece of work?
Well that’s a tough one because I like all my tunes in different ways. I think one of my best that always gets a mention and stands out to a lot of people is Attention. That was the Retribution UK anthem in November 2006 and it always goes down a storm when played out. Another track I like is We Need the Bass under my alias M3ntal, on M3ntal Records. I love the climax bass drum!
Who does it for you, as a DJ or Producer?
I love Zany's productions, I think Volt was an awesome track, his productions are phenomenal. Then again I have got to mention Joe E who will definitely be having many more tunes released on our labels.
DJ's that have stood out for me over the last year have got to be Geoff Nugent, DJ Maverick, RushGBH, Tyronnster and D4rk. These guys have definitely been some of the top DJ's I have seen lately and deserve a mention.
If you weren’t a DJ’ing or producing in your spare time, what do you think you would be doing?
Haha never really thought about that! I think the thing I would do most is spend more time with my wonderful girlfriend Tash and my two little demons Jacob and Oliver, hahahahaha!
You have a very loyal following on another clubbing website that I shall not name. Apart from sexual favours and bribes, how did you accumulate that following in such a relatively short space of time?
How did you know about the sexual favours, haha, you've been stalking me again haven't you?
Well, it's just a case of people enjoying the music as well as when I go out DJing. Word of mouth usually helps when I’m doing sets, people often ask where they can get my mixes online.
You’ve also started up your own DJ agency, Dark Soul. How is that going and who is on your books?
We've got a fair few really good names that have worked with me plus played alongside many of the biggest names in the industry including RushGBH who was responsible for one of the UK's biggest hardstyle tracks Exorcism of Chucky' when he teamed up with Marco Vortex and have the remix by the mighty Alpha Twins.
Then we have DJ Vorny who has had praise from the likes of Mark EG and has had many releases on major hardstyle labels including Kattiva, Activa, UK44, Imp, Nutty Trance and many more. We've also got Boyzee & Stevie J who have been lighting up the scene just lately and have been getting bookings like wildfire. You can also see these at Retribution UK in March and we have Tyronnster DJing for some great events lately and is set to be back at one of my events shortly. Finally we have Fattman who is the organiser of the mighty BPM in Wales and also Mark Sides who is an awesome up and coming DJ.
Do you have any trouble keeping all of those superstar DJ egos in check?
No, haha! They are all sound people and I am glad to be working with them, they are all good friends as well which helps a lot, and they've all supported Nutty Trance in some way or another so its a bonus to work with such good lads.
Your biggest achievement, what is it?
It’s got to be all the support from the major DJ's and never having a bad review on my releases thus far. I would love to say a massive thank you to the one and only Danny Slade, he has done so much it is unbelievable, Mark EG and also Kutski, without you guys the labels wouldn't be what they are.
For the benefit of those who either don’t know or want to learn more, what’s the difference between Italian/Dutch/German hardstyle, because even I can’t tell the difference!
Well Dutch has a more dark and twisted sound, with harder elements, where as Italian has longer breaks with rappy type vocals over the top. Some examples for instance would be the Donkeys Rollers or Zany (Dutch), and Trance Generators or Tatanka (Italian).
Also for the benefit of those wishing to learn, how is jumpstyle different to hardstyle?
Jumpstyle I would say is more simplified than Hardstyle. It isn't something I really specialise in myself because I’m not all to into that genre, I love the dancing to it though, hahaha.
The hardstyle scene in general is quite big on MCs. Why is this and what are your thoughts on MCs in general?
Well it all depends, I feel a good MC can really blow the roof off a place but generally if you get one that just keeps on chatting “blah blah blah” on the mic it will kill the atmosphere. They have got to know when to chat and when to shut up really instead of all the stuff when you can’t understand a word they're saying.
If money were no object, what would be your dream DJ line up?
Room 1
Zany
Headhunterz
Showtek
Kutski
Mark EG
Nutty T
Sasha F
Vorny
Room 2
Jon the Baptist & Chuck E
Danny Slade
Alex Culver
Vandal
Louk
Boy zee & Steve
Maverick
Joe E
If you could play for any promotion or festival in the world, what would it be?
Well it has to be one of the Dance events; it would be possibly the highlight of my career. For hardstyle they beat any event, hands down. I would also love to DJ at Qlimax but I think you have to be an elite member of Dance for that, so it would have to be either Sensation Black, Defqon 1 or Inqontrol.
With the hardstyle sound currently huge on the continent, have you been pushing yourself as a DJ/Producer outside of these shores, or are you content to stay UK based?
Well I have been asked to headline in Estonia and Helsinki, so I will be looking forward to that. I am getting a fair few bookings coming up in the UK so all is looking good at the moment. I've got a few production sets coming up as well which has taken off pretty well.
When out in clubs, do you use any forms of protection for your ears?
Yeah I put rubber jonnies on them all the time, haha!
And finally, which do you prefer and why, Womp or Doof?
I love the womp of the bass, in most of my tunes you will notice the womp sound but also you'll hear that doof sound with the mighty kicks, for instance in M3ntal - We Need The Bass or Bass Kicker!
llllllllllllooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeelllllllllllyyyyyy
Thanks dude.
For more info: www.nuttytrance.com
Photos courtesy of Nutty T. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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Other Features By Dean Zone:
Do You See Dead People? Dutch DJ/Producer The Sixth Sense gives an EXCLUSIVE interview ahead of his UK debut!
Are Chris & Matt Kidding?
Awards, Midget Waiters and Bin Raiding with Nick the Kid
Steve Allen Goes Beyond
Double Dutch - It's Showtek
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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More hardstyle in London 
I'm too lazy to travel. 