Fresh Picks: Nick Curly

By Kyle Marno on November 6, 2019

German artist Nick Curly has been pushing boundaries in the realm of house music for almost 15 years, his work as a DJ, producer, remixer, event promoter and label owner have put him amongst dance music royalty, and he has shown no sign of slowing down.

Running the 8Bit and Cecille imprints, he has released music from Josh Butler, Supernova, Butch, Huxley, Darius Syrossian and Harry Romero and his own tracks have allowed him to make appearances on outputs like Cocoon, Truesoul and Knee Deep In Sound.

Responsible for this months edition of Fresh Picks, Curly highlights sounds from the October 2019 release schedule, including Archie Hamilton on Cecille, Chris Stussy on PIV and Rampa on Keinemusik, you can find his list in full below.

SIS – Nesrib (Archie Hamilton’s Nose Rub)
Label: Cecille Records
Release: 11th October 2019

Finding the right music to bring back Cecille Records was one of the biggest challenges of my career. Here is the first result. ‘Nesrib’ catapulted SIS on a furious 4-year musical journey which saw him win multiple awards for ‘Track of the Year’, ‘Producer of the Year’ and ‘Breakthrough Artist of the Year’.

For his remix, Archie Hamilton has dug deep into his roots to transform SIS’s original bumpy minimal techno vibe into a fully formed rolling tech monster. Aquatic FX and sparse percussion open the track before that huge growling bass shifts things into high gear. Carefully holding back on the vocal chops, Hamilton carves out a muscular groove before unleashing Williams’ diva lyrics.

Demian Muller – Puma
Label: 8Bit
Release: 21st October 2019

This is actually the third time I have had a release from Demian on my label 8Bit Records. This is also the first time that he has done an EP on his own, as the others were collaborations with Andre Butano and some Chilean producers. This three track EP is a journey that starts with ‘Puma’, a more melodic, almost techno inspired track. ‘Creation’ makes a perfect partner to the title track, as it’s a deep house monster, a thirdly arrigato track that is sure to create some special moments in a DJ set.

Chris Stussy – Evening Drive
Label: PIV
Release: 21st October 2019

I found out about Chris maybe a couple of years ago. His driving house beats combined with good vocal samples are exactly my cup of tea, especially when I play in smaller clubs and open-air venues in the summer, this track is so perfect. With ‘Evening Drive’ Chris just shows one more time the quality of his production skills and the ideas that are portrayed in his music. This track is included on the ADE sampler series for young forward-thinking artists on PIV.

Luca Donzelli – Momento (Nick Curly Remix)
Label: Moan Recordings
Release: 21st October 2019

I know Luca from his release on my 8Bit imprint and we were hanging out the last few summers in Ibiza together as I was out there for the season. I was always a big fan of his productions, so it was due to me asking about doing a remix for him, that this one came about. Also, MOAN has become a well established label at the moment, and is no doubt considered one of the top three Italian labels. I have many tracks from their catalogue. On this remix I went a bit deeper and a bit groovier than the original.

Francesco Allendes & Felipe Venegas – Llovizna (Rework)
Label: Cadenza
Release: 18th October 2019

There is no question for me, that this release is like a journey back in time to the old Cadenza days, ‘Chilean sound’ at its very best. Francesco has certainly been one of the newcomers of the year, especially through his Ushuaia residency with Ants in Ibiza alongside Andrea Olivia. He teamed up with his Chilean colleague Felipe Venegas to produce this emotional, goosebump inducing track for the early morning club hours. It’s a masterpiece. Thanks for this track guys!

Rampa – Terrace
Label: Keinemusik
Release: 18th October

Rampa along with his buddy &ME in a collaboration with Circoloco and the magazine toilet paper was certainly one of the most interesting combinations of the year. With this track ‘Terrace’, Rampa shows not only his ability as a producer but there is no doubt the name is a glimpse of how he sees the sound of this year on the terrace at Circoloco, where he is a resident.