Aussies say ''CHEESE'' - Nik Fish

Who: Nik Fish
From: Sydney, Australia
Plays: ORANGE stage at Defqon.1 The Netherlands

Nik Fish was an Aria nominee for his Top 10 hit ‘The Winner Is...’ and has been voted in the Top 5 DJs of Australia, 5 years in a row. ‘The Fish’ has established a cult following with a massive fan base that sees him regularly headlining clubs, raves and festivals all around the nation. He’s also represented Australia internationally, performing at the Berlin Love Parade as well as playing throughout Asia, Germany, UK and New Zealand.

So Nik, what have you been up to lately?
I’ve been extremely busy with my DJ and production work. As a DJ, I play gigs every weekend in my hometown Sydney, as well as travelling to other big cities in Australia to play at clubs. It’s a big country and sometimes I have to fly 4 hours on a plane and stay overnight in a hotel, just to play at one club in a city like Perth for example. As a producer, I’ve been making tracks in the studio with my good friends from Bioweapon, and I’m going to release them this year. I also do a monthly music show called ‘Harddrive’ on Australian radio Kiss FM. My show features many genres in the harder styles of electronic dance music like tech, hardtrance and of course hardstyle, but I also feature Australian made music too. My show is available as a podcast or you can get it directly from www.nikfish.podomatic.com, so please check it out sometime!

You have quite an impressive bio… where would you sit your upcoming performance at Defqon.1 the Netherlands?
I’ve been a DJ for 20 years now, so I’ve done a lot in my career with many successes along the way, and I’ve seen and done almost everything a DJ could want to do, and more! In the early 90s I saw the birth of Rave parties, which is where I got started. Then I began to travel to play in other cities in Australia and also produce some music. In the mid-90s I scored a Top 10 hit with my track, ‘The Winner Is...’ and it was all over the radio that led to an Australian Recording Industry Association nomination for ‘Best Dance Release’ award. This is like the Grammy Awards in Australia!
From here, my career took off big time and I was invited to play gigs overseas in New Zealand, Singapore and Korea. In the late 90s, I was invited to play in Germany at a party called ‘NO UFOs’ on the weekend of the Berlin Love Parade. In 2006 I was invited to play on top of a moving float in the actual final Berlin Love Parade, which up until now was the highlight of my career!

A few years ago, Q-dance came to Australia and invited me to play on their first tour here, in both Sydney and Melbourne, and then last year I received an invitation to perform on the Orange stage at Defqon.1 in Sydney. Now in 2010, I’m so excited with an invitation to play at Defqon.1 in the Netherlands - this now, must be my ultimate dream come true!

So off to the Netherlands for Defqon.1, have you got any other travel plans or gigs you’re playing at when you’re over there?
I’m only playing at Defqon.1 in Holland and then travelling for 2 months all over Europe visiting France, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, England, then partying and relaxing in the Greek Islands before coming home via a few days in Dubai! I need a good long holiday to relax from all my hard work this year.

Who is picking you up from the airport when you arrive?
My great Uncle Jelk and Aunty Miep are hopefully picking me up from the airport please?!

What do you expect from your performance?
I expect to play some good hardtrance tunes with some big hits that the crowd will know. I have to be careful as I’m playing alongside some of my favourite artists so I better not play their tracks! I hope the Dutch crowd like what I play on the day.

What is on your to-do-list when you’re over in Holland?
I plan to do as many things as I can in Holland as my mother is Dutch, born in Utrecht, and I’m also catching up with my family in Kaatsheuvel too. I’ll play at Defqon.1 first, and then I’ll hire a red bike to checkout Amsterdam and see the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank’s house, take a canal tour, then perhaps visit the Heineken Brewery for some beer! I’ll enjoy some café culture and maybe some window-shopping too! I’d like to also visit a traditional old Dutch village and dress-up in clogs (I do a cool clog dance!). I’ll definitely eat a lot of poffertjes, pannenkoeken and oliebollen everyday and will spend a day at the Efteling too, because my relatives live right next door to the theme park!


Clog dancing!

How are you going to represent Australia?
To represent Australia at Defqon.1 Holland I’ll be wearing the official green & gold Defqon.1 Australia football jersey, so you can spot me on the Orange stage. Maybe I’ll wave a little Aussie flag too, plus you’ll hear some good Australian made hardtrance tunes in my set as well!


Nik Fish will represent Australia wearing his Defqon.1 Australia football jersey

Any particular acts you are going to check out at Defqon.1?
I’ll be checking out the Bioweapon boys on the Purple stage, also my other Aussie DJ mates NitrouZ, Soul-T and the winner of the Defqon.1 Aussie DJ comp DJ Hektic. I want to also see Zany and many other big names. So many things to do on the day as well as play!

What tips do you have for hardstyle producing talents in Australia?
We have a lot of talented DJs and producers and the scene is always growing in Australia. With events like Defqon.1 coming Down Under, this is also a great opportunity for everyone to push themselves here and on the global stage. Keep making good music and share it with the world and you will have success in your work!