The Italian duo Nicola Daniele and Cesare Marocco, aka Nice7, have been making a ruckus in the deep tech house scene with their own brand of ominous funky tunes. To date, these guys have pumped out some fantastic originals off Great Stuff, Gruuv, Defected and Toolroom and have done excellent remixes for Affkt, Frankie Watch and Mark Knight and D Ramirez. Further more, in 2012 they claimed the Beatport Award for Best Tech House Track with their thumper ‘Point On’.
To pre game their Australian tour, we were lucky enough to get a sneak peak at some of their essential production tools in the studio.
1 – Drums programming software:
We are house music producers, so at the top of the list we’ve got software that programs rhythm parts in a quick and original way.
Our choice is Native Instrument Machine. Thanks to the advanced shuffle controllers, it is the first plug-in we open when we start working on a track.
2 – Analog modeling plug-in
In a digital world, Universal Audio has produced a series of plug-ins that do a fantastic job emulating the key pieces of analog gear. The compressor UA 1176LN is a must for the bass line and drum group. For synth and vocal, there’s Reverb Lexicon 224, the equalizer “Neve 1073” for the low end and Cambridge EQ for more “surgical treatment,” to name just a few of them.
3 – A Good Coffee Machine.
Studio sessions are long , so sometimes a break is necessary to “refresh” your ears. Working too hard on a tune and not taking breaks is counter productive. You risk losing the whole point of what you are doing. So, there’s nothing like a good coffee break. We are Italians after all!
4 – Analog synth
Synths software has reached a high level, but we think that the feeling created with the plug-in sounds cold and using a mouse to program patches is a drag. With knobs and faders, you get the feeling of actually “touching the sound” with your own hands. You can play around to create originals sounds and riffs. Some of our all-time favorite synths are: the Roland SH-10, which we used in our track Avoid and in our remix of soul by AFFKT, the Moog Voyager, which we used for Time to Get Physical, and the Access Virus (virtual analog), which we used for Bassline soldiers.
5 – Condenser Microphone
With the massive success of sample libraries, it easy to forget the first role of a recording studio: to record! To make our work more creative and original, we count on an AKG 414, a typical mic for recording voices and also for percussive, acoustic and ambient sounds that we use for texture.
6 – Spectrum Analyzer
High quality studio monitors are essential , but sometimes they aren’t enough to figure out if the balance you are working toward for a mix is on the right track.
The spectrum analyzer Audioscope 2813 helps us keep an eye on the big picture.
7 – A huge comfy sofa
We’ve got one just behind the studio desk. Its size and weight absorb excess bass frequencies and improves the acoustic response of the room. We also use it for hanging out with friends over coffee.
Catch Nice7 at:
Brown Alley in Melbourne, 19th of April with Andhim
Abercrombie Hotel in Sydney, 20th of April with Kashil and Parkside
Geisha in Perth, 24th of April
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