MIX-MASTER OF THE MONTH: DJ NIMS

Published: November 01, 2013

DJ Nims at Sugar Nightclub. All photos courtesy Nathan Mots

Nathan Mots is an absolute dude. Calm and composed, talented and driven, the man who calls himself DJ Nims has found his stride walking a tightrope timetable, inviting the future as he weighs a multiplicity of endeavours. Apart from generally killing it in the local nightlife arena, this young buck (just twenty-twolike the T. Swift song), can be found on the UVic campus working towards a Bachelor of Science – an undertaking he couples with the procuring of new instruments, and pursuing self-directed studies in music and production. Despite his demanding agenda, DJ Nims was all smiles when LYF caught up with him (on campus, naturally) to chat about the joys of music, willpower, equilibrium and making his way towards the tiny Spanish island he has set his heart on playing.

Live Young & Free: Seeing as how were on campus, why dont you tell us about how youve managed to balance academic life with nightlife?

Nathan Mots: During my first two years DJ-ing, I had a lot of time to practice – pretty well every night of the week unless I was going out with friends. I would spend hours practicing, looking for new music, building my collectionit was always like, however much time it takes to do this, I am willing to put that time in. Its just so important to me. With school now, it has become such a nice breakits been very important to always find time to put into music.

LYF: Would you say that it somehow contributes to your musical drive, then?

NM: Definitely. It gives it a kind of necessity. Instead of being like, oh, I have all this free time, I guess I could work on something, its like OK, Im really busy with everything else going on, but I need to take two hours and practice or find some new music, listen to something I have been meaning to listen to. It makes it way more enjoyable and meaningful.

LYF: Ok, surely it cant be all peaches and cream though does school ever inhibit preparations for a show?

NM: I play every Saturday night at Sugar Nightclub, which is pretty Top 40 oriented, and so Ive spent a lot of time collecting what I need for that sort of thing. I know what kind of music works, so if I was having a crazy week and was offered another show, Id be OK. Im generally free-styling anyway, I dont just show up with a set list. I like seeing where the night takes me. At the same time, if I do have an extra hour or two, Ill download some new stuff for the night and try something different.

LYF: Sounds like youve got it pretty dialled in. How did you get your start playing bigger venues around Victoria?

NM: It was probably quicker than I remember but it felt really slow at the time. I had been looking for a gig, anywhere really, when I approached my boss at Touch Lounge and said, look, I want to get serious about DJ-ing. I want to be performing more and get good at this, and he was immediately very accommodating. Ive been very lucky to have him as a sort of mentor. Whereas lots of club owners would be like, this guys not ready yet, thats too bad, he brought me in and has been very good at observing my progress, looking at the performance element of it.

DJ Nims at Touch Lounge

DJ Nims at Touch Lounge

LYF: You mentioned playing mainstream music at Sugar, and assumedly thats what you started with at Touch. Is that your go-to style?

NM: Honestly, its something that I was torn about for a very long time. What originally kicked me off into spinning mainstream music was a video of DJ AM at The Palms, playing the first night of his residency there. Seeing someone play that open-format style so well and so creatively made me realize how cool it could be. Lots of people think pop-music is cheesy, when really its just a lot of fun it shouldnt be taken too seriously. The most important thing to me is that everyone has a good time, and if that means Im going to be playing deep house or Katy Perry, I dont care. That being said, underground house has always been a major interest of mine, and I plan to keep collecting and producing it on the side.

LYF: So you have been pursuing some original production as well, then?

NM: Thats where school is really killing me. It is a big time investment to learn production, and the more you understand that, the more you appreciate how hard artists are working on what they put out. As it stands, I have begun teaching myself production, but Im trying to do it from the ground up. Ive started taking piano lessons, too which some people find a little strange at this age, but its actually really fun. Its just learning a new skill and having another outlet.

LYF: Alright Nathan, time for the million-dollar question: what are your highest aspirations as a DJ?

NM: I really want to play Ibiza one day. Its weird, when I was trying to get into local venues I found that I followed certain steps: pick a club, make a mix tape, get a gig, bring your friends out and although that is nothing like playing Ibiza, I set out a path for myself and followed it through. Setting a goal like this is something I dont even know much about at this point. But I do know that its something Ill simply need to plug away at until I figure it out. A lot of people get overwhelmed by long processes, but if you want something bad enough, then thats just a part of what youve got to do.

*DJ Nims plays Saturday nights at Sugar Nightclub and can be found online at Facebook.com/djnims

DJ NIMS EXCLUSIVE LYF MIX:

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The post MIX-MASTER OF THE MONTH: DJ NIMS appeared first on Live Young and Free.

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