Photo by Craig Gibson Nightwave is a DJ, a producer, a singer, a student, an R. Kelly lover, a beer enthusiast, and she throws her own big-ass party in Glasgow called Nightrave. When THUMP referred to her as multi-talented in a recent interview, she humbly admitted she'd "much rather 'multi-interested' than 'multi-talented.""I love to learn new things and have a go at everything," she told us in May. "That's what life's about!"THUMP has spoken to the Slovenian-born polyglot a number of of times this year—last time was when she announced the launch of her own label, Heka Trax, and kicked it off with her own EP, titled Luxor (which has been in heavy rotation at the THUMP office, as well as the BBC, RinseFM and everywhere else you would want your record played). It seems to get better and better with each listen.This week she is back with a new single called "Magic Carpet"—which made its debut earlier this year as part of Rustie's Radio 1 mix for Jackmaster, and it's stuck ever since. It's a sparse dancefloor smasher, and sticks to Nightwave's club kid theme with its footwork inspired drums and no-nonsense, overdriven 808s. Lucky Me newcomer Imami is on the remix, with shades of Baltimore club and hardcore breakeats that sound like stumbling into the side-room at the rave. The single is just one big party overall, and leaves us wanting more from both artists.THUMP: Hey! What are you up to?
Nightwave: Oh hello! I'm keeping away from the cold here in Glasgow, working on some tracks and mixes, doing a bit of studying and having a few beers!You just started a label and your first release on it has been getting great reviews—what is next for Heka Trax?
The debut Heka Trax EP Luxor has been out since October and the support has been great. I'm really happy with it as well as the amazing remix that Big Dope P did; it was a great addition to the release! After "Magic Carpet" I plan to put out some music from other people—it's been great receiving demos and listening to all this unreleased stuff out there! If you've got a demo to send, fire it through to demos@hekatrax.com!You always have such great artwork and I can tell you collect a lot of cool stuff. Which was why I asked for a photo of your shelf. What are all of these things? Please explain.
Well these are some of my "precious" things—aka junk I collected over the years. It looks a bit demented but I think every home should have a "curiosity cabinet" [laughs]. There's some Egyptian and Mexican stuff in there, some Maneki Neko's from Japan, a Native American Zuni tribe statue, some crystals, an ammonite and a piece of predynastic Egyptian pottery which is very special to me.
Where did your whole Egyptian vibe come from?
I've been obsessed with ancient Egypt since I was a kid! When I was very little my Dad pulled a cruel joke on me and told me that he helped to build the pyramids, and of course I believed him. I even told my teachers in Kindergarten and they found it very amusing! At the moment I'm studying hieroglyphs which is fun. I never studied Classical Egyptology as I think it's a load of rubbish!What is the story behind "Magic Carpet"?
This track is quite kooky I think—I used a bunch of quite cinematic samples that reminded me of old Aladdin-type movies and Prince of Persia games. It started off as a hip-hop track (back then when Rustie put it in his Radio1 mini-mix) and then I put in the drones, and more footwork drums so it ended up sounding a bit more dramatic. Imami did a great remix for me as well! I think he'll go far next year.Who is your favorite Aladdin character?
Abu the cheeky monkey!
Are there even any other stories that involve a magic carpet? I cant remember.
Well there's that "Magic Carpet Ride" tune Fatboy Slim did in the 90s [laughs]. The video and samples are Mexican though, and I'm not sure if there are any magic carpets in Mexico?
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Nightwave: Oh hello! I'm keeping away from the cold here in Glasgow, working on some tracks and mixes, doing a bit of studying and having a few beers!You just started a label and your first release on it has been getting great reviews—what is next for Heka Trax?
The debut Heka Trax EP Luxor has been out since October and the support has been great. I'm really happy with it as well as the amazing remix that Big Dope P did; it was a great addition to the release! After "Magic Carpet" I plan to put out some music from other people—it's been great receiving demos and listening to all this unreleased stuff out there! If you've got a demo to send, fire it through to demos@hekatrax.com!
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Well these are some of my "precious" things—aka junk I collected over the years. It looks a bit demented but I think every home should have a "curiosity cabinet" [laughs]. There's some Egyptian and Mexican stuff in there, some Maneki Neko's from Japan, a Native American Zuni tribe statue, some crystals, an ammonite and a piece of predynastic Egyptian pottery which is very special to me.
I've been obsessed with ancient Egypt since I was a kid! When I was very little my Dad pulled a cruel joke on me and told me that he helped to build the pyramids, and of course I believed him. I even told my teachers in Kindergarten and they found it very amusing! At the moment I'm studying hieroglyphs which is fun. I never studied Classical Egyptology as I think it's a load of rubbish!What is the story behind "Magic Carpet"?
This track is quite kooky I think—I used a bunch of quite cinematic samples that reminded me of old Aladdin-type movies and Prince of Persia games. It started off as a hip-hop track (back then when Rustie put it in his Radio1 mini-mix) and then I put in the drones, and more footwork drums so it ended up sounding a bit more dramatic. Imami did a great remix for me as well! I think he'll go far next year.Who is your favorite Aladdin character?
Abu the cheeky monkey!
Well there's that "Magic Carpet Ride" tune Fatboy Slim did in the 90s [laughs]. The video and samples are Mexican though, and I'm not sure if there are any magic carpets in Mexico?