Are these guys kidding? Making a statement like that should probably elicit a response somewhere between “fuck yeah” and “you’re fuvking crazy”. Don’t forget, SunsetSF’s perspective is not limited to “what’s hot” or “what’s selling” but rather is informed from 15 years of promoting every type of dance music, from James Brown to LTJ Bukem. We love Nick like no other because he exhibits all of the qualities that one wants to see in any truly great artist. Nick is obsessively committed to his craft. Like a great jazz musician, no one works harder on every nuance of both performance and production than out friend from Oz. He consistently produces as many as four new tracks or edits EVERY WEEK. Unlike many of his peers, he does not employ a “ghostwriter” and even does much of his own mastering.
As a live performer, Thayer belies his deep love of classic hip hop by pushing turntablism into his dance sets at every opportunity. This allows him to put enormous emphasis and power into each one of his transitions, making the mixes themselves as important a thematic event as the songs themselves. Simply put: noone drops a record like Nick Thayer (except Mat the Alien, but that’s a story for another time.).
He is also relentlessly experimental. Rather than selling out to any one new format or trend, Nick sees new ideas and genres as weapons in his arsenal. Breakbeat? Grabbed it, used it, made it part of his canon. Dubstep? Yup, that too. Moombahton? Sure, let’s incorporate that too. Ghettofunk? Some of the best. Video? Sure, why not collaborate with your brother Sevenmilligram on video content that melts minds. Each EP release completely different from the last, and each set is a perfect amalgamation of this lifetime of skill and commitment.
This relentless experimentation is not safe or easy, and can fail, as we saw once with an ill-timed 5am discoboogie set at Nexus at Burning Man 2011. But it’s just this daring, and fearlessness, and willingness to try and fail that puts him up there with the greats. Nick takes elements of all of our favorite DJs/Producers from Cut Chemist, to Bukem, to Icey, to Bambaataa to Bassnectar, and embodies them all in a lanky pasty-white Aussie package. And finally, there’s the vibe, the stage presence, the humor and joy with which he does it. Nick takes every aspect of his art seriously, but not himself. This playfulness and humor comes through clearly in his edits, his tracks, and his sets. He makes it fun.
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