Australian’s Danny Bonnici & Jamesen Re, joined forces in 2017 tapping into their mutual passion for deep, melodic, and atmospheric house music.
The duo made its mark on the global dance community with their release “Equanimity” on the Magician on Duty imprint, which received major support from the likes of Lee Burridge, Kora, and Sebastian Leger, to name but a few.
Their follow up releases on labels such as Kindisch, Balance Music, and All Day I Dream were also very well received, and with new releases on Dawn till Dusk, and TRYBESof, the future definitely looks bright for these two highly respected artists…
Balance Selections Q+A
Name: Danny Bonnici & Jamesen Re
Location: Melbourne / Los Angeles
Beatport: https://bit.ly/2KrSmyx
Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/2lSsq0a
Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Ktklhg
Alias/Producer name: NuKreative
Labels affiliated with: All Day I Dream, Balance Music, TRYBESof, Dawn Till Dusk, Magician On Duty
My last 3 releases:
NuKreative – Dream Sonika EP
NuKreative – Beyond The Sun EP
NuKreative – Sketches In Time EP
What music did you listen to as a child?
Danny: ‘Off the Wall’ Micheal Jackson album was on rotation for at least 3 years and a lot of Italian pop music. Lots of taping of american top 40.
Jamesen: My earliest memories was my parents record collection, which comprised of soundtrack albums such as The Village People “You can’t stop the music” to “Grease” to “Saturday Night Fever”. Also artists such as Jackson Five, Barbara Streisand, Donna Summer and Lipps Sync spring to mind. Not forgetting Italian artists like Ricchi e Poveri & Umberto Tozzi. My Father was heavy into Spanish guitar and classical albums.
When was the first time that you realised that you liked electronic music?
Danny: I first realised this after watching Midnight Express, and hearing ‘The Chase’, around 1985. So, in 1988 I was lucky enough to get a Korg M1 and started sequencing and putting together tracks from that movie. Great exercise is aural training.
Jamesen: I realised I liked dance music after experiencing it in a proper underground club in London in 1996. ‘The Gift’ by Way Out West immediately springs to mind. The vibe of that track was the inspiration behind what I wanted musically to hear at Sunny Side Up parties in Melbourne.
When was the first time you saw a DJ in a club?
Danny: I remember seeing Mickey B playing at the metro in Melbourne in the early 90’s.
It was a commercial club so house music of the day. The first underground gig was 94 watching Dave Angel smash it at a cool venue set up as an amphitheater in Prahan called the Empire. After that it was random gigs here and there but the most memorable era was the Sunny side up days with resident Dj’s Phil K, Gab Oliver and Ozzie LA in the late 90’s.
Jamesen: Again in ’96. I can’t exactly recall the DJ, but the club was called Heaven in London. The energy and vibe was like nothing I had ever experienced. The music blew my mind.
Which producers/artists/acts inspire you?
Danny: In the early days when I was studing music it was muscians like Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Jeff Buckley, Prince, Giorgio Moroder, because of their chops, and arrangments. As far as bands goes, Radiohead, and TOTO, again, the skill and arrangements were amazing. I remember when I first heard ‘OK Computer’ I was like what the hell! On the opposite end of the spectrum was Georgio, another legend who just blew me away with his early innovation.
Jamesen: My favourite musicians are Sting, the late Prince, David Gilmore, and my Father, who also plays guitar. The first time I heard ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ at 12 years of age was an experience. The artist’s I mentioned, which I have all seen live, were able to transform a crowd with just playing their respective instruments. True masters of their craft.
What was the last album that you downloaded/bought?
Danny: The last album I bought off bandcamp was from my good friend Tipper called ‘Jettison Mind Hatch’.
He is probably still one of the most forward thinking producer/programmers out there, and continues to push sound design and arrangements. Check it out.
Jamesen: To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I downloaded a full album. From memory the last album that I actually bought was Rage Against The Machine’s debut Album.
What is your current production and DJ set up like?
The Liquidmixes studio in Melbourne is our home base with a proper designed room for mixing and mastering, and full of analog, and digital synths. Favourite synths at the moment are Sub 37,Peak and Hydra but for the ambient stuff cant go past the GR-1.
As far as DJ’ing goes, we both play off CDJ’s.
Ableton Live is the main DAW for producing and Logic for mixing and mastering. UAD and Audio Acustica plug ins are a staple for mixing and mastering accompanied with some nice analog gear such as Thermionic Culture The Phoenix mastering compressor and Manley EQ. Prism Orpheus audio card all running off a Mac tower. There are many other bits and pieces which creep in there, with a drum machine shelf thrown in for good measure.
What releases do you have on the horizon?
We have an up and coming release on TrybesOf on May 8th. We are looking at doing some collabs this year as well.
Luke Sambe has put up his hand and we really like what he’s been making lately. This will make for a good collaboration. We also have a podcast coming up for All Day I Dream on their British Airways show.
Where can we hear you perform?
No gigs for now with COVID-19 situation. We both live on opposite sides of the world so we can cover a lot of ground when gigs resume. But, there is a planned live stream coming up soon. Stay tuned.
Tell us more about the podcast you made for Balance?
The podcast was recorded in LA. All the tracks are outstanding, in our opinion. Naturally, our TrybesOf release on ‘Natura’, and the Dusk Till Dawn release ‘Beyond The Sun’ are our stand outs from the tracklisting.
Our Recommendations
The top track in my DJ wallet currently is:
Danny: Jamie Stevens – Titans
Jamesen: VieL – Brainwork
If we could recommend only one of my tracks for you to listen to it would be:
Danny: Nukreative – Out of the Shadows
Jamesen: NuKreative – Natura
If we could recommend only one track for you to listen to it would be:
Danny: Snarky Puppy – Lingus
Jamesen: Kate Bush – Woman’s World
The last movie we watched that we really liked:
Danny: The Gentlemen
Jamesen: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Our favourite TV show:
Danny: Ozark
Jamesen: Ozark
Balance Selections 130: NuKreative
Tracklisting:
1. NuKreative – State Of Mind feat. Amega (Original Mix)
2. VieL – Brainwork (Original Mix)
3. Savvas – Pulsar (Urmet K Remix)
4. Tim Green – Cedar
5. Slow Hearts – Sands Of Time ( Original Mix)
6. MOS – Tam V Oblakah (Original Mix)
7. Slow Hearts – Eye Pads (Tim Green Remix)
8. Oliver & Tom – Gallardo (Original Mix)
9. Alex O’Rion – With You (Original Mix)
10. NuKreative – Natura (Original Mix)
11. NuKreative – Beyond The Sun (Original Mix)
