Guest Mix + Interview – Nvctve

Landing on our radar nearly three years ago, Nvctve has grown into a key force in the underground bass scene, staying true to their halftime signature while simultaneously exploring other avenues such as future garage and techno. No matter the genre, Nvctve is able to deliver a unique offering of contorted sounds, and their continuous growth as an artist has recently landed them a release on the coveted Never Say Die.

With this ongoing momentum, we figured it was due time to connect with Nvctve for a guest mix and interview. The mix is forty minutes of action-packed bass music from the artist and many of their friends, with a fair share of unreleased material shining through. In the interview, Nvctve talks about the importance of balance in life, as well as collaborating, college, and much more. Check it out below.

Let’s jump right into it, what kind of vibe did you try to create with your mix? What’s the best setting for listening, in your opinion?

I didn’t think much about a specific vibe for the mix. My idea for the mix was to show as much of myself as I possibly could, and how much my sound has evolved since I started releasing in 2018. I have both released and unreleased songs from myself, ranging from one of my very first releases, to songs I haven’t even finished yet. I also wanted to throw in a couple of tunes from friends and artists I enjoy; I love to show what I’ve been enjoying recently. There’s some pretty hype bits in it but I think it can still work well while you’re going on a nice little walk outside.

Overall, my plan is to have at least one release every month this year, regardless of what the release is. It seems pretty doable to me considering how much stuff I’m currently sitting on and how many random ideas I’ve been cranking out recently.

The mix has a handful of IDs from yourself, and you recently posted about an album and/or multiple EPs. How much unreleased material are you sitting on at the moment? Do you have a long-term release schedule, or are releases more of a fluid thing for you?

I have quite a few different things I’m working on at the moment. Currently, I have a finished EP waiting for release. I’m feeling hopeful that this EP will be one of my biggest releases to date. As for other things, I’m working on a couple of other EP’s: another solo EP to fill in for this year because the big release I mentioned earlier may not happen until 2023, and a collaborative EP with a great friend. As for non-EP related stuff, I’m trying to work on some singles, VIP’s, and remixes to try to fill the year with as many releases as I can. Overall, my plan is to have at least one release every month this year, regardless of what the release is. It seems pretty doable to me considering how much stuff I’m currently sitting on and how many random ideas I’ve been cranking out recently.

In your opinion, what’s the importance of balancing a strict schedule versus going with the flow, both in terms of releases and for production in general?

For me, I try not to worry too much about putting out as much as I can. I’ve slowly been getting the idea that if I try to force that, I’ll end up being extremely burnt out and miserable. Of course, I don’t always follow my own advice. I sometimes even have to have friends step in and tell me to chill out. I’ve always had a big problem with waiting, and it doesn’t help when you see people you know in the scene, who are around the same position as you, experience massive growth. You want to try to match that and gain as much hype for yourself as others are for themselves, but trying too hard for something like that is really damaging. For me, that damage translated to a lot of self-hatred, pessimism, and stress. As of recently, I’ve been trying to take it easy while still making stuff because I never really feel okay with giving myself a long break from producing.

You recently landed a big collaboration on Never Say Die alongside Akeos. How did that release feel for you? We know you and Akeos have been friends for some time now, can you tell us about your workflow together?

I was really surprised to first hear about Desolate being on NSD. Akeos told me to get in a call because she had something to tell me. When she told me that the people at NSD liked our song, I was freaking out. During the first few moments of us working on the song, I sent the initial project file over to Akeos and she pretty much revamped the first drop and added so much to it, while still keeping everything I put into it. Overall, I’m really happy with how the song turned out, and I love how well our sounds have blended together in it.

Before I ask anyone for a collab, I like imagining how my sound would blend with the sound of the person I want to work with. Then, I try to prepare a short idea that has enough substance, but not too much…

You’ve collaborated with a few other artists such as Ankou and Saka in the past, what do you look for in a collaborator?

Before I ask anyone for a collab, I like imagining how my sound would blend with the sound of the person I want to work with. Then, I try to prepare a short idea that has enough substance, but not too much. From there, what I look for is the collaborator taking the idea, and putting their own spin on it, while still keeping my sound present. Ultimately, I like my collaborations to have my sound and the collaborator’s sound well blended, and less like “this person did this and that person did that.” 

Who are your dream collaborators? Similarly, any smaller artists you’d like to work with and/or that people should have on their radars?

For dream collaborations, I would love to work with Chee, Kursa, Skope, Culprate, Billain, and Sabroi. I feel like these people have influenced me the most with the music I currently want to make, and my life would be complete if I were to make a song with at least one of these names mentioned.

As for artists who I think more people should have on their radars, I want to shout out Niko Scheme, JPEBRO, Slphr, Axis Twelve, Gater, NRVE, Emplexx, Cadofox, Aeded, PRESTUS, .KAGE, Passcde, Galva, REJACK, Vata, and Salve.

On another note, this is your first year of college, right? What are you studying? How has that experience been treating you so far?

College has been pretty crazy so far. There’s been some great things that have happened and some awful things that have happened, but I’d say the good outweighs the bad. I’m planning on studying music technology. I’ve been doing pretty great in my classes so far. I somehow got on my school’s honor for my first semester, so that’s cool. I’ve been slowly overcoming my anxiety of trying to make friends with people I’ve never met before. Thankfully, I found a lot of awesome people through the music department who I am currently friends with. 

I try to reach out to friends or family whenever I’m feeling off, and now I feel less like I have to deal with this sort of stuff on my own.

College is a wild ride for just about everyone. What are some valuable life skills you’re learning from the experience and how have you been applying these to your productions and your music career?

This skill isn’t based solely on music, but more so just life in general. I’m starting to learn how to ask for help now that I’m in college. I’ve usually mostly kept to myself about how I am mentally about people I know IRL because I sometimes feel like someone might think I’m faking how I’m feeling at the moment. For some reason, it took me to get put in the E.R. for trying to overdose for me to realize that I can ask people for help. As of now, I try to reach out to friends or family whenever I’m feeling off, and now I feel less like I have to deal with this sort of stuff on my own.

What do you enjoy doing outside of music? Do you use these other outlets to fuel your music, or try your best to keep the worlds separate?

I feel like most of my life is based around music at the moment. If I’m not working on music, I’m probably just on calls with friends, going on walks, or doing a little bit of exercise. I guess I’m also obligated to say that I also have classes to deal with and homework to do. 

Any final thoughts?

I’m very thankful to all of the friends I have made through my time producing and releasing music, as well as the people who have supported me, whether you just discovered me, or have supported me since I first started releasing. I’ll be sure not to let y’all down this year. <3

Tracklist:

Nvctve – ID
The Caracal Project – Deadly Clout
Vellum – Swivel (Dakun Remix)
DFNKT – Signs w/ Nvctve – Delusion
Skope – Mimic
Rohaan & Tek Genesis – People of Eve (Nvctve Remix)
Akeos & Nvctve – Desolate
Impasta – Earl Grey
Nvctve & Clockvice – ID
IC3PEAK – Грустная Сука Sad Bitch (anti.negative Bootleg)
Nvctve – ID
Nvctve – Turbulence
Akeos – Void Virus
JuLo & Sterfry – Mob Wobble
COPYCATT – WHENIMBACK
Danny Brown – Lie4 (SHADES Remix)
Nvctve – Daze
Nvctve – Daze VIP
Nvctve – ID
Voysol – Envy
Nvctve & .KAGE – ID
Ankou & Nvctve – Out of Space
Rejack – Trauma
Nvctve – ID
Nvctve – ID