Nick Catchdubs: Catch Him If You Can
Richie Adomako / June 17, 2009
Nick Catchdubs has his plate full and he wants to share it with you. His music-making journey started with a high school band. In college he designed graphics for Hollertronix and made obsessive mix tapes for graduation parties before becoming a DJ and founding a successful record label. Since realizing DJ-ing is what he wanted to do after hearing mixes from Hollertronix, Mark Ronson and others, it has been a learning experience for Nick. His budding love of music has led him to grow within circles of friends and artists. In his early years, Nick observed the likes of Cosmo Baker, DJ Ayres and others who were considerably doing things properly from a technical and programming standpoint in music. He took what he learned along with the experiences and made it his own. ‘The Catchdubs Spin’ is an inclusion of genres from dance music, hip hop, dance hall, electro, rock and more. Nick uses different styles and genre as a means of connecting to his audience. While his sound is distinct, he makes a point of making a stamp with his music in coalescence to the audience and their experience.
As the co-founder of Fool’s Gold Records with DJ A-Trak, leaving a stamp on an audience has become a part of Nick’s music. Fool’s Gold breeds this concept with a list of artists, DJs and producers who are taste making individuals in the music industry. From exciting mix tapes to sold out shows, Fool’s Gold captures music and creates an environment where DJs can have an influence through a label that strives for sounds and artists from an independent and underground scene. According to Nick, the Fool’s Gold product isn’t about forcing taste, it is about molding what comes naturally through the camaraderie of artists who strive to carve their own path through maintaining good relationships and releasing good music. The success of products like Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘N’ Nite” is an added bonus among their work. The idea behind the label and their music is to operate through the cultivation of a “cool project and a cool brand,” and finding ways of making money from those means.
Fool’s Gold releases are met with an eager and receptive audience to their ever-changing and evolving work. Nick is a great example of somone who loves what he does and commits to it. He continues to strive for the dynamic between the stage and the audience. While being on a stage can change how one works, Nick finds a personal level that continues to attract people to his work.
We interviewed Nick just before he left for Australia as a part of the Flashing Lights tour.
Read the Interview after the jump.
How and when did you get into DJ-ing?
I’ve always been involved in music in one way or another. I’ve played, been in bands in high school and written music. In college I tried getting my band off the ground but I was also doing other things like graphic design and making posters. Right before graduating, there were all these graduation parties that I would make mix tapes for. I would obsess about them and their track order. I was never really someone that went out to the clubs, so I wasn’t aware of the world of DJ-ing, but the light bulb was starting to flicker a bit. That summer, when I graduated I started going out more and I would see DJs with their turntables. That was when the light bulb went on. I got a bunch of mix tapes from Hollertronix and Mark Ronson and I was like wow, this is what I really want to do. This is a way to take all the things I like from music – the different styles – and connect the dots. I was already involved in music in so many ways; DJ-ing is one place where I touched on all of that. I really threw myself into it and here we are!
Who were your role models when you were getting started? And who are your role models now?
I started doing graphics design for Hollertronix, so I was going to all the parties anyway and we became better friends. As I was getting into DJ-ing professionally, I got to do shows with them. I loved DJ Ayres, Cosmo Baker… I was doing stuff with them and got to observe people doing things properly from a technical standpoint as well as a programming standpoint.
As I try to do more original production, I find myself looking at more producers. Everyone at Fool’s Gold, they’re my friends and I’m putting out their records. It’s really inspiring to see them grow as artists – that’s something I want to be doing with my own work too. I like the guys that produced for Dirty Bird – it’s sort of like hybrid house music. I also watch a lot of hip hop producers – like Zaytoven out of Atlanta; he does all the Gucci Mane work. As far as actual DJs, I’m just trying to make it a little bit more of a performance by being more animated on stage, being comfortable and building a better relationship with the audience, because I’m traveling and doing more shows and I always want them to be as good as they possibly can – Like watching A-Trak play, he’s one of the craziest scratch DJs of history yet he’s developing overall as a well grounded DJ.
It’s about being inspired by your friends. They’ll push you to get better regardless.
For those not familiar with your work, how would you describe your style?
I go for a lot. The best part of shows is when I get to play for a while and touch on everything- dance music, hip hop, dance hall to rock. I like being able to find the thread to all these different style and pulling them together. I would just tell people to check out my website, I put everything I push out online too – you’re not always going o be able to hand people your CD.
What techniques or music software do you use when you’re DJ-ing and what are the elements that matter to you when you are making a mix?
When at home, I still do everything on turntables, but in terms of recording, I do everything on Pro Tools so I can check the sound and make it as good as I possibly can. Most, if not all, live DJs are either on Serato or CBJs, but I prefer to use Serato because I like the options it gives. For anyone not familiar with the program, it lets you okay mp3’s the same way you would play records – you have the same control as you do with records. Ultimately, all the technology is for nothing if you don’t have the musical knowledge and if you are not paying attention to the crowd.
Who are your current favorite artists to listen to?
I listen to a lot of different things. As far as the last couple of artists I’ve been into, I like the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I just got the latest Cam’ron record – about half of that is good and half is whatever. DJ Sega from Philly put out New Jack Philly; it’s really fun to listen to.
What songs do you currently like to play when you’re DJ-ing?
I like some techno, something up-tempo with enough swing to sneak into a set of dance or hip hop and use it as a bridge to get into electronic.
What has been your favorite experience as a DJ?
I never try to think of it as what are my top what are my top ten gigs or my favorite moments. What’s always exciting is what’s going to come next. It’s what I haven’t done what I want to do. As for recent experience, the Fool’s Gold showcase at Winter Music Conference this year was a lot of fun. I played after A-Trak and Craze; we kept the party going till seven in morning. I really got to play all that I wanted to and the crowd ate it up. It was great – like the perfect moment.
Also, it is always nice to play at shows with bigger artists. It adds an extra component—even if you’re opening for them – you get to put your stamp on the experience and show your work to an audience that may not know who you are. I like being able to play with artists making their debut in New York, it’s something people always remember. I’ve played at MIA and Lady Sovereign’s first show in New York.
What is your favorite venue in and outside of New York City?
I like playing at Studio B, it’s a good size – not too small or totally massive – and it’s around the corner from my house so it’s cool being able to rock a show there and then walking home. Wrong Bar in Toronto has a good sound system. It’s actually less about the venue than [which] people are coming out. I like being able to play in cities where I have friends – Miami, Chicago, San Francisco – that’s what makes the parties fun, not the venues but who is coming out.
What is a typical day like for you?
With the label, I usually wake up, go to the office – because I get more work done there – and then work till quitting time. I will then either go out to an event or DJ. If I have the night off I’ll head home, DJ, chill – watch a movie or something – I always try to keep busy. I don’t think I can say I have moments where I’m bored…not in the last two years.
How did Fool’s Gold Records come about?
A-Trak and I became friends DJ-ing. We realized that we shared a lot of the same ideas towards music and a lot of similar tastes. A-Trak was working on more electronic music. He had an independent hip hop label in Canada with his brother for a long time. He knew at one point the aesthetic of the new music he was making didn’t fit with the label and that there was some due change – that’s when he decided to ask if I wanted to work on a label with him and have it be our thing. That was about two years ago, and since then it’s been about building a brand.
What were your goals when you started the label and how have they changed? – If any.
I think they are the same. We wanted to put out music that was a reflection of ourselves, our friends and capture the scene we were a part of. We knew that through what we were doing DJs would have an influence on music throughout the world – there just wasn’t a proper label to document it. Everybody gives out MP3’s and puts things out for free on the internet, but it’s like a different effect to have a physical product like a twelve inch vinyl record – it makes it that much more official. We knew from the beginning that we wanted to take these sounds and artists from an independent underground level and share them with the world at large, and do it naturally. We didn’t want to force our taste or music on people. We just wanted to present it in a cool way – pretty much identical to what we’re doing today. The only difference now is we’ve had such great success in a short period of time and we’ve learned a lot; we apply what we learn to the new releases. We realize that we are looked at as a leader in our field – as a genuine taste maker. We take it all in mind, but the intentions are the same.
What obstacles did/do you face?
I wish I had forty-eight hour days so I’ll be able to get a lot more done. We take a do-it-yourself approach to everything. It can be something as simple as a newsletter… the only obstacle is the hours in the day.
What do you look for when scouting potential Fool’s Gold artists?
Good artists and good music always have a certain x-factor. People always ask how we do this or that. What it boils down to is good relationships and releasing good music. It’s not an equation. You can’t just take anybody or any artist and turn them into a star; you have to find people you have a personal connection to – people who are doing something a little different than the norm.
How often do you sign new artists?
We are constantly signing new artists and looking for the thing. This DJ Gant-Man record just came out literally this week. Next up is Alexander Robotnick, a legendary Italian disco producer and there’s an EP by Crookers. We’ve got a bunch of brand new remixes from them. We’re also about to drop a full length Fool’s Gold compilation album with a bunch of brand new music from our existing artists and we’ll finally get Kid Sister’s album out there.
The music industry has been rapidly evolving over the past couple of years. Where does Fool’s Gold and other independent record labels fit in?
When we started, we wanted to carve our own path. We didn’t say let’s find an artist that will make us a million dollars or let’s listen to the radio right now and copy that. Our attitude was let’s put our friends’ music – let’s put out what we had a personal connection to and bring it to the world at large.
Like Kid Kudi’s Day ‘N’ Night, when something is that successful, it’s a bonus. Its not written into the business plan but the idea isn’t to operate as your typical record label but as a cool project and a cool brand – finding a way to make money through that role.
Where do you see the industry going?
You have artists that are generic, no edges and easily consumed as possible – with a short term shelf life, and on the opposing end there are artists that people follow that genuinely love what they do. The larger industry looks towards independent labels like us for artists. They can’t do it at their scale anymore.
What advice would you give up-and-coming DJs?
Find your identity – look at people doing it the right way and learn as much as you possibly can, then figure out how to put your own spin on it. A lot of people tend to go for a short term success. Good or bad, people are always going to have music. Just be as good of an individual as you possibly can.
