Nicholas John Warren (born 24 October 1960) is an English DJ and record producer. He is best known as a member of the electronic music duo Way Out West, his record label and global live events brand, The Soundgarden, and for his albums released in the Global Underground series. He is also head of A&R for the record label Hope Recordings.
Biography
In 1988, Nick Warren began DJing in Bristol, playing mainly reggae and indie music until house music became more popular in the UK.[2] By the early 1990s, Warren had become one of the more popular DJs in Bristol, performing regularly at the superclub Vision and DJing for Massive Attack.[3][4]
While working at a record store in 1994, Warren met producer Jody Wisternoff and the two decided to work together.[4] Their first collaboration was on the track "Paradise is the Sound" which they released under the artist name Sub-Version 3.[5] Warren describes Wisternoff as being the more technical of the two, while Warren states that he "bring[s] most of the sounds into our projects" and an understanding of what music needs in order for it to be successful at dance clubs.[2] Their next two releases were issued under the name Echo, with Way Out West being the name of their remix project.[5] The duo soon adopted the name for their act and signed a deal with Deconstruction Records.
In December 2000, Way Out West was dropped by Deconstruction, which had since been bought by BMG, as the label felt that Way Out West's album would not do well commercially.[2][5] Way Out West then signed a three-album contract with Distinct'ive Records, turning down offers from other labels such as Bedrock.[2][5] Their first album on Distinct'ive was Intensify, which featured the singles "The Fall", "Intensify", and "Mindcircus". "The Fall" used lyrics taken from the Cole Porter song "Autumn Leaves" and "Mindcircus" features vocals written by Imogen Heap.[2] For the next Way Out West album, Don't Look Now (2004), Warren and Wisternoff brought in vocalist Omi and drummer Damon Reece.[7] As of early 2007, Way Out West had begun work on new material.[8] Warren made this possible because he is now head A&R of Hope Recordings, the label in which their last single "Spaceman" was released in 2008.[9] In 2008, Global Underground released Warren's next compilation, Global Underground 035: Lima.[10] Before this album, Warren had sold over 110,000 compilations in the Global Underground series in the UK alone.[10]
Way Out West's fourth album, titled "We Love Machine", was released on 6 October 2009. The song "Only Love" featuring Jonathan Mendelsohn on vocals (the album marks their first collaboration with a male vocalist) was the first single from the album, released 31 August 2009. The deluxe edition of the album on Hope Recordings is available at their own website.
In 2010, Warren released a remix of Grafiti's song Spooky Trains and a remix of General Midi's song 'Absinth'. Also in 2010, Warren released on Bedrock Recordings, with the track In Search of Silver and he began his The Soundgarden show on Frisky Radio, a bi-monthly venture in which Nick played a wide range of different sets on this popular station. The show was discontinued in 2018.[11]
2011 marked Hope Recordings' 100th release, taken on by none other than Nick Warren himself. The track was titled 'Buenos Aires' – as Warren feels a special connection with the city, having played there on several occasions.
"I am in love with the city of Buenos Aires and have the most amazing time, each and every time I go there to play. I started writing this tune after playing there last year".[12]Hope Recordings' next release was by Tom Glass, titled 'Naive' for which Nick did his own 'Psychedelic Wheel' Remix.
In November 2011, Nick released another solo single, Rumbletump, on Hernan Cattaneo's Sudbeat label.
On 25 August 2012 Warren announced via his Facebook page that he would be compiling the next Renaissance Masters series album, set for a January 2013 release. He demonstrated his excitement for the release stating "These are exciting times for electronic music with genres and styles more eclectic than ever before and with this album for the Masters series I hope to highlight some of the most breathtaking and diverse electronic music in 2012."[13]
In 2015, Warren expanded his The Soundgarden radio shows into a global live events brand. After an initial season in Ibiza, the brand found particular initial success in the South American markets, with highlights including shows at Destino Arena, Mar Del Plata and Parque Riviera, Montevideo, Uruguay, as well as annual boat parties at Amsterdam Dance Event and Miami Music Week alongside Hernán Cattáneo's Sudbeat label.
Off the back of its success in the live arena, The Soundgarden has subsequently expanded into a respected Progressive and Melodic House record label. A&R'd exclusively by Warren, the label has released numerous EPs and singles from artists including Modd, Luka Sambe, Black 8, Nicolas Rada, and Warren himself, as well as compilations and samplers for major electronic music events such as Miami Music Week and Amsterdam Dance Event.[14]
In 2017, Warren and Jody Wisternoff released their fifth studio album as Way Out West, Tuesday Maybe, on Anjunadeep. In 2018, the duo subsequently released an EP of extended chill-out versions of tracks from Tuesday Maybe, entitled Sunday Maybe, on Anjunadeep.
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