- The new sound of Miami.
- Nick León is part of a newer generation of Miami producers who infuse modern-day club music with sounds from around the region, everything from Miami bass to reggaeton. In León's case, his most recent—and most exciting—music has focused on beats inspired by reggaeton and its sub-genre perreo, but with a musical palette that speaks to a love of electronic music from Aphex Twin to Burial to music on labels like NAAFI and TraTraTrax. (This is a predilection he shares with DJ Python, whom León just launched a new party with.)
It's on the latter label he released the Rompediscoteka EP, one of the canniest genre fusions he's done yet, meant to hark back to the feeling he had when he first discovered reggaeton. (It came with eye-opening remixes from Maral, Kelman Duran and Henzo, producers whose personal-but-global approach mirrors León's own.) He also head a head-turning EP on Future Times, which threw Miami-style electro into the mix, with an ambient touch.
Like his productions, the young Miami DJ's sets can range from slow and low to high and tight, and his RA Podcast captures León in peak-time mode. It's a Latin-spin on everything from techno to tech house to cool-kid club music, with selections from Nico, Simisea, Siete Catorce, Ricardo Villalobos and MM adding up to a vibrant and rhythmically restless hour that soars across genres and scenes.
What are you grateful for these days?
These days I'm grateful for any extra time to just relax and be with loved ones. It seems like everyone is on the go and the moments of rest are few and far between. When schedules align and nothing is pressing, that's bliss.
How and where was the mix recorded? And can you tell us the idea behind it?
This mix was recorded at my friends (and neighbors) Alexis & Jonny's house, I've been DJing a lot of high-energy stuff recently and wanted to capture the feeling of these sets as well as showcase some interesting upcoming tunes from friends.
You recently had a production credit on Rosalía's album and have produced for other singers and rappers in the past—how do you approach this kind of production versus making dance tracks, and is it something you'd like to do more of?
I think it depends on the artist, but when working with others I usually like to take a backseat and let them guide me in the direction they want. I'd like to think I have a lot of range, but just need direction. When it comes to my own music, I can be much more meticulous and neurotic. I'd love to continue producing for others as I started out that way so it's been a nice full circle moment to come back to it after being solo.
It seems like the Miami club scene is really flourishing right now, especially in terms of local artists. How does the region and its musical traditions influence the music you make/play?
I used to think I was more of an outsider amongst the Miami scene as a large chunk of it is more electro or tech house-influenced. However, after doing more research and uncovering a lot of older Latin house records as well as IDM and breaky stuff from labels like Schematic and Merck, my eyes were opened to a sort of lineage that's been happening on a subconscious level in the city. I also think that during quarantine a lot of my peers had time to hone in on their sound and experiment so it's made for some amazing club music over the past two years. I feel like we are just getting started so it's exciting to see what comes next.
What are you looking forward to in the near future?
I'm looking forward to releasing a bunch of new music! Between an EP with Bitter Babe on Florentino's Club Romantico, a split with DJ Python and my own solo release on Tra Tra Trax. I can't wait to open the floodgates. I've also started a residency with DJ Python at my favorite club in Miami called Floyd, looking forward to helping program that and hopefully invite friends from out of town to come play.
What's one social or political cause you want the world to pay more attention to?
Climate change seems like the most pressing issue no matter how much we want to pretend it's not. We're past the point of mitigating it according to scientists but hopefully we can get it together and if not at least enjoy the time we have left :)
TracklistDK - Sequences
INVT & Nick León - Unreleased
MM - Floorfiller
El Cantor - Toma
Tech Man 1 - Come On
Matias Aguayo - El Camarón (Ricardo Villalobos Remix)
Simisea - Unreleased
EL PLVYBXY - Divinorum
Hagan - Right Here
Bitter Babe & Nick León - Ecotone
Nico - Plana
INVT & Nicola Cruz - Coffee Break
DJ Rafy Melendez - Asi Es La Musica (Nick León Edit)
Jonny From Space - Hurricane Party
R.A.W. - Asuca (Nick León Edit)
Sel.6 - TRIO 99’
Ayesha - Rezo
James Bangura - Unreleased
Dj Baba - Call to Space
Bitter Babe & Nick León - Delirio
Fwea-Go Jit - Stop Hold Up
Nick León - A Bailar
Bitter Babe & Nick León - GØCE (De Schuurman Remix)
Siete Catorce - Amor
RHR - Psicometria
DNGDNGDNG & Prisma - Pliegues (Verraco Remix)
DJ Python - IWU