This is definitely one of the juicier posts I’ve had the privilege of writing recently…

This week, Resonant Vibes was able to catch up with Mike Weiss for an Exclusive Interview. For those who don’t already know, Mike is the founder of Nervous Records, an absolute pillar of the New York City electronic music scene. A graduate of Stanford and a lawyer by training, Mike actually moved back to NYC in 1989 and was transformed by the burgeoning club scene. In the years since, he’s left his mark on our industry, and he’s continuing to take electronic music to new, notable heights with a string of ongoing and future projects.

We were really pleased to get Mike’s candid thoughts on some interesting points, so I hope you enjoy reading the interview!

RESONANT VIBES INTERVIEW OF MIKE WEISS:

RV: Nervous Records has a long and fascinating history, being formed in New York City in 1991 with an initial focus on East Coast house music. How would you compare and contrast the East Coast house music scene today with the scene back when you got started?

Mike: Back when I started, New York felt like the center of the universe for the club scene. Before London blew up the “super club” concept, we had massive clubs in New York and just took it for granted. We didn’t even have to call them super clubs….The World, Palladium, Tunnel, Limelight….etc. And there were a lot of  weekly residencies…so for example, Dave Morales was at Red Zone every weekend, and you could bring him the types of records he liked playing and could buzz it up from there. Louie Vega was at Sound Factory Bar on Wednesdays. Tony Humphries was at Zanzibar in Newark. Keoki was at Limelight. Now, there are really no weekly residencies like that, where the crowd and the DJ are in synch with a certain kind of club music. I still regularly hit spots like Pacha and Cielo, but the marketing for any specific track obviously is a lot more based on Internet marketing. And there is obviously much more access to DJs outside of New York through streaming. I have great memories of the NYC club nights of the 90s, as there was definitely a stronger community back then. But times change; now the community is more global, and that’s nice as well.

RV: Given your label’s longevity, it would be interesting to hear your perspective on the future of the electronic music industry. Do you think electronic music is growing in popularity? Do you see a bright future for electronic music, or do you think the scene’s best days are behind us?

Mike: I think the best days are ahead of us. To me, the essence of all club music (electronic, house, disco, etc.) is the clubbing experience. And whether you’re in your car blasting tunes, or working with your headphones on, or chilling at home, or actually in the middle of  a dance floor, it’s all about giving yourself the thrill and pleasure of hearing something amazing and sharing that experience with others. Technology is going to make that more and more possible. Eventually I’m sure big and small clubs will be wired to the max with cameras, and you’ll be able to experience clubs all over the world on your computer in real time.

RV: Nervous Records has gone through several phases in its lifetime. At one point, your focus was actually hip hop. Is it difficult having a history of dealing in multiple genres?

Mike: No, it makes things that much more interesting. My musical tastes have always been diverse, but the one common aspect is that they tend to sway toward more underground sounds…whether that is the grimy hip hop that was coming out of Brooklyn in the 90s (Black Moon, Smif-n-Wessun), or the minimal sounds of early Josh Wink tracks in the 90s, or the sample filled house tracks that were big in Jersey and Chicago in the late 90s (Byron Stingily, Kim English) , or the deep and tribally sounds currently being produced by Oscar G and Raph Falcon. And I’ve been fortunate that at least once in a while, something that at first is underground is then granted some commercial success, which allows us to continue to be experimental and open-minded in signing tracks that often don’t have any initial commercial base.

RV: Your label has an exciting road ahead with the release of Nervous Nitelife Series: House Classics Remixed scheduled for February 10. What was the inspiration and motivation for this release?

Mike: It seems that, at least for the large media, the spotlight has moved away from the American House Music sound. So I feel now is a good time to start bringing it back out, as a lot of newer fans who are listening to the music coming from Europe don’t know how much all the new producers are influenced by what was happening in New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Miami a couple decades back.

RV: With so many “house classics” in the archives, how did you pick out the ones to be remixed? Who made the actual selections?

Mike: I wanted to get someone who had a knowledge and legacy of house music, but who had never previously been affiliated with Nervous…so I could get an outsider’s perspective on some of the more classic tracks and thereby hopefully create some exciting remix combinations. That’s exactly what happened here with Marlon D. He made the track selection and remixer selections. 

RV: Looking a bit further ahead, what else on the Nervous Records agenda? Do you have any other big releases in the works for 2009?

Mike: Absolutely!  February 3rd is also the release date for Josh Wink’s When A Banana Was Just a Banana. On March 24, is Nervous Nitelife: Miami 2009 mixed by Armand Pena. Then comes the spring…and two projects I’m really excited about! The Debut album from Chris Lake, which is amazing. To me Chris has all the best elements of the producers who have blown up over the past year…he combines the sonic flavor of Deadmau5, with the songwriting abilities of a more commercial guy like David Guetta, with the soulful essence of Axwells’ best tunes. That is coming in May, and then in June is the next Oscar G album, which will be a double CD (one CD will be mixed compilation, one CD will be original Oscar G tracks, and also there will be a DVD in the package. DVD filming takes place Sunday morning January 25 at 4:00 on Space’s Terrace.

RV: You’ve obviously had a significant impact on the electronic music scene. When it’s all said and done, what do you want the legacy of Nervous Records to be?

Mike: I would really like Nervous to represent a certain era of  music….Chess Records in Chicago in 50’s, TK Records in Miami in the 70’s….Def Jam in New York in the 80’s….right now I think a lot of people affiliate Nervous with New York in the 90’s. We had a big DJ Magazine cover in 1993 that said Nervous – The Sound of New York, with Black Moon, Loni Clark, and Nuyorican Soul on the cover. But I guess I’m now shooting for having a rep in a new decade, and a new sound to connect to. Time will tell if we can make that happen!