KOMPAKT fans should have been familiar with the name Nicky Elisabeth for some time now. At the beginning of 2019, Nicky joined the KOMPAKT family and from then on was spotted more and more often not only at KOMPAKT events, but also in the line-ups of renowned festivals (DGTL, Strafwerk, amongst others) and clubs. And who doesn’t remember the legendary “Kompakt Pop Up Party” in October 2019 during the Amsterdam Dance Event, streamed live from Nicky’s living room, where together with Michael Mayer and Rex The Dog she finally conquered our hearts in a flash?
Nicky Elisabeth lives and works in Amsterdam and is one of the resident DJs of De Marktkantine, one of the most established clubs in the Dutch capital and long-time host of KOMPAKT parties of all kinds. Anyone who has experienced one of these parties there will find much of the special atmosphere and punchy sound of those nights in Nicky’s KOMPAKT debut 12inch “Celeste”.
It seems obvious to interpret the two tracks “Celeste” and “Say” as a kind of loving homage to the KOMPAKT sound of the last three decades. With sparing means Nicky manages to elicit a maximum of energy and catchiness from her two tracks, always carried by a sure instinct for breaks and the right timing for small escalations – something that good DJs simply have in their blood. In the end, it’s always about the dramaturgy.
The two remixes of the title track “Celeste” from the hands of the grand masters Robag Wruhme and Roman Flügel are no less “celestial” than the original. Robag Wruhme in particular gives the piece something wonderfully floating and dreamy in his arrangement, as he also managed to do on his 12-inch “Yes/Calma Calma“ (KOM EX 115). Roman builds in little deconstructions here and there, sometimes going left, sometimes heading right, to finally let himself be carried away by the good-humoured nineties vibe. One can hardly wait to finally experience all this on the dance floor again.
