Finally. An RNX album. What took you so damn long?
Robert: “Yes, finally! It was a combination of time and other (musical) priorities. But hey, I finally made it.”


Do you mind explaining the difference between Robert Nickson and RNX?
Robert: “I’d like to think I keep the true uplifting trance under my name while anything that feels slower or less energetic I release as RNX. But sometimes it can be vague. ‘Colorado’ could’ve been an RN track and ‘Sundown’ could’ve maybe been an RNX release. I think my remix for ‘Rain Stars Eternal’ was released as a Robert Nickson RNX Remix to make matters more confusing.”

The first RNX original was, if we’re correct, released in 2012. How has its sound evolved over the 11 years since?
Robert: “That’s right, the first release was called ‘Suffer’ in 2012. The sound has gone a little all over the place since. Back then I’d just call it progressive trance, but then some of the tracks I released with Silk Music around 2016/2017 had a much more house feel to them. After that it became somewhat more trancy again. Now I’m not really sure what to label it. Somewhere between trance and progressive I imagine, or slow trance as I sometimes call it.”

We’ve heard it’s been in the making for four years in total. Which tracks inspired you or led you on to create an entire album around them?
Robert: “I don’t think I have tracks that inspired me that way. I sometimes just listen to sets by some artists who inspire me and try to recreate their sounds. It’s just elements here and there and in the end I feel my own sound always comes through.”

15 tracks in total, most of them quite lengthy as well. When was the moment you thought ‘now it’s complete’?
Robert: “I’m not sure I ever really call a track complete. I always find bits to change, only to change them back again a day later. It’s hard to explain when an album is complete though. Once I have a few tracks I start arranging the order of them and at some point it just feels right. Some tracks don’t quite fit and get archived, potentially for another day, and sometimes you need an extra track to make the journey work.”

It’s quite a ride, to create an entire album. Did anyone offer you some advice? Has Rich played a role in this?
Robert: “Rich is great. He’s really easygoing and will basically just let me do what I want. He has said he will release music I send him without even listening to it, something I really should test one day.
My wife Nadine has helped me too. She’ll be brutally honest (and annoying) at times. We’ll find out who was right. You’ll know the answer if I go MIA.”

So, it’s titled ‘Oscillate’ – do you care to explain the thoughts behind it?
Robert: “As always I struggle with titles, particularly for albums. I was trying to find a cool word that would make some kind of sense musically. My wife and I were talking track titles on a drive back from New York and she mentioned Oscillate and it stuck. It has no real deeper meaning, it’s just a cool-sounding word.”

15 tracks, and we’re sure they’re all made with love. Are there any particular tracks that you wouldn’t want anyone else to touch though?
Robert: “No actually I’d be very curious to see what someone else would do, as long as it provides something new from original.”

You’ve also included some extraordinary collabs, with Forerunners, Matter, Mir Omar and Andromedha. How did these come into being?

Robert: “I’ve been a fan of their music for a while and have met all of them at various events over the past few years. In the case of Brenden (Forerunners) I think it was at the Pure Trance ADE event in 2016. I told him I’d love to do a track with him one day. I’m sometimes somewhat surprised as my sound (even my RNX sound) is quite different from theirs and it makes me wonder how interested they really are, but perhaps they enjoy the challenge or the variation it may bring.”

There’s quite a variety in its sound too – The dark and techy ‘Ohm’, for example, is very different from the uplifting melody-driven ‘Lovely’. What would you say is the criterium for something to make it as an RNX original? Is it the variety that keeps it interesting?
Robert: “I don’t really have a criterium per se. An RNX track typically has a much lower BPM. The styles and atmosphere can vary quite a lot though. As you mentioned, ‘Ohm’ and ‘Lovely’ are miles apart in terms of mood and atmosphere. I think this is part of what doing albums is about though. It’s a great opportunity to release music that might otherwise never see the light of day.”

We’re more than happy to bring the first RNX album to the people. What are you hoping people will experience while listening to it?
Robert: “Hopefully, people are encapsulated by the journey and can use it as an escape from daily reality.”

Any chance people will be able to experience an RNX set on the dance floor anytime soon?
Robert: “We’re currently working on that. Late last year, I moved to the US, so I basically put everything on hold during that process.”

Thanks for the interview, Robert. Any words to the RNX fans out there?
Robert: “Thanks to every single one of you. Your kind words are encouraging and are a huge part of the reason I’m still doing this.”

The RNX album ‘Oscillate’ is out now. Discover it here.