Meet Nicholas Novian | Music Producer/DJ

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicholas Novian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicholas, how do you think about risk?
Risk has played a significant role in my life. When I was 18, I decided to move across the country to follow my dreams of being a Music Producer/DJ. When I first arrived in San Diego, I wasn’t sure where to get started or where to go as I didn’t know anyone in the scene. After about a year of being in San Diego, I had met some people who told me about a place called Somewhere Loud. At the time, it was the rave place to go to and so I decided to go check it out and was so amazed that something like this existed so close to where I lived. Up until this point, I mostly DJ’d at a friend’s house whenever they threw parties, and after visiting Somewhere Loud a few times, they had encouraged me to try and play there. Not knowing how to do that, I decided to go down there on a Tuesday afternoon and knocked on the door hoping someone would answer. I feel like most people would have given up after 10 minutes and come back another time, but I felt determined that day and waited around for like 25-30 minutes and finally, someone came to the door. I remember the guy who answered the door looked really confused and I told him I wanted to DJ here and gave him a CD of a mix that I made. He was really nice and told me to come back on another date where they held open decks. I did go to that open deck night and I would go on to meet some amazing people and some that I am still close with to this day who have helped me with my music career.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve been creating music for about 6 years and more recently I’ve been creating music that really represents who I am. Hard dance is a very niche genre and not many people are aware of it or are into here in SD. I think what sets me apart from others is that I like to create music that is both familiar but at the same time is completely different than what most people have heard. This is really important as being a Hard dance DJ, One thing I am most proud of is creating music that is truly who I am and I don’t follow what genre is currently “in”. Getting to this point has not been easy. There are days where you don’t want to work on anything, however you have to fight through it. If you want something enough, you will do whatever it takes to achieve that. What helps me overcome these challenges is reminding myself of how far I’ve come. It’s easy to get lost in the day to day stuff and think that you’re going nowhere, but I remember to look at the big picture and see what I’ve achieved. If I’ve made it this far, I can definitely go further.

One of the most important things I’ve learned throughout the years, that I find is the most important, is you can never do anything alone. Having a good group of people that can help you learn and push you to become the best version of yourself is crucial. I think it’s always best to ask for help as long as it’s helping yourself become better at your craft.

If there’s one thing I want the world to know about me is where I came from. I come from a really small town in upstate New York where the dance music scene is non-existent and pretty much nobody listened to this type of music. I moved to California with this big dream of becoming a music producer/DJ and the willingness to do anything it takes. Yes, it has been a difficult road but I wouldn’t change anything I’ve done to get to this point. I just hope that this inspires someone to push themselves and get out of their comfort zone to follow their dreams. As soon as you start living outside of what you’re comfortable with, you truly can see how strong you are and what you are capable of.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Some of my favorite spots to visit would be Balboa Park, Mission Beach, La Jolla, and Mission Trails. There’s a lot of sight seeing and hiking to do in those areas and I love riding my one wheel around there. Also, there is this awesome spot near the aquarium in la Jolla that has a swing that overlooks the ocean. It’s such a beautiful scenery, so I would highly recommend going there.

Being in SD, there is a lot of amazing food places. My top spots would be Saludes for Mexican food. My friends and I always go there after a round of disc golf. Streetcar Merchants for southern savory food. During lockdown, I ordered from them at least 10-15 times. Then Korean bbq places I would choose either Manna or Gen. Both are honestly really good. Most of my family and friends from the east coast have never been to KBBQ so it’s always fun to see their reaction when eating there because it’s so different. One of my favorite desserts to eat would be an acai bowl. I always go to Newport Quik Stop Liquor in Ocean Beach for that. I would grab one of those and then walk down to the beach and watch the surfers.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to give my good friend Tommy Maverick a shoutout! He is the one who introduced me to the EDM scene here in San Diego. Anyone who knows him knows what an amazing person he is and he has helped many artists I know to become successful. Starting off with becoming a promoter and then eventually working my way up to playing shows, he helped me lay down the foundation on what I have built to this day.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its_zonedout/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/its_zonedout

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ItsZonedOut

Other: SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/itszonedout

Image Credits
IG: @vostheshooter and @bassmntnightclub