Nickon Faith, who spent years based in Manchester and is now settling in Melbourne, has released his first full EP for Constant Circles after a stretch of feeling stuck. In a way, the release captures him finding his way back, both as an artist and as a person, into something freer and more alive.
Serenity carries an underlying melancholy beneath its more uplifting moments; three tracks shaped by a period of self-reflection, personal change, and reassessing what music really meant to him. That tension between hope and heaviness runs through the whole EP.
In the interview, Nickon talks about these new beginnings, navigating major life shifts, and building out his label Resonance Spectrum Records from the ground up.
Your new EP Serenity is your first full EP for Constant Circles. What does this release represent for you at this point in your journey as an artist?
Honestly. I feel this EP represents a bit of new beginnings for me in finding myself not just as an artist but as a person as well. For a while I had found myself in a little bit of a rut, I was still making lots of music but I also felt very burnt out. So there is kind of a re-invigoration and evolution going on. I feel Serenity lies at the fringes of that, like a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel transitioning into an exciting, artistically free flowing place and leaving the things that belong in the past – in the past.
“Serenity” took over a year to come together. Can you tell us a bit about that process, and what each of the three tracks ended up meaning to you?
The lead song Serenity came first. I played an early version of it around two years ago, when I was supporting Just Her at Warmup in London. I feel like it was played at the right time in the right moment and the track really popped off. Claire asked me to send it over for her label on the spot pretty much! Then decided to extend it into an EP and the other two tracks started to get formed.
At this point I was going through some life transitions involving relationships, identity and feeling misaligned with my life/questioning what music actually meant to me. I feel the Serenity EP encapsulates a lot of this challenging time and journey of self rediscovery I had to go through. There are some uplifting moments but it has this underlying melancholy to it. A little bittersweet.
Just Her and Choopsie have both reworked tracks from the EP. What was it like handing those originals over to other producers, and did hearing their versions change the way you hear your own?
Claire mentioned that Choopsie might be on the remix and I was actually really excited! I had heard a few Choopsie songs in the past and really digged them. I trust Claire a lot as a fellow passionate artist as well. I had a lot of faith that the remixes would be awesome while respecting the originals.
I think Choopsie certainly made Closer feel very euphoric and both remixers added an interesting emotional nuance and perspective to the originals. I feel like the Just Her remix would pop off in some forest somewhere with lasers going off as it’s quite a bit deeper and more hypnotic than the original aha. I love both remixes!
Can you walk us through your current production setup? Are you more hardware or software driven these days, and how do you achieve such an expansive, layered sound out of it?
I’m very software driven, I have bits of hardware in the UK but don’t use them that much really! 99% of my production currently is in the box, just laptop and focusrite.
I feel there has been a lot of trial and error over the years to get to this point in my sound. I know the things that I really like and play to that.
Creating a soundscape is very important to me in my music. For example, this EP has a lot of orchestral elements in the background. Serenity has layered harmonies of flute, ocarina, choir, all kind of washed out with reverb. Lots of droney synths and psychedelic textures that give it this space sort of vibe. I love the attention to detail when it comes to ear candy also, I often put lots of things like rattles, ceremony drums, tingsha’s, chimes etc… placed in the background, which really helps build that like mental painting when you’re listening to the track. My FX buses usually have like 40-50 tracks in them – which my CPU hates aha!
I like when things become a little bit shoegazy and ethereal, but I also love depth, detail & nuance at the same time. So I attribute a lot of these palettes to creating an expansive sound. Music shouldn’t outright tell you what to feel in my opinion.
Manchester has such a distinct musical identity. How has being part of that scene shaped your sound and approach to music?
I love Manchester for its band scene and its electronic scene. Eventually the more you get involved the more very artistic, quirky and interesting people you end up meeting. A lot of people are doing very unique things. Spaces like the White Hotel also can be really eye opening, it’s like a hub of pure creativity, and you get to see some of the best artists in the world.
There have been some sets that have really given me a totally new experience and expanded my perspectives on what music can make you feel, and I like to take that creativity and channel it into my own work.
I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with lots of Manchester artists too, be it in bands, just jamming out on ableton or throwing parties. Everyone has their own unique artistic perspective that can inspire and influence your own.
You recently moved from Manchester to Melbourne. What made you want to make that jump, and what have you noticed about the Australian electronic music scene that feels different from what you’re used to in the UK?
The decision was born of a few personal shifts in my life. The burn out & misalignment I mentioned earlier all amalgamated. I knew things didn’t feel right; my creativity and enjoyment of music was heavily stagnating for me. After almost 2 decades of making music it all just felt really flat, I wasn’t even sure If I liked my own music or if it was any good anymore. I decided to quit my day job and see what else life had in store whilst trying to understand what it is I wanted to do. My Brother lives in Brisbane so I visited him first and had a good break. But I had heard of the music scene in Melbourne and a lot of my favourite artists are from there, so I knew I had to come here eventually to experience it for myself.
I was mainly taken back by how expansive the scene felt here. Whereas Manchester despite how awesome it is does feel like a bubble at times. Melbourne really has a lot going on. The level of artistry is very high here and there are always an abundance of great events. Certain Suburbs almost have their own little character and microscene. Kind of reminded me of Berlin a little bit in that sense.
Breaking in has been quite hard as I think there is a gatekeeper element to things, it really is about meeting the right person at the right time, but from the intentions of exploration, going out to things you genuinely enjoy & wanting to contribute in a meaningful way from an authentic place. I enjoy that side of things, but I like making tracks way more so I’ve just been working on music round the clock and taking my time to enjoy the journey and explore as much as I can, and know the right synchronicities will occur at the right time. I am lucky enough to have met some really cool people and great artists already.
Resonance Spectrum Records is now just over a year into its journey. What has launching your own label taught you about the music industry, and about yourself, that you didn’t expect when you started it?
From an industry standpoint, I have really enjoyed and learnt about branding a lot through RSR. I always had this idea for the label and I got my friend 2step.png to help steer me into bringing things into a meaningful light. He really helped me understand that I should try and come up with a proper story that can be expressed via RSR. Also through that experience I have understood the value of collaboration a lot more. Especially with a big project like RSR where there are multiple facets. I do what I do best and handle the music, and bounce some ideas to him of what direction I want things to go and he magics out the next amazing artwork, and now the label on its third release really tells a cohesive story. Especially when lining all the music & artwork together. It feels incredibly satisfying.
I think going forward for me my biggest takeaway is the art of meaningful collaboration, as Nickon Faith project gets bigger I feel I will need to start out sourcing more the things I may not be as good at, so I feel building a network and community that sort of acts as your team is very important.
On a personal note, I realised I actually really love running this label way more than I thought. I have ambitions to expand it, with label parties, releases on vinyls, awesome audio visual things with 2step. It has been a joy to release music that moves me from amazing artists and I almost treat them as if they’re my own releases – it’s expensive stuff though!
You also co-founded Acid Faith events. What has it given you creatively that you don’t necessarily get from your own productions or DJ sets?
Acid Faith is on a bit of a back burner now that I’m in Melbourne, and I want to focus on my label more currently. But it’s a project I can always pick back up. I co-run it with London based Acid James. We became great friends over the years through music and being on a very similar artistic path in lots of ways. Acid Faith was like our collaborative outlet to create a specific vibe that combined acid house, rave, electro, trance and all the leftfield ravey tunes that we love. We threw some nice parties in the UK, and it gave us a chance to work with other artists and event runners and help create a nice sense of community. Also understanding what it means to throw a good party!
After more than a decade of making music, what keeps you curious? Is there still something you feel you’re trying to figure out as an artist?
What keeps me curious & inspired is usually the work of other artists. Actually seeing great performers, actively discovering new music and keeping integrated in those spaces. Meeting other musicians in the scene doing similar things to you is great as well; I go to things like ableton user groups and artist talks a lot. For example, OK EG did a great run down of their live set recently which I attended, that was insanely cool to see – shout out to big racket for hosting.
Something very specifically inspirational to me in Melbourne was seeing Daniel Avery play with his live band not too long ago. I come from a background of making songs and compositions on my guitar, playing in bands and listening to 90’s shoegaze and psychedelic rock. It has always been a dream to have a successful band like that. Seeing his show meant everything to me. I think what he is doing is so cool! Merging his analogue-y acid techno productions with the band and creating this truly unique beautiful – wall of sound-esque music that feels so raw like it belongs in the 90s but also super fresh as well. Then I got to meet him and the domino records guys at this music fair the day after. They say never meet your hero’s but he was such a lovely guy! That entire experience really inspired me to my core. I had seen him play many times before, but that gig was something else!
I want to explore that in my own sound, to bring back some of those song writer-y elements I used to have and re-incorporate my guitar, vocals and just make really cool songs whilst combining the sound I have developed over the years as Nickon Faith. I know there’s so many directions I can go with it.
Between the EP, Resonance Spectrum, Acid Faith and your new life in Melbourne, what’s on the horizon for the rest of 2026?
Right now I’m in an exciting place as I have really gone full tunnel vision and finished/polished my 2nd album. As well as other tracks, now I’m up to about 15-20 super polished, really high quality tracks I’m really proud of ready to go including the album. The tricky thing for me is knowing how to go about releasing my album, either on my own label. Which very much would fit and add perfectly to the story. Or I try to find a really solid label who may be interested in the LP. I’ve not decided yet.
I do have a track release on a VA after my Constant Circles EP also, which I’m very much looking forward to! Also gearing up for the next Resonance Spectrum soon.
For now I will see where the road takes me!