Discovering Nic Fanciulli.

Nic Fanciulli promo photo.

Nic Fanciulli is talented, sweet, charming, and a major hottie. What else can you ask for in a DJ? Oh, that's right, he is also an Italiano. It is 11PM on a Thursday night in San Francisco, and Nic has just arrived about three hours before from Puerto Rico for his California leg of the tour. He is sitting at Salt, the restaurant directly adjacent to Harlot(where he is scheduled to play), in SOMA with Alessandro Iacobelli of Base Italy to his left and his manager sitting across the table. It is 30 minutes before he is scheduled to play, and he is patiently sitting and waiting for his dessert to arrive.

Nic is an internationally renowned DJ and producer, originally from Maidstone, Kent. He started DJing at the age of 16 in local bars until becoming the main room resident DJ for ClubClass, which he still represents till this day. In 2003 Nic began his summer gigs at the legendary terrace, where he received the nickname "Terrace Kings" along side Paul Woolford, in Ibiza and since has gained a residency at Il Muretto in Venice. This year Nic will be joining Carl Cox for his Tuesday night events at Space in Ibiza.

In the upcoming years after his start in Ibiza, it was a whirlwind of achievements that could not be stopped or by any means slowed down. His original ClubClass, which had attracted Deep Dish, Pete Tong from Wonderland, and John Digweed, was moved to Ministry of Sound in London; in 2006 Nic scored a quarterly residency at Space in Miami; and in March of 2008, he started Atomic at the infamous The End in London with fellow residents Laurent Garnier and Sven Vath.

In 2005 Nic released a compilation on the legendary series of Renaissance, which is home to Sasha, Digweed, Deep Dish, and many more, and since then has been tapping in with Renaissance on a regular basis. Then, it was time for Nic's Global Underground CD release tour. Nic had hit up 21 spots in 30 days before arriving in SF, including Cielo in New York City, Detroit's Movement Fesitval, Mokai in Miami, and Fur in Washington DC. Harlot was the next stop for Nic; and he was sitting, half an hour before he had to go on stage, eagerly anticipating the San Francisco ear.

Nic had been to SF many times before, and a couple of those times for gigs at 1015 Folsom and Ruby Skye. He likes it in SF because he says he gets the same vibe as he would at his residencies in London. You can tell that Nic finds it important to be surrounded by his support and see familiar faces when he is spinning and especially when he is traveling. He has his friends here who always make him feel welcomed when he rolls through, including Alessandro, the head of Base Italy, who is the one to recognize for putting the entire event together. Nic expresses this while giving Alessandro a look of commodore and a playful nudge on the shoulder.

He agrees that the crowd in SF is slightly different than most of the clubbers demographic. It is more of an older and sophisticated crowd as opposed to young club kids who just want to party and get smashed. The crowd in SF is more particular about music and it shows. SF has a long history with house music and has since its start gained the reputation for being the place for house in the US. Nic gives a slight background about house music in SF from back when he was first starting. He explained that around the year 2000 there was an over saturation of house music and house DJ's in SF. Because of the heavy influx of people coming into SF for the industry, there was a slight backlash, and the scene started to die down. Thankfully to all the true house lovers in SF, he says he has noticed a sudden rise in the demand for house music and the house scene.

This demand is, however, not in vain. Yes, house lovers and movers alike like to party and have a drink, but Harlot is a smaller venue that attracted a crowd with a more critical ear, which Nic finds more attractive. When asked what is the difference between smaller and larger clubs for him, Nic responds, "I feel more nervous in smaller crowds." He enjoys a crowd that can really appreciate his music and what house music is all about. You can see how important the music is to him. He has been playing for 12 years, and he is still getting nervous before going on stage, and he still gets excited about the music and wants to share his passion for it to others. He is not jaded one bit by the industry, and it is very refreshing to meet someone who is undoubtedly meant to be doing what he is doing now.

With that said, his passion for what he does probably has a lot to do with his firm belief and loyalty to his sound. When asked whether he ever changes his sound to accommodate the crowd or if he just says "f*ck it," Nic immediately replies without hesitation, "F*ck it." He hears what he likes and spins what he wants.

The crowd that went to see Nic at Harlot were true house lovers. There can be a stigma that house music is all about drugs and partying, and it is often categorized along with all other electronic music such as trance. But when you talk to Nic, you start to understand first hand that drugs and partying are not the nuts and bolts that make up the identity of house music. He talks about music and the industry as a serious profession, and when talking to other house lovers, you hear that it is all about the music and not about the parties. It is something he has dedicated much of his life to, and it is not something frivolous to him.

If that is not enough to make a distinction between house music and other electronic music genres, when talking about etd.Pop (the annual rave in SF's Cow Palace) and Deadmau5's performance, Nic has a look of confusion on his face and immediately asks, "What's Pop?" One of the biggest names in the house industry does not know one of the biggest annual raves in the US. This goes to show the distinction between the scenes. While continuing to speak of Nic's fellow producer, Deadmau5, Nic replies, "Joel...", and stops when he sees a look of confusion, then takes a moment and says, "or Deadmau5..."

It is almost time to enter Harlot for Nic's set. In the remaining few minutes of the interview, Nic speaks about producing and DJing. When asked what he advises amateur DJ's, you can see the difficulty that Nic has with that question. With hesitation, he begrudgingly responds, "...production..." He makes a point to say that some DJ's are just amazing DJ's, and just because a DJ does not produce, it does not take away from his skills as a terrific DJ. And in the same respect, just because a DJ produces music, it does not necessarily correlate that he is a good DJ. With the digital beatport.com world of music continuing on the rise, it is important to have digital music out there. His response to digital music, "I love it! I was the first one to criticize it, and now I love it. I used to use CD's, and now I have my laptop."

Right before walking into Harlot, it went a bit more personal. He says he likes to meet up his boys for a few drinks, but you get the impression that he tries to play it cool when it comes to partying. He likes to have a good time, but in the end it is his profession. He has a long time girlfriend and when asked, "You're never tempted?", about the girls dancing away the night to his music. He responds, "I mean, the first four rows..." He takes a moment, tilts his head down and looks back up, and just says, "....well...no. No."

The party at Harlot was just as he described SF. The crowd was older, sophisticated, with the inevitable touch of the beautiful women and rich men phenomena, and many industry people. His set was right on point with a mix of true, deep, and tech house and minimal vocals. Harlot even busted out the projection screen that displayed Global Underground graphics. When trying to go up to Nic to show him some love, his bodyguard, no, his manager, immediately steps in the way until Nic gives a nod of approval. The girlfriend must have had something to do with determining the role of the manager. The best way to avoid temptation is to not let it into your house.

For more info: Find out more about Nic and his music.

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