NikNak
Nicole studied music tech and innovation at DMU, her initial intention was to become a producer and make beats. She recalls experiencing a stark contrast between her practice and the course, she was focused on production techniques and practical work, whereas the introduction to her course was binaural meditation music. At the start, joining the course was a mistake in her eyes but it turned out to be a very formative time for her, which she touches on later in the talk.
Her most recent work was a residency for Sound Uk called ‘sound generator’. Raymond created an album of music with field recordings, she then presented it through an octo-phonic set up, it was a live performance triggering recordings while using a turntable. Raymond expresses her value of working in surround sound, there are few opportunities to work with it, namely university and gallery spaces. Both of which, Nicole states, have a limited crowd. Raymond is interested in bringing surround pieces to venues more familiar to the public, drawing a more diverse crowd.
Raymond presents a radio show for worldwide FM called ‘Melanin’, a show about black music irrespective of genre. Her aim is to play new artists and artists she has connected with, this is a kind of rebuttal against the pigeonholing of black artists to certain genres.