Dave Nunes is a Dutch DJ and producer who came into contact with a creative environment at a young age, so it didn't take long before he developed a passion for music. With an open mind and a fierce curiosity, he has absorbed elements of multiple genres for years, his music is a journey through the experience of life and consists of a fusion of different musical cultures. His journey to success started in 2019 on SoundCloud, where he released his first remix. The remix was quickly picked up by thousands of listeners and played in clubs all over the world. In 2021 Dave Nunes got the chance to collaborate with “CHAMOS” for their track “Sobe”. Since then Dave has worked with several artists including FSGreen, DJWaxfiend, Tera Kòrá and SaintRonil. One thing about Dave Nunes is for sure, he knows how to hype the audience. His energetic DJ sets are a combination of Afro, HipHop, R&B, Future beats and Amapiano and create a unique experience that connects people worldwide.
How did you get into music and especially djing?
I grew up in a musical family, my father taught me to play guitar at a young
age and brought me musical influences from his native Curaçao. Around the
age of 12 I skateboarded a lot, it was one of my favorite hobbies and I often
went to a skate park in the city “Nijmegen”. The skate park is called Waalhalla,
they played hip-hop on vinyl there, and I first came into contact with the art of
DJing there. I was immediately inspired and bought a small DJ set with my
savings. I started practicing around that age too.
How would you describe your creative process when creating new
music mixtapes/live sets?
When I play live sets and mixtapes, I always want to take the audience on a
musical journey. I usually play a wide range of bpm's and mix different genres
and music cultures together.
When making a mixtape or live set, I start by discovering new artists and
music. This is a continuous process for me; I am always looking for new
music. I add my favorite tracks to a playlist, often this becomes a large playlist
with hundreds of songs, then I make a fine selection with about 30 tracks. For
mixtapes, I sort them by tempo and then put them in the right order so that the
vibe matches. For live sets, I prefer to play freestyle.
I like to always put a little extra effort into my sets. I often work with
homemade acapella outros or mashups, and I try to mix in key where it fits. In
addition, I always play some unreleased exclusives. I think you can hear that
bit of extra effort in the outcome of the mixtapes. Ultimately, the most
important thing about my mixes is that a good vibe is created that you want to
experience again.
How would you define your sound?
In my music, I always try to merge different musical cultures. I would best
describe my music as afro with influences from R&B, jazz and soul. I often
use danceable drum patterns with afro influences mixed with smooth and silk
chords.
Which artists and sounds influence you the most when producing new tracks?
I am currently really into the amapiano sound. I love the deep kicks with heavy
hitting log drums, it brings something new to the scene. In the amapiano
sound, I am inspired by Vigro Deep and the DJ sets of Waxfiend. But besides
amapiano I am also inspired by artists in other genres; like in the SoundCloud
edit scene I am always inspired by the homies FS green, JAEL, CHAMOS and
S!rene. But besides that, there are many more artists that I am inspired by; a
selection of these can be found in my Spotify playlist.
Which artist would you like to collaborate with in the future?
There are still many artists I would like to work with. I have a lot of respect for
artists who have developed their own sound, such as: Kaytranada, Juls,
Thundercat and Devin Morrison. When you play a track of them you
immediately recognize their own sound, I always think that is very cool.