HEADS KNOW TAPE 013: nguyendowsXP
An interview and DJ mix from the Brooklyn-based producer.
Photo: @alexandertherandom
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Nguyen, also known as nguyendowsXP is a Hanoi-born and Brooklyn-based producer and DJ. The artist aims to weave their Vietnamese heritage into their explorations of electronic music, bouncing from gloomy atmospheres to high-energy rhythms—never sticking to one genre.
Their love of the music is clear through their productions and DJ sets. nguyendowsXP is an eternal student of the arts, whether they're intently watching their back-to-back partner from behind the decks or studying the DJ from within the crowd. But that doesn't mean they take themselves too seriously. The mastermind behind the meme page @in.mcdonalds, nguyendowsXP understands that a major part of the music is having fun.
Read on to learn more about how nguyendowsXP got started, their approach to unexpected blends, and why they love Burial so much. Plus, listen to their atmospheric HEADS KNOW TAPE below.
It sounds loud over there. Where are you right now?
I'm currently in LA right now, just for a quick trip. I'm looking for a change in scenery.
What have you been up to out there?
I actually just saw my friends and I'm seeing somebody out here, so that's mainly a big reason for me to take the trip. I’m working on a little bit of music while I'm here, sending a couple of sketches and demos, but otherwise, not much going on for me in terms of anything music-related. Well, there's an open call for a multimedia exhibition in Central Vietnam. My friend's doing a residency program there and they asked me for something. There's a chance I might not make the deadline. It's very soon, but hopefully, I can still work on something for the rest of the trip and when I get back.
When did you start producing?
I started producing actually around 2020, during COVID. Like a lot of people, I had just started trying new things [while] being quarantined. And I've been really, really into electronic music—collecting and listening—for a very long time. [Producing] was something I always wanted to do, so I thought I might as well. It was a point in time that made you want to try things out.
Did you already DJ or was that something you started during the pandemic, too?
I never intended to be a DJ. I just wanted to make music and see what I could come up with as an outlet. I was already really into footwork and jungle and had online friends who were into it. So it felt like a way to add to the conversation and give back to the community I've always liked so much. DJing-wise, I kind of dabbled in it in 2018 for a little bit. I borrowed my friend's $100 DDJ and never understood it, to be honest. After I started producing for maybe a year, I met my friend Jame Gui, who was also trying to figure out DJing. He originally invited me onto DATAFRUITS, which is an online community-run radio. We were just DJing on Ableton because that's all we do.
Then, PIRATE started to become a thing, so we were both like, "Okay. Let's let's try to actually learn the gear, just for fun and so we can also do that on our radio show." And it just went from there.
[Editors note: use code ARIELLEANDFRIENDS20 for 20% OFF your first visit to PIRATE or ARIELLEANDFRIENDS10 for 10% OFF if you're returning!!!]
Wow, you haven’t been DJing that long! I've seen you a bunch and you're already so good. What's your secret?
[Before DJing], I had already gone out a lot and I listened to a lot of mixes. My entry into the dance music world and the club format was through people like Objekt and Djrum—they're definitely the people that I try to take inspiration from stylistically. It's trying to be more hands-on when mixing and being more nonlinear—finding the common threads between different styles of music and different rhythms.
In 2017-2018, I was really into people in the GHE20G0TH1K crew, like Venus X and Total Freedom—people known within deconstructed club—whatever the fuck that means to be honest—just like a very no rules, nothing is sacred mindset. Total Freedom's edits really kind of resonated with me. He turned a lot of different things into a horror movie vibe with a Southern Rap [twist]. So trying to put two things that weren't supposed to be together informed a lot of the way I do things. The same way with Djrum just like playing different kinds of music with tempo changes and all that. I feel like that's how I've always tried to practice DJing, Sometimes it falls flat, sometimes it works.
Have you ever been to a GHE20G0TH1K party?
Once or twice, but it was already past its golden age. Most of my memories of going out have been to CLUBNIGHTCLUB or Unter.
Did you grow up in New York?
No, I'm from and grew up in Hanoi.
When did you come over here?
2014.
Oh, it's been 10 years now!
Yeah, but I would say I didn't feel like I was here until 2019. I went to NYU and the whole time I was in undergrad, it felt like I was still in a bubble. So it took me until at least 2018 to have a good bearing on the city.
What did you study at NYU?
Linguistics. It's the study of languages, so it has nothing to do with the arts or music—I don't know if that's where you were getting at.
Yeah, I guess I’m surprised because I would assume studying language would inform the way you produce and DJ in some way.
I guess I hadn't thought much about it. Learning to produce and DJ feels like learning a different language, musically. For example, there's always a hidden like language in terms of music and DJing in a way that at the end the phrase, you slowly cut out like the lower end to signify something, right? You're doing something towards the end of a phrase and it signifies a change. If there's anything related to linguistics, I guess it's something like that. But I have to be honest, I haven't I need to put more thought into connecting like those together.
Yeah, there's probably something there.
There's always signifiers in the music. People know what is going on even though they don't consciously think about it. Like you use a high pass filter or something and they'll be like, "Oh, something's happening." Just like you would signify something verbally.
You're speaking like a real DJ, which is something I'm not, but I think I get what you mean. What I do know is that we're both the biggest Burial fans in the world. Tell me about how you discovered Burial.
Originally, I was just going down at the garage and dubstep rabbit hole—[learning] the history of it. I was also drawn to it because it was dark, moody, and very grayscale. My first entry [to Burial] was Untrue and I just went on to explore the rest of his discography from there. Something about the experience of walking around New York and listening to him living in a very dense urban landscape was validating by the music [ironically] not being very validating. I had a lot of trouble finding my group of people in New York. Making connections in the city was very difficult for me. People come and go very frequently and things felt lonely, temporary, and ephemeral. In a way, Burial's music was very affirming and kind of protective somehow. And I think that's what he was trying to do with music, based on what he's said in his interviews. And actually, Rival Dealer was my favorite, but I still say Untrue for the memes.
Speaking of memes, you're actually the mind behind @in.mcdonalds. How did that start?
I'm sure it's obvious, but "In McDonalds" is my favorite track in Untrue. To be fair, I had no intentions of doing anything with [the page]. Me and my friends sent each other Burial memes and I was the one collecting them. I didn't want to keep having to go into my bookmarks on Instagram or Twitter, so I put them all in one place so I could keep looking back whenever I wanted to have a good laugh. The origin story isn't that special.
I think it’s still brilliant. If the dancefloor clears, what's the song you use to bring everyone back?
That's fucking hard because I keep playing as if it's still full. I don't react to that sort of thing, because if the dancefloor clears, it could not be about me. People could be taking a breather or getting a drink, so maybe that's better for me—more bar sales. I don't take it personally or like I have to play something [to bring them back.] I don't know if that's a valid answer, maybe it's a cop-out answer.
No, that's a valid answer. DJ Haram said something similar. What can we expect from this mix?
It's going to be a journey for sure. Lots of turns. I was trying to be a little more atmospheric, kind of like leaving home and returning.
Support nguyendowsXP on Instagram, Twitter, and SoundCloud, plus see their tour dates on Resident Advisor.
TRACKLIST
Burial - Stateforest
Laenz - Wil
_goodbyeforever_ - 000 [baile]
Raiden - Ryugyong (Cocktail Party Effect Remix)
Maquis Son Sistem - Rizosfera
Cocktail Party Effect - Collapse
Phillip D Kick - Future Shock
Sun People - Stumble & Grow
Arcane - Spirit Chaser
Suh+moon - Filial 3.14
Less-O - Last Mic Jack
Zisko - Elektromagnetic Tribalism
Hodge - Voice Crash
Beatrice M - Capture
Beton Brut - Tom Machine
Ovid - Contingency
Hekt - ID ft. Smerz
Stolen Velour + Klahrk - Fight Me
J-Sliwa - Body Mind Progress
Lanark Artefax - Meszthread
DJ Chap - Drum Pakk 1
aya - That Hyde Trakk
RAVL - Doomsday Clockmakers
Humb - ???????
Kamikaze Space Programme - Dust to Dust (Slave to Society Remix)
Quartz - Rubiks Complex
Visla - Throat Burn
Dual Monitor - Cloud Camo
Current Value - Mothman
Shinra Knives - Loser Mitsuko
Malice Doll - Limerance (Deterioration Mix)
Prayer - Sensory Overload
EMILY GLASS - Tool 3
Evian Christ - Nobody Else
NewJeans x Barker - Paradise With You (NXP United in Slay Edit)
LJC - By Your Side (Dirty K Remix)
