Wubaholics Premiere: “Direct” by Engix
One of the main reasons why we started a blog was to have the opportunity to premiere tracks that we love, and it may be an understatement to say that we love today’s premiere. Wubaholics was lucky enough to get their hands on “Direct”, a dark and gritty track off of Engix’s new album “Dark Rituals.” The song is ridiculous, in fact, the entire album consists of incredible sound design and reaches a great length of diversity as Engix showcases his ability to create masterpieces at various tempos and with various feelings. We could sit here and tell you about every track on the album and why we love it, but today we are going to take a dive into the depths of the madness that is “Direct.”
The introduction begins with a catchy tribal flute melody that is without a doubt going to be stuck in your head, causing you to listen to the track over and over again (trust me, I still haven't stopped). The melody carries through the build-up and the wubs that come in the drop make you start wobbling around the room like a true Wubaholic, leaving us with permanent resting bass face. The track (and the album as a whole) makes us miss sound systems so much, and we hope its not long before we can catch Engix on a proper setup.
We were lucky to have had the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with Engix. Born and raised in Long Island, 26-year-old Nick Giova (a/k/a Engix) has spent the last three years producing music and playing shows all around the country. We asked Nick how he got the name Engix, and he told us that it was actually his suggested AOL password from back in 2005 (Wow, a suggested password that didn’t require 16 numbers, a capital letter, and a special character. Simpler times). Unfortunately, the infamous corona-virus pandemic has brought the traveling to a halt, but there was no way that Engix was going to let the pandemic stop his ability to produce and create what he loves. He spends his days grinding in Logic and spending more time with his family. He explained to us that while it has been a rough year, quarantining has been “more helpful than I could have ever imagined” when it comes to his creativity and his productions.
Nick is a family man through and through, so when it comes to his favorite set that he’s ever played, there is one that he keeps especially close to his heart. “My favorite show was my Detroit Debut at Elektricity Nightclub, this show was and will always be very important to me due to the timing of my grandfather’s death, I wasn’t sure I could bring myself to perform. After talking with family and friends and knowing he was watching down on me the show was a huge success and really helped take my career to a higher level.” Giova’s family allowing and encouraging him to play a show after the death of his grandfather speaks volumes to the amount of love and support that he receives from his family. “They are SO supportive of my music project. They have helped me invest and give creative advice for my art along with knowing and loving that this is my passion and I will never stop.” He tells us. With a support system like that, it is no surprise that Nick is elevating the Engix project to another level.
Inspired by guys like Eprom and Mickman, Engix tells us that he has a dream of one day hopping on the decks at Electric Forest’s Tripolee stage. “Ever since I first attended in 2014 I could just imagine what it would be like to play at night on the Tripolee stage. Now that i’ve started making music I would love to make that dream a reality.”
‘Direct’ came to fruition slowly (as most good things do), as Giova says “I was sitting on it for a while & I don’t make too much 140 anymore so this one was fun. I thought it would fit great on my album and the Wubaholics style… I wanted to slip this in and leave people feeling surprised.” ‘Direct’ by Engix will be available on SoundCloud this Tuesday, October 6th. Premiering on Wubaholics.