After introducing it during his recent international performances, the Bristol producer is now set to release his own vision of one of the London trio’s most acclaimed tracks of recent years
One of the most fascinating aspects of electronic music is its ability to bring seemingly distant musical worlds together, combining contrasting approaches and transforming them into something new, surprising and, in some cases, extraordinary.
Over the past few years, Ben Nicky has built his own path almost entirely on his own, establishing himself as a complete artist with a distinctive and unmistakable personality. Trance is his starting point, but certainly not a limitation: his approach to music allows him to move naturally between different genres and atmospheres without ever losing his identity.
One of his most remarkable qualities is his ability to take major productions and reinterpret them through his own artistic vision while preserving the soul of the original track. His powerful reimagining of Adagio For Strings, a remake that achieved remarkable success, is an immediate example of this, but it represents just one of the many productions that have defined a recent catalogue filled with high-impact releases, many of which have quickly earned support from some of the most influential names in the scene through their playlists.
His approach knows virtually no boundaries. Ben Nicky can move seamlessly from melodic trance to hard trance, creating a distinctive formula in which power and emotion constantly coexist. It is precisely this versatility that has led him to take on a production that is anything but easy to reinterpret: Quicksand (Don’t Go) by Above & Beyond.
When it comes to Above & Beyond’s music, the meticulous attention given to every element often makes their productions particularly challenging to rework without compromising their essence. Ben Nicky, however, has once again found the right balance. He has injected the track with a considerably stronger drive while preserving the beauty of its melodies and further enhancing its emotional dimension.
The extended melodic breakdown, deeply rooted in the uplifting trance tradition, builds anticipation before giving way to an explosive climax, where the epic nature of the original chorus is reimagined through a heightened sense of power and intensity. It is not a radical transformation, but rather a reinterpretation that amplifies the track’s defining qualities through Ben Nicky’s own musical language.
The result is a production that fully showcases the Northern Irish artist’s versatility and personality, earning the prestigious approval of Paavo, Tony and Jono and ultimately finding a home on the Anjunabeats catalogue, with its official release scheduled for August 27.
Ben Nicky was the guest of the week in the last episode of Group Therapy 691 where he naturally presented on the official channels, his remix.
The artistic growth, accompanied by the success this artist has been achieving in recent times, is truly remarkable. His personality and approach to music seem to have finally found the right moment to explode, fitting perfectly into a new generation of producers who share a similar vision, challenge and inspire one another, experiment, and manage to channel that energy directly to the audience.
For Ben Nicky, this marks yet another prestigious challenge successfully overcome: another clear demonstration of how his music can move beyond genre boundaries while maintaining a strong and unmistakable identity, earning recognition even when he takes on some of the most iconic and beloved productions in the trance scene.