history
In an age where internet and MP3 didn't exist yet, niwa discovered a form of musicmaking on the PC called 'tracking'.
Although the process was heavily limited (4 channels max, 31 samples max, 64kb per sample max), the 12 year old boy jumped at it with enthousiasm.
Through modem-based Bulletin Board System he came in contact with the PC Demo Scene, where he served several music groups over a pariod of 10 years making mainly dance music
Puberty arose and so did the exploration of musical styles. Even though he came from a background which was heavily influenced by rock & roll and folk music, he set his own taste after listening to Isaac Hayes - That Loving Feeling.
This revelation lead him to dig deeper into old soul and funk music. After that it was only a quick jump to a more contemporary style that, for him, supplied the same feeling: Hip Hop.
Living in a country-side city didn't really offer a lot of chances to produce Hip Hop music, and so niwa set out to the more instrumental side of the music. Because he wasn't really gifted lyrical-wise, the blend of beats with melancholic samples on it was the ideal way for expressing his feelings.
After a couple of years of producing mainly for his own emotional fullfillment, he set out seeking MC's and DJ's. This resulted in several small-town hiphop collaborations, which didn't really get off the ground, but were and excellent playground to explore the art of beat-creating on.
Even though most projects only lasted a while, 1 project evolved into a full-fledged collaboration of beatcreators, MC's, DJ's and singers: Next Item
Currently, apart from Next Item, niwa is working on a demo of chilled out beat-related music, of which the tracks on top of this page are just a little taste.
