A Sit Down With DJ Nifra

Nikoleta Frajkorová better known as “Nifra” is one of the finest female artist from Trance scene. We all know, when it comes to female artists in EDM, trance to be precise, there are not many. But she is one true Trance lady whose sounds are creating aura in her own style.
Having her productions and remixes released on labels like “Armada”, “Coldharbour”, “AVA”, “Spinnin”, “Enhanced” and many more she is leading trance scene everywhere.

Her music regularly finds itself in the DJ wallets of the top names of trance such as Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery, Andy Moor and this global support has not only lead to remix and collaboration requests from many of her peers, but has also lent a lot of support and extra respect to her own solo productions. She has gradually built up a loyal, hardcore fan base whilst keeping the integrity within the “Coldharbour” sound that she has become know for. Progressive Trance with balls!! is how she likes to put it.

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When did you start DJing?

It was in my homeland Slovakia when I was 18 years old. I had already been producing before that but it was for fun and I was just learning. DJing began for me when I was playing at the local club for the opening set when nobody was really around. I always went for the electronic sound and back then it wasn’t possible to do that since trance wasn’t big enough in Slovakia. I used to mix house, a little bit of techno then eventually trance music started growing. In around 2006 it was starting to become really popular and from than I was able to play what I wanted. Tiesto was the first major trance DJ to perform in Slovakia.

How would you describe your personality to people?

Djs are considered extroverts but that’s not applying to myself. I`m more introvert, sometimes reserved and super shy. But when I go on stage I totally change, I guess it just proves that that’s where I feel the most comfortable.

Do you feel that being a female producer in the dance music industry gives you any competitive edge or puts you at a disadvantage in any way?

I’ve been “fighting” the female tag since the beginning of my career. When i first started it was all about the passion for the music. I was incredibly interested in the creative process of production and when I was around 16 I got my hands on production software. At that time I didn’t think twice about being a woman and that it could be disadvantage in the future. For me it was all about the music and most importantly it was fun. So being female is not exactly easy and looks can only get you so far in the music business. Whats important is real talent. Staying true to yourself and genuine to your fans is what makes the difference and will ultimately overshadow any fast judgments based on gender.

“We shouldn’t be surprised that In a modern 21st century society there are still people, who say that women are not able to dj or produce music and their place is somewhere else”.

Why did you name yourself Nifra?
Actually it’s not a big secret. If you take 2 letters of my first name “Nikoleta” and 3 of my last name “Frajkor” u will get Nifra. I was thinking about my artist name for a long time and I thought that this combination didn’t sound bad at all. I have been using it since the very beginning.

What are your goals in life, and have you met any of them yet?

One of my goals was to be able to earn for living with my music. There is so many great musicians who would like to be able to not have a day job but make it with their music. Partly I achieved that.

What is your opinion about the explosion of EDM music in USA, and have you noticed increase in your bookings there?

I think it’s great; it opened a lot of doors for producers and DJ’s. In Europe or Asia there are not enough events as the same DJ’s are booked all the time.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Markus Schulz obviously. His dark coldharbour style inspired me in the beginning and as the sound evolved it still continues to inspire me. Its such an amazing feeling to be part of the Coldharbour family itself and also push the sound forward, that ultimately started it all for me.

If asked to choose between Coldharbour, Armada, Spinnin, which family will you choose and why?

I think all the families are great in their own way but the choice is obvious in this case. Coldharbour recordings has been my favorite label since I remember. Its the perfect blend between techy, proggy, and melodic trance and Im extremely lucky to be part of the family and pushing the sound forward.

Can you describe for us the process of producing a track?

Most of the time I just start with the breakdown, cos it’s the melodies which come to my head first. From there I build it to the drop, and usually after that start with the intro. But it really depends.

Many have called you “the queen of trance.” How does it feel to carry such a grand title?

I don’t even know where it comes from, but I’m of course flattered. Makes me incredibly happy to see people loving my work, and when I started, I wouldn’t have even dream about what was going to follow. I’m living the dream.

Your sound is very unique, can you describe what’s included and what is not included that creates your Coldharbour sound?

My sound evolved throughout the years just as the Coldharbour sound did and I tend to describe it as progressive trance with balls. I just really like energy in combination with the deeper basses and huge leads and that’s what I always try to achieve in my productions.

What are the biggest advantages and disadvantages of being a female Dj?

Sometimes I think there are not any advantages especially when you see comments from people accusing you of not making your music. Because there is more female DJ’s than producers, they try to become very famous by using ghost producers. And since that happened so many times people automatically think each of us is doing the same shit. People forget that among them could be some real artists who actually do their thing really well and my full respect goes to these girls that have chosen the harder way and not the easier one.
What other music do you listen to besides trance?

I really like Oliver, Nero, Com Truise, Kolsch etc. A bit of everything. I have always used to listen to different genres of electronic dance music. I also like 70/80’s music also because this is the time of the first digital synthesizers and I`m a huge vintage synths lover.

Questions? Comments? We want to know:@djfollower