The profession of a DJ is a privileged one, with the endearing reward of connecting with others on a worldwide scale through the love of music. This feeling is shared by many on the circuit, but very few can also proudly be responsible towards the conversation that attitudes towards females in the industry are changing, and for the better.
A role embraced to the fullest through a decade long journey for Nifra.
Today, she finds herself at the forefront of international star Markus Schulz’s management and booking agency Schulz Music Group, as well as a prominent presence in IDMA nominated Coldharbour Recordings. Thanks to her particular flavor of power-driven melodic trance, as well as her warm and blissful personality, it has captivated her to a legion of followers, with many tipping her to be a key player for the current and future generations.
Born in Slovakia, Nikoleta Frajkorova’s love for music blossomed at an early age, and by her mid-teens, the appetite for the electronic genre was prioritised above everything else. A keen student of the scene, her DJ skills were rewarded and showcased to mass audiences as she became the person of choice to play alongside the world’s top tiered international spinners passing through the country; such as Tiesto, Paul van Dyk and Armin van Buuren.
Her success in Slovakia garnered attention from Miami native Markus Schulz; where her freshman production release “Ready” on Coldharbour Recordings in 2008 became not only a firm fan favorite, but a significant breakthrough.
Nifra’s education continued in the proceeding years; increasingly performing outside of her home country, and at marquee events such as A State of Trance in the Netherlands. Her affection for the country eventually prompted her to call Amsterdam her permanent home.
As well as continuing on the production front and touring, she also entered the world of radio; initially with Be Progressed, and now monthly with the established Rebel Radio on Digitally Imported’s trance channel.
Further success on Coldharbour was achieved through anthemic numbers such as “Dark Harbour” and “Athena”, and in 2014 Nifra joined the ranks of Schulz Music Group - opening doors for her to connect and entertain audiences in North America for the first time - including the famous Ultra Music Festival in Miami, as well as the heralded Transmission in Bratislava. Her bond with ever increasing audiences was apparent, and in doing so, projected her as one of the leading female figures representing the dance music scene.
2015 was a monumental change for the Slovakian, thanks to arguably her biggest success to date with her first foray into a vocal-led composition, alongside New York native Seri for “Army of Lights”. As the heralded Coldharbour Nights increased in volume and spanned a greater distance, she played a significant role in the growth; headlining nights in respected venues such as Avalon in Los Angeles and Ministry of Sound in London. Her year concluded working alongside mentor Markus Schulz as part of his City Series Collection project, where they combined for “The Creation”; an anthem fitting for Transmission’s annual home event in Prague, and continuing to receive support from important players such as Ferry Corsten, Paul Oakenfold and Gareth Emery.
And 2016 has seen her star shine further, playing an integral role in Schulz’s Watch the World album tour, demonstrating her versatility as a DJ in both warmup and headlining modes. Along with original production “Rebel”, her remixes for “Love Me Like You Never Did” from Watch the World, as well as Dimension’s “Mangata” have received rich acclaim, contributing to her appearances at the first New York edition of Dreamstate, and the Netherlands’ hosted Coldharbour Beach Festival.
Connecting the world with a talent as infectious as her smile; and inspiring females to follow in her footsteps into the DJ world, Nifra takes it all in her stride.
1) Best 3 Tracks from other artists in 2018, please give us a short comment for each track:
Nifra: Fisherman - The Mission
I've been literally playing this track in every live set. What a melody and true weapon that will set the dancefloor on fire.
Virtual Self - Ghost Voices (Solis & Sean Truby remix)
The original is already amazing but guys took a different approach and made this a powerful trancer.
I fell in love with it from the moment I heard this one for the very first time. Such a good vocal and euphoric melody.
2) Your Best of 2018 personal production, give us more background info about them:
Nifra: Nifra & Anske - Powerball
I loved working on this track with Anske as our sounds blended perfectly. The track turned out to be an euphoric powerful progressive trancer and we got such a great feedback on it.
4) Best Remix in 2018, please explain why you liked it so much:
Nifra: Gabriel & Dresden ft Sub Teal - Only road (Cosmic Gate remix). Emotional and powerful, what more do you need.
5) Best Remix that you have produced in 2018, please tell us why you believe is your best work?
Nifra: I was asked by Markus Schulz to make a fresh remix of a big coldharbour classic.
6) Best New Talent in 2018 (DJ or producer), please explain the reasons why you choose him/her :
Nifra: Fisherman. Not entirely new talent, but he just launched his solo career this year with massive releases and I'm so incredibly proud of him. This guy is gonna blow up next year, mark my words.
7) Best electronic music album in 2018? Please explain your decision why you think is the best album?(b) Do you believe that albums are still relevant or you prefer singles:
Nifra: Markus Schulz - We are the light
I think albums are even more relevant nowadays and the boss did it again. So many quality vocal tracks on this one and beautiful message behind it.
8) Best electronic music label for 2018, please justify why you choose this label and what was so special in 2018 about it:
Nifra: Coldharbour Recordings has been my steady home for the past 4 years and Im just grateful to work so closely with the label. As far as the progressive trance sound go, they are number one for me. We became a true family and expect big plans for 2019.
9) Best online social media for 2018 and why you believe is the best particularly in 2018?:
Nifra: Definitely Instagram, especially the insta stories, which allows me to share more things from touring with my fans.
10) Best Twitter/Facebook/Instagram message you may have received about your music or your DJ performance in 2018:
Nifra: I have received multiple messages from people that said my music and sets helped them to go through a very tough times. There is no better feeling than knowing that your music has such a power.
11) Best music composition software in 2018, please explain why you appreciate it so much:
Nifra: Ableton is my right hand when it comes to producing. I love the fast workflow and unlimited possibilities with this software.
12) Your Best personal DJ Gig for 2018 (if you are active as DJ) and why you believe is the finest:
Nifra: Impossible to mention just one! It would be Transmission pre-party at club Epic in Prague, my first ever 4 hour set at Newspeak in Montreal and b2b set with Fisherman at Airwalk Festival in Netherlands.
Dimitris: Do you have a radio show or vlog? Have you produced any YouTube tutorials for fellow artists to learn from you? If yes please tell us here the details and choose the best episode from your radio show/vlog/YouTube tutorial for 2018.
Nifra: I have a monthly radioshow called Rebel Radio, which is broadcasted every 4th Monday on the trance channel on di.fm.
Dimitris: If you are DJ or producer who travels very often to perform Live in various countries can you give us your best Travel Tip for 2018 in order to survive the long travelling hours?
Nifra: 99% of the time I travel with just a carry on, charged laptop and headphones. I love to work on music especially during the long haul flights where not having internet and phone network is literally bliss.
Dimitris: In 2018 there was a big movement for revival of classic tracks and retro events have boomed with music policy of solely classic tracks. What is your opinion about events or stages only with classics and can you choose for us your absolute 3 favourite classics?
Nifra: I'm sure most of us love to go back to the music that we grew up with. I'm actually going to do an exclusive progressive classic set next year at Luminosity Beach Festival for the 2nd time. But needs to be said that I'm also all up for evolution and the scene needs to support also the new producers that keep evolving the trance sound :)
Dimitris: Can you mention briefly your plans for your future releases, tracks, albums, collaborations, DJ gigs for 2019!
Dimitris: Can you mention briefly your plans for your future releases, tracks, albums, collaborations, DJ gigs for 2019!
Nifra: I'm extremely extremely excited for 2019. It might be my best year yet! I have 3 remixes in the pipeline and one of them was already premiered by Markus Schulz, which is actually my remix of his track "Away" featuring the amazing vocals by Sir Adrian from 2010. There are two massive collaborations coming out and and it was also a time for a big vocal track. That's only what I can mention so far, because I have some big news :)
As far as gigs go, calendar is definitely filling up already which is always nice to see at the end of the year.
Dimitris: Finally, what is your biggest wish for 2019 and give us your wishes for our readers?
Nifra: My biggest wish is to take things things to another level next year and I wish everybody healthy and happy year :)
Many thanks to Nifra for her wonderful answers. Many thanks to Tim at Coldharbour for organising this interview.
Many thanks to Nifra for her wonderful answers. Many thanks to Tim at Coldharbour for organising this interview.
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