Sometimes you don’t connect with an artist through a single track, but through a series of small moments. A glimpse behind the scenes, a thought shared, a process slowly revealed over time.
That’s how I came across Nelson Kay. It wasn’t one big moment, more like gradually realizing there was a whole world behind what he creates. He’s very engaged with his audience and brings people into his process in a way that feels genuine, like you’re witnessing the music take shape rather than just hearing the final result.
Musically, what drew me in is that balance in his sound. There’s something structured and precise, rooted in techno and tech-house, but also emotional at the same time. His tracks don’t just sit in a loop, they also build, breathe, and evolve with time. You can feel the influence of storytelling in the way they unfold, like something designed to move both your body and your attention.
You can listen to Nelson Kay here:
🎧 Spotify | 🍎 Apple Music | ▶️ YouTube | 🎶 Bandcamp | ☁️ SoundCloud
So naturally, I wanted to know more about how he creates, and I asked him a few questions.
How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard it before?
My music is a unique blend of techno and tech-house wrapped in cinematic and symphonic soundscapes. Each track tries to break free from the monotonous patterns of techno and enrich itself with vibrancy and emotion. In doing so, it tells a musical story – much like listening to an ensemble perform to a film scene. Only danceable, if you like. 😉
What instrument(s) do you play?
As a teenager I attended music school for a while and learned keyboard and vocals. But I was always more drawn to experimentation than dry theory and exercises – so that chapter didn’t last very long. laughs
What I was truly fascinated by was computers. And I realized pretty quickly that you can make music with them too. So I’d say synthesizers and computers became my real instruments.
What track or project are you most proud of and why?
Without question, my album Roots of Purpose – available on Bandcamp. It’s a personal milestone in so many ways at once.
It was the trigger for a decision I had been putting off for over 20 years: to finally share my music with the world. To open up and show people who I really am at heart. To tell my story. To take the leap into entrepreneurship.
All of that started with Roots of Purpose. It’s not just an album – it’s the beginning of everything that came after.
Which artists or genres have had the biggest influence on your sound?
My influences come from two very different worlds – and that tension is exactly what defines my sound.
- From the electronic side: John Digweed, Tinlicker, Arty – progressive house and trance artists who understand that a track needs to go somewhere, that it needs to breathe and build.
- From the cinematic side: Hans Zimmer and Enya. The way they create emotional landscapes, use space, and make you feel something without a single word – that’s what I’m always chasing in my own productions.
My music is the union of these two worlds – like a child that carries the DNA of both parents and becomes something entirely its own.
Was there a defining moment that made you say, “I want to make music”?
Yes – and I remember it clearly.
There was a live broadcast of the Love Parade from Berlin on TV. Underworld on stage, two guys behind hardware synthesizers. I couldn’t look away. The idea that you could create that with machines – that moment burned itself into me. I was a kid, and I didn’t fully understand what I was seeing. But I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do.
Do you have a ritual or habit that helps you get into a creative zone?
The most important dial for me is time of day.
I’m an early riser, and my creative mind starts running the moment I wake up. So I’ve made it almost a ritual: music first, before anything else touches the day. Sometimes that’s 5am, when the whole world is still asleep. That silence is incredibly powerful for me – no inputs, no distractions, nothing from the outside world yet.
If a melody or idea comes to me and I can’t work on it right away, I create a placeholder project in Ableton and just record the idea with a simple piano. If I’m out and about, I hum it into the voice memo app on my phone. But I don’t actually work on it until the next morning – rested, fresh, and free.
What’s something surprising people don’t usually know about you as an artist?
Most people have no idea that before all of this, I spent years managing fast food restaurants. I was one of the youngest restaurant managers in Germany – white shirt, tie, 8 restaurant openings, safety officer in two countries.
Music and technology had completely disappeared from my life during that time. Not because I didn’t want them – but because that industry simply leaves no room for anything else.
That contrast still surprises people when they hear it. And honestly, it surprises me a little too, when I look back.
How do you handle creative blocks?
The block has to go. That’s the only answer I’ve found that actually works.
I’ve learned to recognize that when something is occupying my head, pushing harder doesn’t help. Trying to create while carrying a problem just means nothing real gets made. What actually works: stop fighting it, go for a walk, think about solutions, solve the thing. Then come back.
In the end, you lose less time that way than by sitting there for hours producing nothing. The problem was always in the way.
Describe your music in three words that aren’t music-related.
Depth. Endless. Fusion.
If aliens landed and said “play us one track or we vaporize Earth” – which one are you sending?
I didn’t read that it had to be one of my own tracks – so I’m going with Who Wants to Live Forever by Queen.
Maybe they’ll decide to help us with immortality instead of vaporizing the planet. 😄
And honestly – that song is also a perfect example of exactly what moves me musically: the fusion of two worlds. Rock on one side, a cinematic arrangement with real emotional depth on the other. Far more than most commercial pop songs ever dare to be.
What I liked from this conversation is getting a look behind the scenes of how Nelson Kay creates. From the early mornings where ideas come naturally, to the way he captures melodies and comes back to them later, you can tell that his process is built around patience and consistency.
His music feels like it’s been built over time and shaped step by step. Nothing feels forced, and that really comes through when you listen. The way his tracks build, evolve, and carry emotion reflects that balance he talked about between structure and storytelling.
It’s inspiring because it shows that creating doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it’s just about showing up, trusting the process, and letting things grow at their own pace.
Thank you, Nelson Kay, for giving us a look behind the scenes of your creative process.
- Follow Nelson Kay on Instagram here.
— Spacey Panda
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