Beyond Moombahton: A Conversation About Creativity and the Future With Nadastrom’s Dave Nada

“It’s like when Metallica released The Black Album. I’ll never forget hearing it and being like, ‘Aw man, what is this?’ But people eventually learned to accept and appreciate the new sound.”

Thus begins a conversation with Nadastrom’s Dave Nada regarding the eponymous debut album for his collaborative tandem with DJ/producer Matt Nordstrom. For the past five years, the duo has been closely associated with moombahton—the mid-tempo, tropical bass genre that was invented by Nada in 2009 and has since inspired a new generation of producers worldwide. However, the feeling on Nadastrom’s album is decidedly faster and deeper than the standard 108–112 bpm of the underground dance-to-pop sound. Tech house is now the vibe for Nadastrom. But if you’ve been paying attention since the start, you’ll know that exploration, reinterpretation and fresh inspirations have always been key to the duo’s success.

Certainly, there were those who—upon hearing the synth-heavy and deep yet euphoric album track “Shelly,” or the pulsating yet languid “House Shoes” featuring Nina K’s sumptuous vocal—cried the death of moombahton. But Nada has a different opinion.

“Moombahton itself was an experimentation, so moombahton is alive in this album because we’re experimenting,” says Nada. “We’re not just pulling from stuff we’re hearing now, but from our history, our musical past, stuff we grew up on. At the same time, we’re not trying to do something basic.”

“I never set any rules as to what is moombahton and what isn’t. I like the idea of it being this bastardized sound.”

Intriguingly, though, their sound is definitely more techno-inspired than anything else on the album, to which Nada offers an interesting thought regarding its creative process: “Many of the ideas on the album started off as moombahton experimentations, but they just feel better as [tech house productions]. There are a couple of tracks in there where real heads may pick up [on the influences]. They’re not so blatantly obvious, but the inspiration is there because they started off as moombahton ideas two years ago.”

“I never set any rules as to what is moombahton and what isn’t,” he continues. “I like the idea of it being this bastardized sound. That frustrated a lot of people, too, because they wanted a definition—like, ‘Yo, hit me with the five elements of moombahton!’ I’m like, ‘There isn’t a five elements of moombahton!’ There were strong characteristics like Dembow and Dutch house, but I like the idea that there’s more to it.”

Nada and Nordstrom are both inherently musical, pulling from a plethora of influences throughout their musical career. Nordstrom’s background includes engineering for legendary techno duo Deep Dish, while Nada is probably one of the only people who successfully made the transition from harDCore band member to Baltimore club DJ. Consequently, the influences when finally pulling together a debut album were both vast and diverse.

“We listened to all kinds of albums to figure out how we wanted our album to flow,” says Nada. “Pink Floyd albums. Stevie Wonder’s The Secret Life of Plants. Radiohead’s Kid A. The Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the 36 Chambers. Things that felt cohesive. It’s a club-friendly album of dance music, so there’s Daft Punk always as the one you look up to, because they made amazing albums like Discovery. [Justin Martin’s] Ghettos & Gardens was important, too. We were playing those records in the club, and we were able to listen to them [outside of the club], too.”

“With this album, we want people to get lost in the tunes.”

Besides records, there’s one producer that served as a key influence above all others.

“Switch is a hero of Nadastrom’s,” says Nada of producer Dave “Switch” Taylor, a former member of Major Lazer and founder of Dubsided Records, which is home to Nadastrom. “He’s been a mentor throughout the whole process. Getting his reactions and hearing that he’s a big fan of the album was great.”

Nadastrom are perpetually on the road, and their most recent dates mark the first time that many ears have heard a significant dose of where Nadastrom is headed creatively.

“Over the past few years, though, there were a couple of great moments with the new album’s material,” says Nada. “In Medellin, Colombia, over the summer, we played another album track in a set, and I watched the dancefloor become engaged in our music. There’s that point at the end of the night when everyone’s dancing and everyone’s in their zone, and being able to soundtrack that with our album tracks was super awesome. With this album, we want people to get lost in the tunes.”

Nadastrom’s artistic evolution is a wonderful reminder that a career is a journey, a process defined by thoroughly searching and exploring oneself and one’s inspirations. Nada reflects on his eight years producing alongside Nordstrom:

“Time flies. A lot has actually not changed. When you find chemistry with someone, sometimes it instantly clicks. Even if we disagree, we try to find a middle ground. Now, we’re a bit more adventurous as far as format and arrangements. With the album, we definitely pushed ourselves, though, trying to find the tracks’ greatest potential.”

Less than a week away from the release of the album, Nada sums up the evolution of Nadastrom and the group’s current state the best way he knows how. He compares it to the energy of the U Street Music Hall in his native Washington, D.C., as the tech house-friendly vibes close out one of the group’s trademark Moombahton Massive parties.

“Everyone is on a vibe. They’ve had a whole night of dancing, and they’re not ready to go home yet. That’s our shit.”

Nadastrom’s self-titled debut album is out February 24 via Friends of Friends / Dubsided.

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