NenaHalena: Rave Roots, Raw Rhythm, and “Beat To Hit Ya”

Long before he was commanding dance floors with hybrid live sets and percussion-driven club records, NenaHalena was already being shaped by electronic music. But contrary to assumptions, it wasn’t the rave explosion of the 1990s that first lit the spark, it was the synth-pop brilliance of the decade before.

Armed with a keyboard gifted by his parents, he became obsessed with recreating what he heard. “Those synth hooks and chords were prime material for me to learn and emulate,” he explains. “By the time rave culture was starting to really take hold in the UK I was already on the path to producing music.”

Then came the defining moment. “Once I heard the bouncy ‘Piano House’ being played at the likes of Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester I was 1000% on board.”

When asked what memories from those early rave years still shape him now, he laughs: “Memories? Er, I think I had a great time!”

But beneath the humour is a deeper truth about what those nights represented. “People often talk about the sense of unity, how everyone was in one room, on one beat. It was friendly, it was open, it was fresh. And it’s all true, for the most part.”

That spirit remains central to everything he creates. “It’s actually the coming together of various walks of life, the erosion of differences and this sense of unity and humanity which I intend for my music.”

He sees the same ideals reflected in his sound. “Given the influences and elements cross electronic with organic, folkloric and contemporary with east and west. It’s this diversity of sound that we celebrate together while experiencing and celebrating the diversity in each other.”

Though many know him for his performances, Nena Halena insists the studio came first. “Production actually came before my DJing,” he says. “It was an evolution from getting that first piano keyboard.”

School became an unexpected launchpad. “Then being able to connect them to a computer, my school introducing a more advanced setup. I was using Cubase Version 2.5 two years before touching a set of turntables.”

His enthusiasm quickly became legendary. “They used to have to ask me to leave school to lock up at the end of the day!”

When he did move into DJing, the discipline of vinyl culture shaped him permanently. “Knowing the best place to mix each record was essential,” he says. “Obviously with no way to loop, skip or hot-cue back then, thinking hard about cue points and getting two tracks to really complement each other in the mix made impactful transitions.”

Even in today’s digital world, he believes those lessons matter. “The CDJs have eliminated a lot of this skill requirement. But the understanding of how the music interacts together, looking at harmonics, dance floor energy momentum, space in the music and arrangement. This mindset is still just as important.”

Across different aliases, styles and scenes, he sees continuity rather than reinvention. “It’s all chapters of the same book,” he says. “Each era threaded through.”

Although his sound has evolved, he views the present as the sum of everything that came before. “What I am doing now is ultimately because of everything I’ve made in the past. I can hark back and suggest feelings and flavours and all the sub genres I’ve lived.”

That breadth of experience also feeds into his work with other artists. “This is also one of my strong points for when I’m acting as a producer for other artists too.”

The distinctive fusion of Afro-Brazilian rhythms with house and techno came from records that left a lasting impact. “Songs like 'Give It Up,' and 'Capricorn.' They were my initial seed.”

Hearing them at Liverpool institution Cream was transformative. “Those loud carnival drums under a pounding kick drum!! It was literally organic techno.”

Soon after, a samba workshop changed his understanding of rhythm entirely. “I was like; ‘oh this is where those drum sounds come from’.”

He discovered a natural instinct for percussion and was sponsored to study further. “My local arts council sponsored me to go and learn everything I could from various other Brazilian Samba School teachers, but I was tasked with passing down the knowledge and skills to my local community.”

The story still surprises even him. “Before I knew it, I was the leader of my own Samba School in a small town in the northwest of the UK. It’s such an unlikely story.”

And rhythm still leads every production. “Yes! Absolutely,” he says when asked if drums come before melody. “Often my melodies will form from percussion. I will for sure create percussion from melodies. But what I really like is melodies in percussion. Conversations in pitched drum tones.”

“It’s not always apparent, but when you hear the drums ‘singing’ it supercharges a groove.”

His new single "Beat To Hit Ya," created with MC Flipside, captures the spirit of early rave culture while carrying his trademark percussion-heavy style.

The collaboration came together quickly. “A special mention to Juanny Bravo, who is managing the Make The Girls Dance label,” he says. “I sent him an early demo which had a vocal placeholder from a seminal early '90 track.”

He wanted a fresh vocal, not a recycled reference. “I was inspired by some phrases within the vocal, but I wanted an original recording.”

That’s when the connection was made. “Juanny matched me up with MC Flipside from Toronto. Having lived the scene for decades he understood exactly the vibe, took it and ran with it and passed it back. No fuss just boom, done!”

The track itself was born far from any studio session. “Well, the track actually started life in a hotel room in Goa India, not a studio.”

Earlier that day, he had built his first djembe drum with a local craftsman named Suleman. “We had spent the day making a drum from the wooden shell and stitching the skin.”

Still inspired that night, he began recording. “The phrase ‘people punching out in the air’ had been popping in and out my creative consciousness for some time. So, I decided to act on it and lay down the foundation for the track.”

The setup was basic, but effective. “Simply recording the drum line in a hotel room directly into the MacBook microphone.”

And yes, there were casualties. “It worked out great, but I definitely annoyed a lot of people in the hotel this night!”

His live performances have become a major part of his identity, blending decks with live hand percussion. The concept began almost by accident.

“I had a gig where there was a percussionist set up next to me in the booth. He went off for a break and I started to play his congas.”

What happened next changed everything. “When it came time to mix the track I found I could hold the rhythm with one hand and control the players and mixer at the same time!”

Now using a Roland HandSonic HPD-20, he delivers sets that are as physical as they are musical. “I’m often slapping the s**t out of it or using sticks to hit it. I get very into it and spend a lot of energy, this energy transfers to the floors almost instantly.”

“It’s like there is a primal switch getting flicked.”

He sums the experience up simply: “We can lock into hypnotic grooves or snare roll into fever pitch drops. It’s dynamic and visually stimulating.”

With releases supported by labels including Armada Music, Stil vor Talent and Black Book Records, his momentum continues to build. But what matters most now is evolution.

“Developing my live aspect more,” he says of the future. “People have been watching DJ’s for decades, and I believe there is a hunger for more.”

And in typical NenaHalena fashion, he means substance over gimmick.

“Not just someone wearing a novel mask or costume. I mean a hunger to see talented people doing what they love.”

NenaHalena & MC Flipside – Beat To Hit Ya is out now. Grab it on Beatport HERE.

Read the full interview with NenaHalena on The Night Bazaar HERE.