Nick Pittsinger
| Varien | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nick Pittsinger |
| Also known as | Varien, Halo Nova, Chrono Rabbit |
| Born | May 15, 1990 Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Genres | Orchestral, electro rock, industrial, dubstep, glitch hop, soundtrack, downtempo |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, producer |
| Instruments | Piano, guitar, bass, drums, sitar, melodica |
| Labels | Monstercat, Ultra, Big Beat, FiXT |
| Associated acts | Two Steps from Hell Scandroid Skrillex |
| Website | www |
Nick Pittsinger (born May 15, 1990), better known by his current stage name Varien, is an American composer and producer.[1] His styles range from industrial, electronic rock, and drum and bass to orchestral and Soundtrack music. He is a featured producer on the electronic labels Monstercat and FiXT, and has had songs such as "Cloak and Dagger", "Moonlight (feat. Aloma Steele)", and "Valkyrie (feat. Laura Brehm)" reach millions of views. His music has been featured in media such as 300: Rise of an Empire, The Purge: Anarchy, The Real World, and more. Other non-composing accomplishments of his include helping develop multiple sample libraries for 8dio Productions, led by composer Troels Folmann and providing music production tutorials on YouTube, which have grossed over 1,000,000 plays total. Other past monikers of his include Shamantis, Kitsune Soundsystem and Halo Nova.[2] [3] [4]
Contents
History[edit]
In August 2010, Pittsinger achieved internet virality with his slowed-down remix of Justin Bieber's song "U Smile" entitled "Justin Bieber 800% Slowed Down". He was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly, MTV, and had articles written about the track from all over the world.[5]
In July 2011, Pittsinger released his first Monstercat single "The Force" on Monstercat under the alias Halo Nova. He has released 2 other songs under the Halo Nova alias, Triceracops and Totally Radical, both released on Monstercat in late 2011.
In December 2011, Pittsinger was hired by dubstep producer Skrillex to do an orchestral suite of his most popular songs. In the suite, the songs "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites", "All I Ask Of You", "Scatta" (all from the Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP) and "First Of The Year" (from the More Monsters and Sprites EP) were re-arranged into an orchestral fashion. To date, the "Skrillex Orchestral Suite" has received over 3,000,000 views on YouTube.[6]
Under his Varien moniker, Pittsinger has remixed popular acts such as Gareth Emery, Rebecca & Fiona, and Celldweller. He has had songs chart on the digital distribution website Beatport a number of times, including "Mirrors", "Valkyrie", and "Toothless Hawkins (And His Robot Jazz Band)," all of which hit #1 on their respective charts.
On February 26, 2013, Pittsinger released Pick Your Poison Vol. 1, a compilation album of trailer cues that he had done strictly for the purpose of film, television, and video game licensing. Pick Your Poison Vol. 2 came a year later.
In 2013, Pittsinger and Klayton of Celldweller formed the cyberpunk/electronic music project Scandroid.[7]
In 2014, Pittsinger teamed up with Two Steps from Hell on a private trailer cue compilation entitled Open Conspiracy.
Discography[edit]
Compilations[edit]
| Year | Title | Release date | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Open Conspiracy (with Two Steps from Hell) | Private | Extreme Music |
| 2013 | Pick Your Poison Vol. 1 | February 26, 2013 | FiXT |
| 2014 | Pick Your Poison Vol. 2 | January 26, 2014 | FiXT |
Singles and EPs[edit]
| Year | Title | Charts | Release date | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Cloak and Dagger | Oct 31, 2011 | Monstercat | |
| Throne of Ravens | #18 Beatport Dubstep | December 23, 2011 | Monstercat | |
| Skrillex Orchestral Suite (Bonus Track on Skrillex's Bangarang EP) | #1 iTunes Dance Charts | December 28, 2011 | Big Beat Records | |
| 2012 | Mirrors | #1 Beatport Drum n Bass | Feb 3, 2012 | Monstercat |
| The Alchemist's Nightmare | Free Release | Mar 16, 2012 | Monstercat | |
| Nights in Bangalore Pt. 1 | Apr 2, 2012 | Play Me Records (promoted by Monstercat) | ||
| Seduction | Jun 1, 2012 | Monstercat | ||
| The Anthem (with Project 46 and Ephixa) | Free Release | Aug 25, 2012 | Monstercat | |
| Resurrection of the Dagger | August 31, 2012 | Monstercat | ||
| Morphine | #15 Beatport Glitch Hop | Nov 9, 2012 | Monstercat | |
| Outlaws (feat. Pbat) | Free Release for Toys for Tots | Dec 7, 2012 | - | |
| Lilith | #13 Beatport Dubstep | Dec 24, 2012 | Monstercat | |
| 2013 | Nights in Bangalore Pt. 2 | #22 Beatport Electronica | January 16, 2013 | Monstercat |
| Signs of the Apocalypse | Free Release | Feb 1, 2013 | - | |
| Gravity (Give a Voice) (feat. Laura Brehm) | Free Release / Charity | Feb 20, 2013 | - | |
| L'esprit Noir (feat. CoMa) | Free Release | April 12, 2013 | Monstercat | |
| Toothless Hawkins (And His Robot Jazz Band) (with Razihel) | #1 Beatport Glitch Hop | May 15, 2013 | Monstercat | |
| Immortal Kiss | Free Release | October 24, 2013 | Free Release | |
| Baphomets Casino | Free Release | November 29, 2013 | Free Release | |
| Melodies of Memories Past (Monstercat 2013 Orchestral Suite) | Free Release | December 20, 2013 | Monstercat | |
| The Scarlet Dawn | #5 Beatport Dubstep | December 27, 2013 | Monstercat | |
| 2014 | Spooky Jack (and his Living Dead Symphony) (with Razihel) | #12 Beatport Drum n Bass | March 10, 2014 | Rottun Recordings |
| Amethyst | Free Release | April 14, 2014 | EDM.com | |
| Moonlight (with SirensCeol) | #1 Beatport Dubstep | May 16, 2014 | Monstercat | |
| Valkyrie | #15 Beatport Drum n Bass | June 23, 2014 | Monstercat | |
| Gunmetal Black | #5 Beatport Dubstep | July 21, 2014 | Monstercat | |
| "Mirai Sekai EP (with 7 Minutes Dead)" | #4 iTunes Dance | September 1st, 2014 | Monstercat | |
| Valkyrie II: Lacuna | October 3rd, 2014 | Monstercat |
Remixes[edit]
| Year | Artist | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Ephixa | "Division" (Free Release) |
| 2012 | Gareth Emery | "Tokyo" |
| Rebecca & Fiona | "Dance" | |
| Celldweller | "Louder Than Words" (Space & Time) | |
| Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest | "Stickerbrush Symphony" (Free Release) | |
| Skrillex | "Make It Bun Dem" |
Film/TV/Video Game[edit]
Nick Pittsinger also composes and licenses music for all forms of visual media.
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2014 | The Loft (2014 film) |
| 2014 | Bones (TV series) |
| 2014 | Monsters: Dark Continent |
| 2014 | Face Off (TV series) |
| 2014 | The Purge: Anarchy |
| 2014 | PlanetSide 2 |
| 2014 | 300: Rise of an Empire |
| 2014 | America's Next Top Model |
| 2013 | NASCAR Race Hub |
| 2013 | MTV's The Challenge: Rivals II |
| 2013 | The Tomorrow People |
| 2013 | Pain & Gain |
| 2013 | Breaking Amish: Los Angeles |
| 2012 | Intervention |
