Since launching his project in 2020, Louisville-born, San Francisco-based artist Nikita, the Wicked’s sinister beats and cinematic samples have seen him emerge as one of experimental bass music’s most buzzed-about rising artists. His film-score approach to production combines gritty low-end bass with disparate jazz and hip-hop samples, resulting in a cinematic sound that excites the mind’s eye as well as the ear.
But more than beats, the producer-DJ—born Nikita Madorsky—is also building one of EDM’s most intriguing artist concepts. Stepping into the character of “the villain,” he packages each project with unique attention to presentation on stage and online, whether it’s the all-red suit he used to promote his breakout EP, or the monochrome coveralls he’s donning for his latest.
On the heels of his sold-out headline debut in D.C., and a fall of festival debuts at Lost Lands, Escape Halloween, Hulaween, and more, Nikita, the Wicked sat down with EDM Maniac to discuss the vision behind dance music’s new anti-hero, his love for film, and his new concept EP, BLINDED BY VANITY, out now on Helix Records.
EDM Maniac: How are you feeling about 2025, and what has it been like to step onto these bigger stages?
Nikita, the Wicked: I’ve got to say, 2025 has been the best year of my life so far. I said that for 2024, too. It just keeps getting better and better, so I’m truly grateful. With festival season, I hit it really hard, and being on these bigger stages has been great. I do get nervous before getting on stage, but once I’m up there, it’s just straight flow state, and I just put the stress away and really lock in on what’s on hand. It’s been such a blessing to play for new audiences all around the U.S.
EDM Maniac: All these gigs are introducing more audiences to the concept of “the villain.” Every villain has an origin story. What is Nikita, the Wicked’s?
Nikita, the Wicked: My EP I released last year, iloveitwhentheyrun, was the first time I did a concept project and did a character with it. I put on this red suit to play this character, and there was one video where I ended with [the words] “dance music has many heroes, now it needs a villain.” I would see comments with people like, “That’s the villain right there.” So I was like, let me embody this character and kind of see where I can take it.
Last year, it was this red-suited, cult-leader vibe, because the EP had a lot of cult-initiation samples. This is the conductor, all white, villain evolution. I’m really glad it’s stuck, and the fans like it. I love exploring more artistic possibilities with that. It also comes from my hip-hop influences, especially MF DOOM, who is one of my favorite artists and rappers of all time. He was the original villain of underground hip-hop, so I took so much inspiration from that. It’s cool in rap. Now dance music needs one too.
EDM Maniac: How did you decide on the visual presentation for this EP, and where does the conductor character come from?
Nikita, the Wicked: This project is this evil villain conductor. I knew that the project had many orchestral samples. That was one thing I wanted to do for the project. There’s a lot of brass sections and woodwind sections, and all the bridges have little cool film score moments, so it was really cool to influence that into the videos as well.
I’ve been sharing one fun fact about the EP leading up to it. Yesterday I was like, “Yo, Leonard Bernstein, he’s one of the greatest conductors of all time.” I was watching his videos, and the way he thinks about music and acts. I really want to do something like that with dance music. It’s cool to take a piece from a whole different lane. He was doing classical music, and that was my interpretation of it in bass music.
EDM Maniac: We know you’re a bit of a film buff. How does your passion for film connect with how you present the villain and evolve your sound?
Nikita, the Wicked: I’ve loved film for so long. When I have accomplished everything I want in dance music, I’m going to go into film. It’s something I’ve always been passionate about, and I love all the aspects of it, even the screenwriting, editing, the film score. I took an intro to film score course in college, and it was the coolest class I’ve ever taken. That was a big inspiration.
In the EP, there are a lot of samples and dialogue moments in the bridge where it feels like you’re in a horror movie. For like eight seconds, it feels like you’re in a film. I think that’s one of the most important things about music, not only that it sounds good, but that you bring the audience into your world. For two minutes and 20 seconds, now you’re in my world. When it comes to shooting content, symmetrical camera angles and different ways you cut it, it’s been cool to explore that. It’s something I want to learn a lot more about.
EDM Maniac: Who are your favorite filmmakers?
Nikita, the Wicked: I’m one of the biggest Tarantino fans. My favorite of his switches every month. I’m super into the Safdie brothers right now. I think they do great work. Obviously, [Christopher] Nolan is so good, Wes Anderson is so good. And film scorers, Ludwig Göransson, I’ve been on him. He did Oppenheimer, and he worked with Childish Gambino, he did Black Panther, he’s super cool.
I’m reading this book about screenwriting right now. I don’t know shit about screenwriting, but I just think the craft is really cool, and I want to learn about it.
EDM Maniac: Prolific sampling is a fixture of this EP and your work in general. What does your sample digging process look like?
Nikita, the Wicked: It kind of changes from project to project. It’s digging on YouTube, I’ve kind of been on Tracklib lately. Basically, anything that won’t get me in trouble is good for my management. I really love the Kung Fu samples and stuff like that. I have a whole folder of shit like that because I think in the right moment, it’s really cool.
For this project, I really wanted to go outside the box. So there’s Hungarian jazz from the ‘70s, there’s 1950s Bollywood, and it was really trying to broaden my horizons. There’s really niche-style jazz and little motifs that have really interested me.
EDM Maniac: Do you have a favorite sample you pulled for this EP?
Nikita, the Wicked: The part I rewind most is the last 10 seconds of “SHAKE,” and it’s not even a sample that has anything to do with the song. The second drop ends, and then it abruptly changes. It feels like the end-credit scene. It’s a little saxophone, and it’s rain and cars on a drive. Every time I hear it, I’m like, “What a cool way to end this whole thing,” like you just finished a film.
EDM Maniac: Your productions span future bass, trap, house, and, recently, deep experimental bass. What guides your stylistic direction in the studio?
Nikita, the Wicked: Now that I feel like I’ve established myself in bass music, I feel like I’m the bass music guy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that every day I’m making bass music. There are some days I’m just trying to make some hip-hop, boom-bap shit. Some days I like to make other shit. I always say that’s what makes you a better producer, when you just make different shit all the time, because when you do lock in on your genre, it’s a lot more unique. You’re taking different parts from different places.
In the sampling world, something I was always into, I was just like, Let me really dial in on this, because I think it’s one of my unique traits as an artist. It’s always the best artists who come from different genres. Skrillex was in a death metal band, and now he’s the greatest of all time. It’s because they have that perspective from something else and bring it into the genre.
EDM Maniac: In 2026, you’re going on your first headline tour. How are you preparing for the year ahead?
Nikita, the Wicked: There are so many moving parts on your first headline tour that I’m learning about as I go, but I’m so excited to play this project and a bunch of new stuff in all these cities. This is the first time I’m playing shows where I’m the main guy, because I’ve been the support guy all this year, so it’s cool to do that for the first time.
That’s the first half of the year, and then a couple of festivals. Bonnaroo was just announced, so I’m super stoked for that one. That’s my first major festival that isn’t all electronic music. Just being on the same lineup with Skrillex made my eyes pop out of my head. And I’m on the same day as the Alchemist, and he’s one of my favorite hip-hop producers of all time. It’s just surreal.
Featured image courtesy: Nikita, the Wicked.