Why the Darkness Club Mix by Nick Lawyer Works at 122 BPM
A Russian-Born House Producer, His Own Label and a Peak-Time Rework of a 2025 Original
Darkness (Club Mix) runs at 122 BPM in E minor, one beat per minute faster than the 2025 original and 34 seconds longer. Nick Lawyer rebuilt the house track for peak-time sets, with tighter drums and a deeper low end. He released it on his label, Traces Recordings, on 16 September 2026.
Nick Lawyer’s Darkness (Club Mix) sits in the playlist below, among the nu disco and French house this desk programmes, and the rest of the coverage is kept on Nick Lawyer’s artist profile. It reached ElectronicMusic.News through PopHits.Co Music Charts, which verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news desks. Press play on the club mix first, then read on.
Peak-Time House Has Long Run on DJ-Owned Labels, and the Darkness Club Mix Follows That Line
The darker, harder end of house has always relied on DJs who release their own records. In Chicago, Curtis Jones, better known as Green Velvet, founded Cajual Records in 1992 and Relief Records a year later. Then, in 1995, his single Flash went to number one on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart. It showed that a record made for the club could travel a long way from the booth.
The model carried on into the 2010s. Hot Since 82, the South Yorkshire producer Daley Padley, broke through in 2011 when Let It Ride reached number three on Beatport’s deep house chart. Three years later, he launched his own imprint, Knee Deep in Sound, to release underground house from newer artists.
The logic is practical. A DJ who owns the label controls the edits, the timing and the versions. So when the booth asks for something heavier, the track can be reworked for the floor without waiting on anyone else. That is where Darkness (Club Mix) comes from.
Where Nick Lawyer Fits
Nick Lawyer was born Nikita Leonenko in Russia in 1988. He started releasing music under his real name in 2010 and took the Nick Lawyer name in 2014. Two years later, he co-founded Traces Recordings and released his debut album, Reload My Mind. Today he is based in Asia, where he tours across the region.
The original Darkness came out in October 2025 as the title track of a four-track EP with Golden Wings, Around and Flame. In February 2026, it also appeared on Electro Horizons: Classic, Detroit, Future Fusion, Vol. 16, a compilation on LW Recordings.
The club mix keeps the original’s key and its dark, atmospheric character. However, it moves the tempo from 121 to 122 BPM and stretches the running time from 3:56 to 4:30. In his own description of the release, he lists tighter drums, a deeper low end and a relentless rhythmic drive. Those are the three things a DJ needs once a room is full and already moving.
The extra length matters too. Thirty-four more seconds give a DJ more room to mix in and out without cutting the groove short. In his words, “Darkness was always meant for the club”, and the new mix “strips it back to pure impact”.
Adjacent Acts for a Dark House Club Mix, From Green Velvet to Hot Since 82
The two names above are reference points for the sound, with no connection implied between any of the artists. Green Velvet is the older template: Chicago house with a dark edge, released by the DJ who runs the label. Hot Since 82, meanwhile, represents the deep house route, where the weight sits in the low end and the imprint belongs to the artist.
Darkness (Club Mix) is for DJs who play house between 120 and 125 BPM and need a darker record for the busiest stretch of the night. It also suits listeners who follow deep, bass-led house and electronic club music and want something newer for that rotation.
Beatport lists the track as house. Meanwhile, his April single Find Me sits under nu disco, and it shares the same key, E minor. That makes the two easy to programme side by side in a set that moves between both styles.
The best way in is to start with the club mix and then go back to the October 2025 original. Listen to the drums and the low end first, because that is where the rework does its work.
ElectronicMusic.News’s curator team: “Moving from 121 to 122 BPM without changing key means the club mix can follow the original in the same set and still feel like a lift. That kind of small, deliberate change is what makes a rework useful in the booth.”
Where to Hear the Darkness Club Mix and Follow Nick Lawyer
The release also fits a fast working pace. Counting this single, he has put out twelve releases on Spotify in 2026, including Night Vision, Traces and Surrender To The Sound. Some of them carry the UFO9 credit, the breakbeat and drum and bass project he launched in 2025 with the album Landing.
You can follow Nick Lawyer across these platforms:
- Buy or stream the club mix: Beatport and Apple Music
- Listen: Spotify, SoundCloud and Amazon Music
- Watch: YouTube
- Follow: Instagram, Facebook and X
- Every link in one place: his link page and his official site
About The Author
