Ben Nicky — Ben Nicky Live @ Belsonic 2023, Belfast
Hard Trance · 1h 16m · analysed 22 Aug 2026 · source: soundcloud.com
Public mix analysis — no affiliation or endorsement. This report measures a publicly available recording hosted on soundcloud.com. The scores are produced by SOONOS and do not imply any partnership with, or approval by, Ben Nicky.
In short
Ben Nicky Live @ Belsonic 2023, Belfast by Ben Nicky scores 85/100 in the SOONOS analysis (festival ready). The strongest dimension is STORYTELLING (91/100) and the weakest is TECHNIQUE (76/100).
This set demonstrates how to command a large-scale audience through relentless energy and strategic emotional payoffs.
Key takeaways
What worked
- Exceptional energy management
- Precise tension and release cycles
- Strong artistic identity
- Exceptional crowd control and engagement.
What weakened the set
- Long static loops (5×) — Sections sitting on the same loop without layering, EQ moves or tension shifts (20:00, 35:00, 43:00, 60:00, 70:00). Long loops kill dancefloor momentum.
- Beat alignment needs work — typical drift of 31 ms — Measured median beat-grid drift is 31 ms across the transitions. Reference: pro ≤ 25 ms, needs work 30-42 ms, must be reworked > 42 ms. Above ~30 ms the kick flams and dancers feel the blend slipping.
What to try next
- Continue using iconic vocal hooks to anchor high-BPM sections.
- Experiment with slightly longer melodic builds to enhance the emotional payoff.
- Monitor sub-bass levels during the 180 BPM finale to ensure maximum punch.
Timestamped insights
Each moment below is tagged with how it was produced: “measured” comes from the DSP pass on the audio, “listening” comes from the multi-agent listening pass.
Perfectly timed transition that maintains the high-energy momentum.
Smooth integration of a new melodic element, enhancing the emotional arc.
Perfectly timed transition that maximizes the energy of the incoming track.
Smooth transition into a breakdown, allowing the crowd to breathe before the next build.
Intentional reset
About this hard trance set
Ben Nicky Live @ Belsonic 2023, Belfast is a hard trance DJ set by Ben Nicky, running 1h 16m. It was measured by the SOONOS multi-agent engine and scores 85/100 overall — festival ready.
The engine files this performance as “Promising”.
This set demonstrates how to command a large-scale audience through relentless energy and strategic emotional payoffs.
How the score breaks down
SOONOS scores this set across 5 weighted categories. The strongest is STORYTELLING at 91/100; the weakest is TECHNIQUE at 76/100.
Analysis coverage for this file is 100% — the share of the set the engine could measure with full confidence.
Energy and structure
The energy curve was sampled at 30 points, moving between 70 and 98 on the SOONOS energy scale — a moderate dynamic range across the set.
6 transitions were detected and scored individually.
Beat-grid measurement (DSP) reports 1180.2 grid breaks per hour, with a median beat offset of 31 ms.
How this score is built
Measured layer (DSP): the audio file is analysed directly — beat grid, tempo stability, loudness and energy. These values are measurements, not opinions.
Listening layer: a multi-agent pass reads musical intent — programming, storytelling, coherence and crowd effect. This layer interprets, it does not measure.
Fusion and ceilings: the two layers are merged, and the measured layer always wins on execution. When the DSP hears an execution problem, it caps the final score even if the listening layer is positive.
Measured coverage for this file is 100% of the set.
Full SOONOS analysis
This set demonstrates how to command a large-scale audience through relentless energy and strategic emotional payoffs.
The 8 dimensions
Not available — the 8-dimension profile was not measured for this set.
Score breakdown
TECHNIQUE
How well did you execute?
25%76
TECHNIQUE
How well did you execute?
STORYTELLING
Did the mix go somewhere?
25%91
STORYTELLING
Did the mix go somewhere?
ENERGY
Did you control the room?
20%86
ENERGY
Did you control the room?
SURPRISE
Did you remain unpredictable?
15%83
SURPRISE
Did you remain unpredictable?
IDENTITY
Did the mix sound like you?
15%89
IDENTITY
Did the mix sound like you?
Energy arc
Transitions analysed (6)
Fast EQ swap on phrase
Perfectly timed transition that maintains the high-energy momentum.
Melodic blend during breakdown
Smooth integration of a new melodic element, enhancing the emotional arc.
High-impact drop swap
Perfectly timed transition that maximizes the energy of the incoming track.
Melodic breakdown blend
Smooth transition into a breakdown, allowing the crowd to breathe before the next build.
Perfect high-energy swap
intentional_reset
Minor level jump during build
Technical subscores
84
EQ balance
91
Beat alignment
93
Energy control
91
Tempo stability
86
Loudness control
86
Musical coherence
83
Harmonic compatibility
85
Transition cleanliness
Measured (DSP)
31 ms
Beat-grid drift (median)
Typical gap between the two tracks' beats while they play together. Lower is tighter.
208 ms
Drift p95
Worst-case drift: 95% of the set stays tighter than this value.
4,549
Boundaries detected
Points where the audio changes track or section.
202
Hard cuts / h
Abrupt track changes per hour, with no blend between the two records.
88
Clipping events
Moments where the recording hits the ceiling and distorts.
530
Level jumps
Sudden volume steps between tracks.
Measurement confidence 99% · analysed on the full audio.
Recurring patterns
Long static loops (5×)
Sections sitting on the same loop without layering, EQ moves or tension shifts (20:00, 35:00, 43:00, 60:00, 70:00). Long loops kill dancefloor momentum.
Beat alignment needs work — typical drift of 31 ms
Measured median beat-grid drift is 31 ms across the transitions. Reference: pro ≤ 25 ms, needs work 30-42 ms, must be reworked > 42 ms. Above ~30 ms the kick flams and dancers feel the blend slipping.
What SOONOS heard
- Exceptional energy management
- Precise tension and release cycles
- Strong artistic identity
- Exceptional crowd control and engagement.
- Flawless energy management for a festival closing.
- Strong artistic identity and signature sound.
Timeline
- 2:45Euphoric Peak
- 8:30Tension Masterclass
- 12:05Crowd Interaction Peak
- 15:45Energy Plateau
- 18:45Risky pressure or vibe dip
Coaching notes
- Continue using iconic vocal hooks to anchor high-BPM sections.
- Experiment with slightly longer melodic builds to enhance the emotional payoff.
- Monitor sub-bass levels during the 180 BPM finale to ensure maximum punch.
Curious how your own set scores?
Methodology and limitations
This report is produced automatically from the published recording. It measures what is present in the audio file: a bad source encoding, a partial upload or a heavily processed broadcast version can change the measured values. Nothing here reflects the room, the crowd or the night itself.
Read the full SOONOS methodology →Questions about this analysis
- What score does Ben Nicky's Ben Nicky Live @ Belsonic 2023, Belfast get?
- Ben Nicky Live @ Belsonic 2023, Belfast scores 85/100 in the SOONOS Mix Database (festival ready), based on audio measurement plus multi-agent listening.
- How long is Ben Nicky Live @ Belsonic 2023, Belfast?
- The analysed recording runs 1h 16m.
- Which part of the mix scores best?
- STORYTELLING is the strongest category at 91/100, while TECHNIQUE is the lowest at 76/100.
- How is this score calculated?
- SOONOS measures the audio with a DSP pass (beat grid, loudness, tempo, energy) and runs a multi-agent listening pass on top. Measured axes always override the listening layer, so an execution issue heard in the file caps the final score.
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