Antonio Giacca takes wing, hovering above the house music crowd across the globe. Once again he’ll soar with a set he’s mentally perfected before it ever touches your ears. You cannot listen and remain the same. The event known as ‘Antonio’ has arrived; he is ready, life as we know it has just been elevated.
For Antonio, crafting music isn’t just cranking out club sounds that people dance to on weekends. His music is a lifestyle brand that encompasses rituals, rights of passage, and tearing your soul loose from the ordinary and rocketing it to another level, an ultimate musical high.
“I work around the clock, because when I wake up I start composing. My best tracks come from my dreams.” Antonio Giacca, 2011
Antonio owns his own label, allowing him to never release a track unless it is absolutely perfect. Not a note will be published that doesn’t have the signature Giacca sound. Antonio’s artistry is designed to transport the listener on a journey they never knew was possible, to a place they always thought unreachable.
For these reasons and more, the biggest record labels request Antonio Giacca. He collaborates with some of the most influential artists on the scene. Once in a lifetime, someone comes along with the passion and creativity of Antonio. We can only be thankful that we’re here now, enjoying a spell-binding ride.
His latest smash hits ‘Inflexions’ and ‘Majestic’, on Sirup Music record label, have pushed Antonio to the forefront of progressive house scene, and as it seems he is here to stay for a long time. For that reason, because we love to pave the path of upcoming artists and support their careers, we requested an interview with Antonio and we are glad that this Italian DJ and producer accepted. You can read this long and satisfying interview, with plenty of hot and spicy information, so to know more details about the new star on the prog. House bloc; Antonio Giacca.
Interview was written and conducted by Dimitri Kechagias, Radio/DJ/Music Journalist
Dimitri: When and where were you were born? Are you fortunate enough to come from a family that has any kind of connection with music or any other arts? Do remember your parents’ first reaction when you told them that you wanted to pursue a musical career as DJ and producer?
Dimitri: When and where were you were born? Are you fortunate enough to come from a family that has any kind of connection with music or any other arts? Do remember your parents’ first reaction when you told them that you wanted to pursue a musical career as DJ and producer?
Antonio: I was born in Rome, Italy and my dad was working for a very popular club at the time, so this was a world I had pretty much been part of since I was very young, and it was kind of natural for me to venture into a career as a DJ and producer…
Dimitri: Is it possible for you to list the Top 5 DJ’s or EDM producers and DJ’s that have had a major influence on the style of your productions and DJ’ing technique, and give us a short comment about each of them?
Antonio:
Axwell – he just manages to put soul into every track he makes
EDX and Chris Reece – I had the chance to be in the studio with them, and watching them working was so inspiring; they just seem to really understand what the crowd wants/needs.
Sasha – for being only one-step ahead and setting the trends, a true “artist”.
Nicky Romero – This young man is just super talented and produces one the most consistent in my eyes, I love every track he’s made to this day.
Cedric Zeyenne - Young artist that has already done so much both as a DJ and as a producer. He is the future of EDM, and I can see him going very far…
Axwell – he just manages to put soul into every track he makes
EDX and Chris Reece – I had the chance to be in the studio with them, and watching them working was so inspiring; they just seem to really understand what the crowd wants/needs.
Sasha – for being only one-step ahead and setting the trends, a true “artist”.
Nicky Romero – This young man is just super talented and produces one the most consistent in my eyes, I love every track he’s made to this day.
Cedric Zeyenne - Young artist that has already done so much both as a DJ and as a producer. He is the future of EDM, and I can see him going very far…
Dimitri: Do you have any professional training in music or are you self-taught? Do you think it’s very important for young upcoming producers to attend formal music composition classes or, as nowadays it’s easy to learn to produce by watching amateur video tutorials on YouTube?
Antonio: I learnt how to play piano and produce music in the studio by trial and error, and by watching and working with fellow artists who were more experienced. So professional training is not a must, but of course it can definitely help speed things up.
Dimitri: For which label was your first production, and which track was the one that you believe has helped you to get the most recognition and support in the EDM scene?
Antonio: I have release techno and tech-house under several alter egos for quite a long time, but my break through came when I started releasing more main stream singles and remixes. Definitely “InfleXions”, on Pinkstar Records, which was in the Top 10 Charts for quite some time, would definitely be considered my first track where people really started to take notice.
Dimitri: You had two fantastic releases on Sirup Music in Switzerland. ‘Inflexions’ and the current smash ‘Majestic’, including a thunderous remix by the legend, ‘DJ Dave 202’. Can you please give us a short comment about each of these two tracks, and your views on Sirup Music?
Antonio: I could not talk any higher about the guys behind Sirup Music. They really love what they do, they are very professional and they are just nice all round people that I am also lucky to hang out a lot with and be good friends. They have definitely helped me a lot and their labels are doing very well. They constantly release one hit after another, so I was very happy to have InfleXions and Majestic picked up by them, and do some remixes for some other artists in their rooster. (One for Andrew Bennett, Stardust, should be out by the time you read this interview by the way)
Dimitri: Please can you take us on a virtual tour in your High Gravity Recording Studios, and tell us what type of hardware and software you use to produce your great tracks. Do you have any favourite music composition software that you prefer to use and tell us why you like it.
Antonio: I love my studio, I put a lot of sweat and tears into putting all the equipment together which I felt most comfortable with and also I have “spiced it up” with really cool stuff like a giant projector, a stage and disco ball and a media room with all sorts of cool things.
All the fellow DJs and producers coming by just love it, and it makes me very proud. I used to work with Logic, but now I produce on both Logic and Ableton Live, as sometimes I collaborate with other people, and I find out that most artists have switched to Live. Hardware wise, I only have a very few good pieces for compression and limiting, and to record vocals as well. I also have two big ass side chained sub woofers, to make sure I really get that club vibe when I pump up the volume!
Dimitri: Have you produced tracks for other artists as well?
Antonio: Not really, I have collaborated with many DJs, singers and producers, but never produced for other people, as that’s really my thing at the moment.
Dimitri: Can you explain the way that you produce a track. Do you always start from the beginning, or do you work first with the breakdown and then with the rest of the parts?
Antonio: First I pick up one of my favourite kicks from my personal collection, then I add some drums to get the rhythm going, and after that I focus on creating a sick, catchy bassline, and the main melody for the breakdown. After that I start arranging and adding new parts as I progress in the arrangement.
Dimitri: Do you like to experiment with your own unique samples or do you usually work with pre-existing ones. Can you please give us examples of your personal samples used in your tracks or remixes?
Antonio: One thing I do is I try to stay away from using samples and loops “as is”. I use a combination of both sounds/drums loops created from scratch, and samples that I tweak to make them fit into my track and sound unique. I hate when I hear some people’s tracks where you recognize this or that sound from a library, and you might hear that on other people tracks. It’s just pointless, and devalues the quality of your final work. About personal samples, well all my kicks in my tracks are original and layered out from at least 2 kicks cut on different frequencies, and also all the melodies and bassline sounds are created by layering different synth sounds from scratch.
Dimitri: When was your first ever DJ gig, and do you remember how it felt when you played for first time in front of a large crowd?
Antonio: One of my first gigs was a big event on NYE back in Rome, my hometown. I remember being super nervous as from the stage you could really see there was a ton of people! Things slowly got more relaxed as I was seeing a positive response from the crowd, and I remember the most exciting part being playing one of my early productions, and seeing all those people dancing to it! I think I ended up doing pretty well that, night as I left the party with a really hot girl!
Dimitri: From the countries and clubs you performed in so far, can you choose your all time favourite club or festival, and your favourite country with the best club crowd?
Antonio: Country wise, I would have to say UK has been my favourite place to play so far, people really love EDM there, they listen to it day and night, and they are very knowledgeable about music and artists and very open to new sounds. Club wise its hard to tell, so many good ones in every corner of the world!
Dimitri: Can you share with us your best ever and worst ever DJ’ing experience and what happened to you?
Antonio: My best one was the one I just mentioned, hard to beat the high of your first time! Worst one must be one when after I was DJ’ing a lot in London, I flew back to Italy for a gig and the crowd was just not responding at all to the harder style I had developed performing in the UK.
Dimitri: One of my favourite questions to all the DJ’s is that one about self-reflection and self-criticism. Out of 10 with what score do you rate the various elements of your DJ performances and why?
Antonio:
a) Your mixing skills: 9 (I used to compete in the DMC in my young days!)
b) Your ability to choose the right track for the right occasion: 9
c) Your friendly attitude towards the fans who come to shake your hand when you perform and after that? 9 with the boys, 10+ with the girls!
Dimitri: Are you an active and passionate user of the internet and the social networks? Everyone nowadays talks about the Facebook or Twitter generation after the MTV generation. Do you believe in the importance of Facebook or do you feel is a bit exaggerated and over hyped by the media?
Antonio: This whole social media thing is definitely very important, but Twitter, FB, Instagram, I mean, every year something new… it moves so fast! I am definitely not one of the most active on these sites, I prefer much more to be in the studio making music or go out to clubs and interact with people face to face rather than “poking” them!
Dimitri: Do you like to Tweet before, after or even during your DJ set. What is your opinion of DJ’s who give too much useless information on tweeter or Facebook?
Antonio: In all honesty, I really have no interest in knowing what people I never even met in person in my life have had for breakfast, or watching pictures of what they are having for lunch and I find it hard to understand why so many DJ’s feel the need to share so much of that. If you want to be on social sites, try to interact with people and talk to them about interesting or funny stuff… Make it more interesting and about interacting, so that people feel like they get something out of taking the time to follow you!
Dimitri: What is your opinion about the explosion of radio shows hosted by well known DJ’s and online radio stations? Are you thinking about starting your own radio show soon? Do you believe that radio shows can have a major impact on any DJ’s career?
Antonio: I am actual working on my first radio show, but rather than just doing another radio show which is just a pre-recorded mix tape made on Ableton live or Traktor, I am trying to add many more elements and make it a proper radio show with many interesting new elements, and interaction with the public.
Dimitri: Is it possible to tell us about future tracks or remixes that you are going to release during the rest of 2012, and if there are plans for an album as well later??
Antonio: I have 3 big singles coming out before the end of 2012, and they will be basically launching my brand new “Antonio Giacca” sound. I believe it is time to bring something new to the market… Every track sounds the same now-a-days, so I felt the need to work a lot on sound design to try come up with a new, unique style. Remix wise my next one in the pipeline is for Andrew Bennett “Stardust” coming out on September 2nd, where I started to do things a little different and it’s kind of a preview of where my sound is heading towards in the next coming months.
Dimitri: The voting process for the DJ Mag Top 100 DJ’s list is now closed. What is your opinion about this list and do you recommend to promoters to check out these lists in order to choose the DJ what will entertain their crowd?
Antonio: I don’t think promoters should take the DJ Mag Top100 too seriously. It’s ok to use it as a reference, but we all know there is way too much politics to really trust that’s what the crowd is really into at the moment.
Dimitri: Many thanks for the interview, please give us your message to the people who will read this.
Antonio: Thanks for having me, really love to talk about music and the club scene so this was a lot of fun. Also if you made it to read this far you truly deserve to be rewarded, so here’s a link to download an exclusive unreleased track of mine for FREE! This is one is just for my most hardcore fans who took the time to read so much about me today! LOL
Many thanks to Antonio for taking the time to give us such fantastic answers
Many thanks to Paul at 1mix for proofing the final version.
Additional info: