One of the hottest record labels in the EDM scene at the moment is Alter Ego Records, and that include a wide army of sub labels catering for wide variety of tastes, mainly in the trance and progressive music scene. The releases of Alter Ego record labels have been heavily supported by the biggest jocks in the scene, and their extensive artist roster includes brand new talent that built up their careers through the label, and established artists who appreciate Alter Ego’s presence and good reputation in the EDM scene. The main label ‘Alter Ego Records’ reached its 100th release with the top track ‘Galapagos’, produced by the label heads Luigi Palagano & Rory Gallagher along with Mike Lane. I thought that this would be the perfect occasion to request an interview with the label manager Luigi Palagano, and to talk about his day to day involvement with the label, plus about his personal career. I’m glad he accepted the challenge and you can read his great answers. Enjoy Luigi!
Interview was conducted by Dimitri Kechagias, Music Journalist / Radio/DJ
Dimitri: First of all, it would be great to know when you took the decision to get into the magical world of electronic dance music, and under which circumstances?
Luigi Palagano: Well I think I caught the bug in my early years when I used to play the piano and guitar at school. I think it was around the age of 11-12 that music started to interest me, and I started listening to Happy Hardcore and The Prodigy while trying to make music on Dance E-Jay; that’s where it all began. On my 16th birthday I decided to get a pair of Turntables and a Mixer and six months before that I'd already caught the Vinyl Junkie Bug, going record shopping and playing them on my father’s turntable. I just spent months and months teaching myself to DJ, whilst studying music at music school.
Dimitri: Do you have a favourite all time classic that you believe gave you the ambition to become a DJ and producer?
Luigi Palagano: If I’m completely honest, there are too many to mention. I started DJ’ing and getting into Trance / Progressive around 1999, so the list of tracks at that time are endless. The first 12" I ever bought was Binary Finary - 1999 (Gouryella Remix) on Positiva, and that is still one of my all time favourite tracks. When ever I hear that it gives me goose bumps. Tracks like Gouryella – Gouryella, The Thrillseekers – Synaesthesia, Warrior – Warrior & System F - Out Of The Blue, are all in a long list of classics for me. You only have to go through my record collection to see this.
Dimitri: Can you mention your Top 5 DJ’s/producers/artists that have the biggest impact on your style of music and DJ’ing style?
Luigi Palagano: Well when it comes to DJ’ing, it’s hard to mention five artists because a good producer is not always a good DJ. Depending on where I play, depends on what style I DJ. I've been known for playing Trance events, Progressive, Electro House and even Drum and Bass. I’d say in terms of my production style and what sound I'm really tapped in to at the moment, would be artists / producers like Oliver Smith, Boom Jinx, Above & Beyond, eleven.five, Luca Lombardi, Spark7. With me working in A&R this list could be endless.
Dimitri: You obtained a diploma in Music Technology. Do you feel that those studies were worthwhile, and what is your opinion about producers who are self-taught and teach themselves from video tutorials on YouTube?
Luigi Palagano: Yes I definitely think it was worth while, although I did study in 2001-2003. I was at an age where I was deciding if I wanted to get into the music industry, and I think going and doing the courses helped me decide this. I was taught how the business worked and spent time in recording studios recording bands and making music. I'd advise anyone that wants to get into this industry to do it. Some things YouTube just can’t teach you.
Dimitri: When was your first ever gig and how do you feel when you played in front of a huge crowd?
Luigi Palagano: The first gig I ever played was when I was 16. It was an assignment for my music course to put on and promote my own night; Groovalicious I believe it was called in a little underground basement bar in Nottingham playing Trance, House & RnB. I was so nervous playing in front of a crowd and had practiced my set over and over again.
Dimitri: You were involved with the project Higher State. Is this project still running and are you still organising events in Ayia Napa, Cyprus. Do you have in mind a special memory from those events that you would like to share with us?
Luigi Palagano: I have been running the Higher State brand since 2006. I started this brand off with my DJ buddy Matt Dyson, and it began as a radio show on what was then a completely new station; Pure.FM. We were running events in Nottingham & Chester and created quite a following of people, more so at the events in Chester. I have been running the Radio show / Podcast by myself for the past 7 years and we are now on our 145th Episode with 1000's of listeners on each show. It’s my way of showcasing my favourite tracks of the moment, and it really speaks my sort of sound as a DJ. With regards to the events and projects I was running in Cyprus, I moved to Cyprus to work in 2009 for a few years, and to work alongside my friend Jamie Knowles. He is responsible for running the Slingshot in Ayia Napa. Between us we came up with a crazy idea of running parties at the slingshot and calling the event "Higher State loves Slingshot". At first this started out as a bit of a joke, but then we thought why the hell not. We built a DJ booth 10 metres up on one of the arms of the slingshot, fitted it with a £30,000 sound and lighting system and started putting on parties. Something totally unique that has never been done before any where in the world, and it went down a storm; the sea behind you, the slingshot on one side of you, and the crowd in front of you. People's faces when they saw the DJ 10 metres in the air spinning tracks created such an atmosphere, one of which only 4 DJ's in this world have experienced. I have too many special memories from my years in Cyprus, but they are just for me.
Dimitri: Let’s move on to your current duties as an A&R at Alter Ego records. Would you like to give us a short background into this top record label which started with Chris Chamber & Matt Abbott who now run the famous promo service Label Worx? When did your involvement with Alter Ego start, and under which circumstances?
Luigi Palagano: It all started for me when I saw a post on Facebook from Rory Gallagher about Alter Ego Records wanting an A&R Manager. I'd kind of worked with artists in the past, helping them develop their sound and have always had a passion with pushing new artists. So I applied and got the job, and from then on started to learn the business of A&R, and was working for the label completely free of charge for well over a year. It came to light that in Oct 2011 Chris Chamber & Matt Abbott where looking at selling Alter Ego, and we’d put so much work into building the label there was only really one thing that could be done; we bought the label about a week later. We put all our effects and ideas together to start building a bigger and better label.
Dimitri: Would you like to explain what kind of work you are responsible for as an A & R for the label?
Luigi Palagano: Well I started out as A&R manager dealing with all the music side of things for the label. It’s my task to go though the 100's of tracks that are sent to us, and work with artists to brush up their sounds to the point where I am able to sign them. In a nutshell, I deal with all the music side of the label, booking remixes and dealing with contracts. I also do all the design work for the artwork and website, as well as the encoding for videos and media. At the minute, because Rory is working away and busy on other projects, I’m dealing with the business side of things as well.
Dimitri: How many sub labels do you have at the moment, and can you explain the sound that each label represents?
Luigi Palagano: Since we bought Alter Ego we have expanded with Sub-labels. The 3 Main labels to come out of Alter Ego are "Alter Ego Records" "Alter Ego Progressive" & "INOV8". Main Label kind of speaks for itself, Progressive pushing all progressive releases and INOV8 is our new talent label. Since we have taken over we have 3 new sub labels. Alter Ego Tranquil state is our new Chill-out label started up off the back of our Chillout Comp "Tranquillity State". IAMPHOENIX is a label / brand run and owned by US DJ/ Producer Kenneth Thomas, pushing the Kenneth Thomas sound. We have recently just started a Tech-House Label "Moon Island Records" run by Rory from his new home Thailand.
Dimitri: Do you receive many demos every week, and do you listen to every single one? Do you have time to reply with details about your positive or negative reactions?
Luigi Palagano: To be honest yes we do get a lot of demos every week, most of which come through to our Soundcloud drop box, and properly 35% of which are not even trance and progressive, so needless to say I just delete them. We do listen to every single track that is sent to us, however it would be impossible for us to reply to every single demo. Most demos that are sent to me directly to my email I do often reply to with Positive or Negative feedback as I think its important that artists understand why we have not taken the track, and more importantly that we are listening to their efforts. There is nothing worse then spending hours making something without an email back to say thank you for sending.
Dimitri: Alter Ego records releases always include fantastic remixes. How do you decide the artist who will be assigned to provide the remix? Which remix on Alter Ego records is your favourite?
Luigi Palagano: How I work with Remixes is I’ll listen to the Original track a few times, and decide what sort of artist / sound would suit the track. It’s as simple as that. I try to make every release appeal to as many people as possible. Some tracks are just so tight that remixes wouldn’t do them any justice, but I like to hear other people’s opinions on a production.
Dimitri: Many record labels nowadays release just the original mix without any remixes and with only radio edit. Is this something that happens because of consumer’s habit of only buying just one version, and not the whole bundle of remixes?
Luigi Palagano: The only time I will push a track without remixes is if the artist requests this, or if I really don't think it needs a remix. This is very rare, but if I feel a track is solid and a remix wouldn't add anything to the release I won’t book one. Radio Edits I don't really see the point of personally, and if we release one it’s normally at the artist’s request.
Dimitri: Is it possible to tell us you’re favourite and most popular Top 5 releases from the various Alter Ego sub labels?
Luigi Palagano: Well this is a tricky one because we have had so many great releases since we took over. In no real order:
Hudson & Kant - Coconut
Solid Stone - Refresh
Sam Stroke & Isaac Fisherman Pres. maSSIF - Frontseat
Spark7 - Diamond Eyes
Airsoul - Asia
Dimitri: Alter Ego records reached its 100th release and you celebrated with the very special track ‘Galapagos’ which is collaboration with Rory and Mike Lane. Would you like to tell us about the inspirations and influences for that track, was it fun to produce? Also, please give us a comment about the top Hanski remix that is included in the package?
Luigi Palagano: Actually, this track was never planned to be the 100th release. Rory was over in London from Thailand, and I had planned to spend a few days in the studio with him to maybe work on a follow-up track to Es Vedra. We had so much catching up to do and paper work to sort that we didn’t really have time. What time we did have, we sat down with Mike Lane in his studio and came up with Galapagos. We were basically trying to create a big room sound with a hint of Es Vedra in there. Hanski took it to a whole new level, and came back with a belter of a remix which we were incredibly pleased with. What people don't know is there was a third remix from Gal Abutbal, but it wasn't finished in time. It just seemed so fitting for this track to be our 100th release.
Dimitri: Are we going to see more Luigi productions in the near future as a solo artist, or are you going to combine forces with Rory?
Luigi Palagano: Yes - I have every intention to start making music as a solo producer as well as working on some tracks with Rory. The main factor stopping me at the moment is time. Working full time and running Alter Ego keeps me very busy, and still trying to have a life outside of work has been a struggle. When I bought Alter Ego I had a very clear idea of where I wanted to take it, and I’m still working to achieve that. I think myself and Rory both have very different sounds, and Es Vedra was a combination of those sounds. Watch this space...
Dimitri: For all the music technology freaks, can you tell us your current studio set up? Your favourite piece of software/hardware?
Luigi Palagano: I’m old skool, I learned the right way with Vinyl and Turntable and when I used to work in the studio we used all outbound equipment. Akai 3000 samples, Roland JP8080's and Access Virus C and drums from my trusty Korg ER-1, but I know you have to move with the times, and nowadays you don't need this outbound equipment. My studio / office at the minute is basically just a self built studio PC, midi keyboard & a pair of KRK Rokits RP6's. As I’ve been travelling myself for the past 3 years, and doing everything from a Laptop, I don't have, or have used much hardware. When it comes to Software I’m a Reason man all the way.
Dimitri: Alter Ego records has its own radio show. Would you like to tell us what this radio show includes, and which episode is your all time favourite and why?
Luigi Palagano: I think every good record label has to have its own radio show / podcast. We try to use our radio show to showcase all the new tracks we have up and coming, and to basically give listeners a taste of what is to come on Alter Ego. I don't think I could pick a favourite Episode as we have not really been doing it that long. However we do have some big changes to the radio show / podcast this next month. The show will now run on the 1st Friday (5PM-7PM GMT) of every month on DI.fm instead of the 2nd Friday, and will be a 2 hour show. I’ll be hosting the show alongside Jamie Knowles, and we'll be playing the first hour more progressive with the second hour being more uplifting and pushing towards main label releases.
Dimitri: Can you pin point for us the key summer releases that we should watch out for?
Luigi Palagano: Well we have so many tracks and projects in the pipeline. I can confirm we are due a remixes release of Es Vedra, which I’m really excited about. We have a new release from AnjunaBeats legends "Rusch & Murray" and a blinding release from "Ronski Speed & Stuart Millar", which is a take on an old classic.
Dimitri: Do you characterise yourself as moderate or passionate user of Facebook/Twitter and the rest of the social networks, for label and personal promotion too?
Luigi Palagano: Facebook it’s a great promotional tool, but apart from that I don't really like or get on with it. I think it causes more problems with good things, but then I’m old skool, I know I’m not really moving with the times. With Twitter I still don't really understand or know how to use Twitter, I just sign on, put posts on it and hope that it reaches our fans.
Dimitri: Are you still DJ’ing regularly?
Luigi Palagano: At the minute I have knocked DJ’ing on the head for a while to put my time and efforts into Alter Ego. Not to say that I won’t be DJ’ing at all, but I’ve been DJ’ing since the tender age of 16, so I think I was due a rest.
Dimitri: Lets finish off with your advice to the young unsigned and hopeful artists who would like to see their name on an Alter Ego release in the near future. What is the best way to send out a demo to a record label?
Luigi Palagano: Most artists upload their tracks to our Soundcloud drop box and we want people to carry on doing so. Every track is listened to, and if there is anything in there we like the sound of, then we will be in touch. Just please make sure there is an email address attached, otherwise we can’t get in touch (and yes this does happen). The other way is to send it to me directly as a SoundCloud link or sendspace link to download the MP3 to my email address: luigi at alteregorecords dot com. Please don't attach the track to the email or send WAV's over - there really is no need. If we believe you have talent we will work with you and make sure people hear your music. I'm a massive believer in new talent and unsigned artists, as they are the future of this industry, and if we see something in someone, we will work with them until there sound is signable.
Thanks so much to Luigi for accepting to do this interview and giving us such honest answers.
Many thanks to Paul at 1mix radio for proofing and publishing this interview.
You can check it out published on 1mix web site as well. Please click here
Don’t forget to regularly check out Alter Ego Records web site and its social media
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