Huge new single ‘Breathe’ swinging our way from the amazingly talented Leandro Da Silva who is celebrating a top ten inclusion in 1001Tracklist’s ‘Top 101 Producers! Throughout his career, the house music honcho has received staunch support from the likes of Pete Tong, Martin Garrix and David Guetta with this new Matt Kerley collaboration ensuring even more acclaim. DMCWORLD checks in…
Hey Leandro, thanks for taking the time to chat to us. For those of our readers who don’t yet know you, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Sure! In a nutshelI, I live in Italy but I was born in Brazil. I grew up on Copacabana beach playing football, then I moved to Italy with my family where I began working at a local radio station and Djing in small clubs. So I guess my passion for dance music came about in the mid-2000s!
You’ve just been placed #9 in the 1001Tracklists ‘101 Top Producers’ chart. How does it feel to be ranked so highly alongside the biggest names in the industry?
I can still hardly believe it! I worked hard in the studio all year (the unfortunate circumstances have actually helped me to produce a lot more) and beautiful tracks came out, supported by my colleagues who liked and played them. I saw the support coming in but never thought I would rank that high on the chart!
Has this given you another wave of motivation to produce and spend time in the studio during the next lockdown?
Hopefully!! We are living in a kind of half lockdown at the moment. It is important not to give up when things are looking a bit gloomy, we should be able to turn all of these emotions into creative impulse.
Which track do you think has been your best of 2020 and can you tell us why it’s your favourite?
I think I had two best tracks from 2020. “Because of You” released on Spinnin Records and “Big Flex” on Nyx / Future House Music. Both have given me a lot of satisfaction because they have received enormous support and have been played a lot on the radio.
Do you think that your Italo Brazilian heritage has influenced your sound over the years?
Something in my DNA always brings me to lean towards Brazilian sounds. One of my best tracks ever has been “Samba De Janeiro”, a classic! My signature percussive sound, tribal guiro, comes from my roots for sure!
You have a new single coming out soon – ‘Breathe’ alongside Matt Kerley and Rion S. How was it to collaborate with them on this track and what was the production process like.
Let me start from the end: to release “Breathe” we found Altra Moda, a label I’ve been aiming for for a long time! It was great to collaborate with them. There was a continuous exchange of ideas, tools and stems. Rion wrote the melody, Matt knocked out a structure and I closed the track by adding my groove. It was really good fun to create!
Given the lack of touring this year, have you enjoyed spending more time at home and in the studio?
The first lockdown wasn’t so bad for me! I produced a lot, watched all the ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul’ seasons, I also found new inspiration and ways to collaborate with other producers. So I didn’t lose months of my life but if I said I was happy I would be lying.
You run your own label, Black Lizard Records – is this a secondary creative outlet to your own productions? What made you want to start an imprint?
Having a label is very important to me and has been fundamental for my career. When I want to produce something different that gets out of the A&R canons, I release it on Black Lizard! Having my own label gives me the freedom to experiment more. Also for me, it’s nice to be able to give visibility to new talents through Black Lizard!
Before Covid-19 you were playing shows all over the world, what do you miss the most about touring?
I miss travelling a lot, meeting new people, discovering how the music business works around the world. I also miss the adrenaline before getting on stage, the challenge of trying to understand the crowd. I just love touring!
Any final words for our readers?
Guys stay strong, can’t wait to meet you in person! And stay up to date on DMCWORLD Magazine!
