Our favourite producers from Rome are Working It To The Bone
Interview by Dan Prince
Nello, Alex welcome to DMCWORLD. Where in the world are you today…have you just got smashed in Miami?
Oh Yeah! This was actually something very special for us. We have been going in Miami for the WMC for some time as “followers” of the movement and seeing us today ruling the WMC Buzz Chart with our new track is like a dream coming true!
What was the first piece of music you heard this morning after rolling out of bed?
Alex: I listened to Kings of Convenience – Declaration of Independence. I really feel “melodic” in the morning, I do need my dose of chords, melody, nice vocals and good feelings.
Nello: On the contrary…to wake up in the morning I need more of a groovy vibe…so the first track I listened was Curbi – Discharge.
As you mentioned, the world famous Buzz Chart received the full ReLOUD treatment this week thanks to a track that we have been championing since last year, your massive reworking of LNR’s classic ‘Work It The Bone’. Please talk us through the history and the sound of your track…
This track is something very special for us. We got introduced to it from Riccardo (Alex Brother) back in the day, he was one of the early house music scene guys. We started to make music back in 1999 and he shared with us some of the big anthems of the 80’s such as Mr. Fingers – Can You Feel It, Jesse Saunders – On And On and LNR – Work It To The Bone, just to name a few. We always told ourselves “one day we’ll remake this with our treatment”. So after 15 years, a few club chart top 10’s and some Grammy Nominations…we did it! And it’s now TOP 3 in the World Renowned Buzz Chart! Can we call this a “vision”? For the sound we tried to renew it but to still keep it true to the original. Obviously 30 years in the dance music scene has seen a cataclysm in terms of sound power and clarity, so it needed to be updated to today’s “loudness war” (even if we DO prefer a bit more dynamic vs near-zero RMS). We also carefully reworked the groove part to make it more groovy and adding a touch of swing feeling to it. Finally we added a 2015 in the central break down to really give today’s floors what they are used to, a killer central drop. The result is something that really works on the dancefloor and at the same time is getting the respect from the ones who know the original. We super honored of all this recognition to the work done.
So why the delay in releasing it, you simply waiting for Miami for the full impact?
Absolutely not (smile). It has been a legal rights issue. Actually we tested this track out last year under our other pseudonym “YYY” that we use to test out stuff or to release more “club-ish” tracks. It got tremendous reactions so we started to search right away for the rights. As usual it took over a year to get those. And it wasn’t a case of the time being spent with our people needing to think it through, it was because it took time to actually find the right people to ask! We can’t understand why there is not a central site where there is all the rights holder and a simple “contact now”. It would make life so much easier, especially in today’s music environment where people get inspired so much by something old. Ask Robin Thike…
You teased us this week on Facebook with some news that you have been in the studio with Shago working on a very big project? What’s going on dudes?
This is a very prolific moment full of great projects that we are working on. This specific one, still in his “secret phase”, is linked to one of the biggest Italian female singers of all time. But not for a 4 on the floor remix approach. It is something that is seeing us going also into the pop field but with a “future” pop approach to bring her catalogue back to present times. Sorry but cannot disclose more at the moment.
So tell DMCWORLD, you live in such a beautiful city yet Rome never seems to have any incredible clubs…why is that?
That’s really one of the sad parts of the story. Actually we have always had some very cool clubs in Rome, but they always last very a very short time. The reason is that Rome’s nightlife has a very big, rich, disco-pop life. What we mean is, give them radio TOP40 tunes, a 400 Euro bottle of Grey Goose and a few “be-nice-to-me” chicks around…and they are happy. Why pay thousands of dollars for a cool DJ when they will be happy with a 50 bucks guy playing with the sync? But I guess this is not different from many other countries in the world. We think a club has also the mission to teach and grow the music scene in it’s community. Take what “il Muretto” di Jesolo did for its community. It is an inspiring feeling bringing culture to people, this is what a club owner should feel, not just buy the new Cayenne. That’s why we probably do the producer thing and not the club owner.
Word on the street is that you are working on a new 4D live show ready for 2016? What can you tell us?
Yes! This is our biggest project that we have been working on for a couple of years. It is really a big thing for us, we are so excited. It is involving all the senses and we will try to merge the past and the present in a new way. We do feel that today’s DJ sets are really boring when brought to the festival size. Frankly, we are more in for the club feeling. If you look at today’s festivals (just take last week’s ULTRA sets), most of them see people simply staring at a DJ touching 4 buttons and doing the heart with his fingers. And sometimes jumping around or putting their hands up. Oh sorry, we nearly forget the screaming “put your hands up” bit. This is not what a DJ should give to his people. The problem is, is that this is the only side of clubbing that the kids have experienced, they don’t know that back in the day the DJ gave their dancefloors much more. We were clubbing in the 90’s so we know what it was like. We lived in Ibiza all the summer of 2000, it was a different island from today. We feel clubbers deserve more that today sets. We are designing something that will give something that people can take home from the show – and we are not talking about a material thing. It will be as story, a message brought to life (they both give each other a kick). Hmmm, maybe it’s time to stop talking about this, we are telling you too much. Stay tuned DMCWORLD!!
We also hear you are planning some mighty collabs with some big chart stars, again…what can you reveal?
Yes. In the past year we have been working with OLA, Crystal Waters, Inaya Day and the Jungle Brothers…we are now writing a new track with Ozark Henry where he will write the top line for us. We think he is one of the greatest writer’s today, he is able to bridge pop with any style of instrumental. We are really honored to work with him. Moreover, another track with Crystal Waters is in the writing process even if this one has been two years in the making. Yes two years. There are some tracks that are done and dusted in two hours and some that take two years.. that’s music folks…
What are the big 5 tunes in your box this weekend…please give us a few words on each…
– For sure Chris Lorenzo and Hanna Wants – Rymes has been our opening track for a while. It’s a perfect track because it has an incredible opening and in the middle has this TRAP break down that drives floors crazy.
– The Gregor Salto Remix of Calfan – Treasured Soul. It is really a drum driven remix that works like a charm on the floor.
– A mash up that I can’t tell you who is behind it. We found it on a site without the name behind OSCAR G – DARK BEAT, that we re-edited and made into a full track. This really is one of the peak bombs of our sets.
– Pep & Rush – Rumors…a bit dated but still working like a bomb. Their approach to future house has really been a fresh touch that has given this new-born style a new way to go.
– And of course DMCWORLD, our Work It To The Bone!
You have been in the music industry for 10 years now, 2014 was a major year as it was the year that you moved from the underground to the world stage. Was that always the plan? Why the sudden shift to the major all seeing public eye?
We felt it was coming, but we be would lying if we told you that we expected 2014 to turn out the way it did. Actually we felt the change back in 2012 when we decided to “invest in ourselves”. This sounds like an obvious pattern and route people should go down, but really…to anyone out there wanting to make it out there, listen to the advice that has been given since the record industry began all those years ago – INVEST IN YOURSEL! We were bored of sending demos out and getting few or no responses…or getting small contracts with labels who don’t give a shit. We decided to self produce – and more importantly self promote ourselves. And you know what, we saved money and we did it. And we believed so much in our music. Three weeks later we were TOP 10 in the UK CLUB CHART! Since then we have hit five CLUB CHART TOP 10’s in a row, nominated as one of the three most promising DJs in Italy, collaborated with Grammy winners and finally we got “discovered” by SONY! Nothing would have happened if we had not invested in ourselves. And we are still only in the beginning!
Guys gotta ask you this, December 17th 2014…you are sitting in front of a large open fire with a huge glass of red wine doing some work on your ‘Back To The House’ track…wherethefuckwhereyou????
ALEX: That’s my place! And is where we have our main studio. It’s the basement, we really love to do the admin stuff with a nice glass of red wine, a burning fire and some good food. We are Italian after all!
How do you think you compliment each other in the studio…who excels in what area when making music?
Ahhhh! A good question. We really do complement each other so well. We are both skilled and we do know the same stuff and both of us are able to make a full track in almost any style. But to be frank, we believe the magic happens when our preferences mix into one song. Alex is more of a melody and chord guy – and he know the gear and stuff really well. He is the one that keep updated and reads any kind of technology feature and trys any new VST or gear out there. Nello is really the groove guy and the one that in the mix phase make the difference. Plus, he is a more of a severe judge. Alex tends to fall in love with everything! We need someone that says “this is shit” sometimes. Next we mix melody, tech, chord, mix and a bit of objective judgment…and then you get The ReLOUD sound. One thing we are sure about though, we would not be able to be what we are on our own. Especially because we would not enjoy doing it as much as we do.
When was the last time you had a major argument about music?
This morning? Hahaha! Frankly we argue every single studio session, especially since this is becoming an under-the-MAJORs-pressure kind of work. But those are positive arguments. we may argue if this hi-hat is right for the track for 30 minutes (even longer sometimes), but at the end it always works out well. We will find a better hat and hat groove and the track will feel better. What saves us at the end of the day is that we have the same music vision and a strong friendship of more than 20 years. But we do fucking argue….
Who are some of the producers you are into at the moment from around the world?
They are different. We do like to keep our ‘listening’ eye open to get inspired by what we feel is really future thinking, in different styles. So we keep listening to the Tchami-Helden sound. Flume for the pop filed, Kygo and Heymen who are also close friends of us, for the pop too. They are one of the future stars. Pure musicians. We really like also what Diplo and Skrillex did with Jack U. Some of the stuff is really cool. It’s like the future of TRAP mixed with POP. We could name 20 more niche acts but we are really fascinated by the ones that are able to keep a new sound to the mainstream masses. This is really when the magic happen.
And maybe an up and coming producer to watch out for this year?
Up and coming ones? We will name two whose music we heard by chance and kept saying to each other, ‘this is great – who is it?’ CALIPPO and DIMO.
And finally…what is coming next from you guys studio wise?
We have the next two singles almost ready. We will bring those to IMS and ADE and one will feature a famous vocal on it. Moreover, we are writing another POP single for a side project we are running, doing a MASSIVE remix for another Italian GURU we cannot reveal (after the Easter break all will be unveiled) and we are writing some TRAP-HOP stuff for some HIP HOP artist. Pretty busy at the moment… but that is what we born for. We have never felt more alive.
