Multi-faceted Italian DJ Luca Bacchetti has extensive knowledge of genre conventions, dabbling with breakbeat, hip-hop, techno, and house throughout his career. He would launch imprint ENDLESS in 2017, which hosts promising and established talents with names like Musumeci and Andrey PUSHKAREV featuring on the label’s catalog. We are thrilled to present this exclusive mix from Luca Bacchetti today. Minimal textures blend and mold into one intimate tech-house elixir, the perfect ambiance for a sophisticated sundowner event or a laidback night of easy listening. Luca Bacchetti is an act that has gone places, performing in over 80 countries, as well as world-renowned festivals: Tomorrowland, Creamfields, and Burning Man to name a few.
Enjoy this exclusive mix and Q&A with Luca Bacchetti below:
Set the tone for us. Why the arts?
Since childhood I have been predisposed towards music and the visual arts, so my parents soon realized that I would end up taking one path or the other… Music won in the end. First I began trying out various instruments and then as a teenager, I fell in love with DJ-ing and radio which became my great love before moving on to producing.
Which comes first when you’re producing – the sound or the idea?
In truth, I begin with an image or a sensation that almost always corresponds to an image … That’s where the whole creative process begins… I tend to visualize the sound.
Does your material feature any collaborations? Any side projects you’re working on?
Of course, my more complex works involve the participation of several musicians. Stefano Onorati is a pianist with whom I have been collaborating for years. Leo Di Angilla is a very good percussionist who played on the Secret World album. This year there will be some new entries like the drummer Piero Perelli with whom I am experimenting on new projects with. He too was always touring with different bands, we met during the lockdown and are currently working together on an afro-beat remix for Martina Topley Bird.
What’s on your current playlist?
To tell the truth, a little bit of everything, lots of electronic and ambient .. on my Spotify profile you’ll find a playlist called Astral Traveling – very nocturnal…
By contrast, On the Beach represents my sunny side!
Tell us about the chemistry you have with your fans on stage.
It has always been a case of give and take, a matter of sensitivity, which has developed over the years and is constantly evolving. In all honesty, the last 5-6 years before the pandemic have been the most fun of my entire career … I’ve made some pretty drastic life choice, I’m probably much more focused and have much more to give than before.
What techniques do you experiment with to get your original sound?
It is not really about a particular technique, it is more instinctual and hard to define… It’s a craving, a voice inside and I need to know how to listen to it.
Take us through a day in the recording studio.
If I’m not out recording musicians, my day in the studio begins in the afternoon. The morning is often made up of coffee, emails, and meetings and has never been the right time for me to write music. That happens from after lunch until 9 in the evening, and then I usually dedicate the rest of the evening to reading.
Was there a specific moment in your life where you thought,“This is what I want to do”?
I was 14 when I saw a DJ competition on TV, the DMC … That was the spark that made me fall in love with hip hop, first of all, then with electronic music … It was a world still without the internet… Incredible if you think about it, but it was love at first sight.
What do you keep close by while you’re playing a set?
Honesty, I believe… and is the reason why I’m in a DJ booth!
Any emerging artists on your radar?
I don’t really consider him as emerging but many are getting to know him only now, I like Jimi Jules both as a musician and as a DJ. I also love his sense of humour!
What gets your creative juices flowing?
I always try to go with the flow but when I’m struggling to come up with something, I try to exasperate the situation by allowing myself to get really bored and so I do all I can to create the conditions for this to happen. It may seem strange but this technique allows me to reboot with renewed impetus. After all, the creative muse cannot be controlled, it is she who calls the shots.
Take us through your collection of gear, tech or software that accompanies your creative expression.
My set-up is very simple, allowing me to be comfortable and fast, it is in the box. I use Ableton 11 with UAD Apollo and a nice collection of plugins including LA2A, 1176, and Pultec, but also lots of tape processing. I have a cool collection of analog drum machines: my favourites are the Korg Electribe and the 808 even though I often use several VSTs, including NI Komplete. When I need some analog or vintage sounds I visit my musician friends. As far as processing is
concerned, the iZotope plugins such as Nectar, Neutron, RX9 are revolutionary and help me in dealing with the sound of instruments and voices.
How have you refined your craft since you entered the industry?
It is important for me to be enthusiastic about what I’m doing and to have fun, for this to happen one must be hungry to grow. The lifestyle of those who do my job leads to a lot of travel, being in contact with many people. If you are a sensitive and inquisitive person, this inevitably leads you to grow and define your identity more and more, which in my case is something that is constantly changing and growing. It is a matter of attitude I think, for me, the sound can change, the attitude cannot.
Break down the news for us: what can we expect from you this year?
I have a bunch of remixes coming out this spring including 2 remixes for Bob Holroyd on Real World X, the Peter Gabriel label, and another one on Nie Wieder Schlafen. I will also have new original works too. 2022 also sees me busy with ICONYC TV, a series dedicated to electronic music to be released on Netflix… It’s very exciting, in my episode I will have the opportunity to show and tell you more about my world! In September it’s time for LIMBO the boutique festival I’m curating in the heart of Tuscany, within the verdant Living Mountain of Il Ciocco. It’s going to be something really special!
Famous last words?
Don’t Believe the Hype! (…still relevant??).
Follow Luca Bacchetti:
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