1 on 1 with Andrea Oliva: Riding the good waves of electronic music

You know, one of the best things about this job (interviewing artists) is that for the duration of the ten or eleven questions you've prepared, you are granted a passage to meet the people behind the name, in a free and open setting, where the shining club lasers and the heartthrobbing bass sound are not present.

Although you write the questions, you never really know what direction the dialog will take until you get the answers back. This makes interviewing for quite an interesting little job, if not surprising at many times. For me these dialogs are special, something resembling a yet unwritten story that keeps adding new happenings and taking new turns at every step.

I was very lucky to have on this instance an artist who I believe made the most of our eleven questions and kept the flow of the conversation just right and interesting.
Andrea Oliva is a name that you might have heard either in the close proximity of such labels like Cadenza Records, Viva Music, Saved Records or Be As One. With quite a couple of fine releases on these imprints and lots of gigging around the world, Andrea is now riding a very good wave!

Another possibility is that you might have heard Andrea being praised for his thoroughly Italian cooking skills.

Whatever the case, we thought we need to know more, especially as we'll be having Andrea over on our side of the Atlantic next weekend on the 29th for Episode II of Technicolour:Cinematographic House Music

Here's the uncut and open dialog that resulted from our interview with Andrea Oliva:

Klang Podcast #11 - Andrea Oliva by Klang on Mixcloud

[code]: Hi Andrea, how are you and where does this interview find you right now?

Andrea Oliva: I AM IN IBIZA RIGHT NOW. I HAVE PLAYED THE WEEKEND IN BERLIN & USHUAIA IBIZA; NEEDED A FEW DAYS OFF TO HANG OUT ON THE ISLAND DOING NOTHING :)

[code]: How have you been riding the waves of 2011 until now? How has this year been for you?

Andrea Oliva: I WOULD SAY THE WAVES ARE HIGHER THEN EXPECTED! I AM HAPPY WITH EVERYTHING!

[code]: You’ve released constantly on such great labels for the past few years!
How do you define the Andrea Oliva sound?

Andrea Oliva: I THINK YOU CAN’T REALLY “DEFINE” IT, THAT'S WHY I RELEASED ON DIFFERENT LABELS, LIKE CADENZA, BE AS ONE, HIDEOUT, SAVED... EVERY ONE OF THESE LABELS HAS ITS OWN SOUND... I THINK I HAVE A BIT OF EVERYTHING IN MY PRODUCTIONS. I AM HAPPY THAT THEY DON’T SOUND ALWAYS THE SAME; KEPS IT A BIT MORE INTERESTING DOESN’T IT? :)

[code]: It sure does. We've read in your biography that your Italian roots are still very much present in everythign that you do. We heard you cook a “mean pasta” :). Do you feel that maybe some of this Latin heritage can also be found in your sound? And that it somehow led you to join the Cadenza family, a true expression of Latinity in electronic music?

Andrea Oliva: Oh yes I LOVE COOKING! Especially pasta! I doubt this is the main reason why i got into the Cadenza family (:)), but your idea is nice...I guess it’s more because of the music; they never tried my pasta but they will...

[code]: Cadenza family, watch out for some killer Andrea Oliva pasta coming soon :)
Tell us Andrea, how did it all begin for you? What made you want to become a dj?

Andrea Oliva: It was long time ago, about 17 years! My best friends which were bit older than me, showed me how to dj and i never stopped since. I just kept on going ...

[code]: How much of the local influence (Switzerland) drove you in your dj career? Is Switzerland a fertile ground for electronic artists?

Andrea Oliva: A lot i would say! We have amazing clubs, artists & labels here.
Check this out: Luciano, Deetron, Mountain People, Mirko Loko, Lee van Dowski, Michel Cleis and I am sure i forgot many many other well known artists. We have labels like Cadenza, Drumpoet Community, Purple Music and more... clubs like Nordstern, Hive, Cabaret, Zukunft, Supermarket, Kaufleuten, Mad.... WELCOME TO SWITZERLAND!

[code]: Considering all this, how would you describe your approach to writing music?

Andrea Oliva: Its freestyle! I love the fact that a lot of things happen by a kind of wonderful mistake in the studio. I love to jam around with the machines and sounds, all of a sudden you have something you weren’t looking for basically but it sounds nice and it gives you the idea to continue on and create something around this sound... and on and on :)

[code]: Who do you consider to be your mentors? Guiding you and inspiring you when you need most.

Andrea Oliva: I have tooooo many! My family, my friends, other artists, roadtrips...

[code]: Looking at your London show leading the second Technicolour experience, which are your feelings towards it and what will we be hearing in your performance in terms of sound and story?

Andrea Oliva: Realy looking forward! you will hear a lot of new music! Goooood Vibes!

[code]: What releases are you preparing for 2011 and how would you describe the sound of what’s to come?

Andrea Oliva: Just a few days ago I’ve released an EP on CADENZA LAB. I will have 2 other EPs soon released on SAVED and BE AS ONE for this year, then I did a remix for SOWESO/WE DIG MUSIC. The long awaited CADENZA RECORDS release will be out in January 2012! I am also working on a collaboration with an amazing artist plus I am mixing the official compilation for Nordstern Basel with lots of fresh music!

And just one more at the fine here:

[code]: Do you do your weekly shopping with Luciano? :)
Andrea Oliva: Luciano lives 2.5 hours away from where I live, a bit too far to do weekly shopping together :)

Thanks Andrea, it was a real pleasure to have you on the 1 on 1 chair.

Catch Andrea Oliva leading the festivities for Episode II of Technicolour:Cinematographic House Music on 29th of July at EGG Club London.

TECHNICOLOUR Episode II
29 July 2011
EGG Club, London
//////////////////////////​
Following the excellent launch of Episode I of TECHNICOLOUR: Cinematographic House Music concept, we return to EGG on the 29th of July for what promises to be a bigger, better and more colorful event.

The second episode in the TECHNICOLOUR series will bring more sound variety, more diversity and more visuals to excite and incite your senses. We will go one step forward in defining the TECHNICOLOUR experience as a truly immersive one, with house music at the core.
Full Line Up and tickets on:

TECHNICOLOUR FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE:
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=216148148418086

RESIDENT ADVISOR EVENT PAGE:
http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?265998

Techalot #5 - for the short attention spanned:

Introducing DJ PowerTools – Sound Packs for Controllers:

DJ PowerTools are the world’s first sound packs designed for controllerists. Using cue points and effects, any DJ can play synth instruments inside DJ software and remix songs on the fly.

Basically they are designed MP3s to allow digital users extra toys to play with. Arranged by key each sample provides a sound arranged in the pentatonic scale so they are easy to play with and create interesting on the fly arrangements. Intended for Traktor and Serato Djs users that want synth and clip functionality directly in their software.

At the minute there only seems to be Dubstep packs available but I would expect to see more soon.

Numark iDJ:

So bad I had to share - It's a fisher price toy that you connect to an iPad and then you use to become the world’s greatest Deejay...Probably

.

It's £80 so would probably make a good gift for a child at a push but would you give a kid an iPad for this??

I could not find an official video so this was the closest I could get.

How to Make A Custom Audio Cable:

Another video from Djtechtools here and this one is probably a bit nerdy - A basic guide on how to make your own cables. If you have never done this before then you might be shocked how much a quick trip to Maplins could save you plus you can always put some pretty cool covers on your wires so they stand out in a Dj booth. Making you look less of a nerd and more of a really cool guy.

Say Hello to KONKREET PERFORMER:

say Hello to KONKREET PERFORMER from Konkreet Labs on Vimeo.

OMG look at all the pretty lights! I want it.

KONKREET PERFORMER is a first of a kind visual OSC (Open Sound Control) controller and visualizer for your DAW / Synth / Drum Machine / Sampler etc.

KONKREET PERFORMER aims to be used in the studio and on stage. It addresses digital music control and performance in a whole new and unique way -- be ready to explore multitouch to the extreme they say - although it looks like a pretty standard way of touching the screen to me.

Guides for using it with Live and Reaktor are already available on their website

Finally a couple of websites:

First is headline.fm a new way of promoting yourself and your music through the use of band bucks - Earned by creating an account, linking it to your pages (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter) and displaying music/promotions from other users. I have only just found it so not sure how good it will be but the idea is interesting for sure.

Lastly Bullseyehub. These guys got in contact with me last week and spent a bit of time going through what they can offer. It's a good service that can manage your mailing and phone contacts lists, large scale mail out, mobile adverts, and posts to lots of event sites automatically without the need to log in and enter the details on each. You can even set up timed status updates on Facebook and Twitter and drill in to who people are responding to your news. It's a paid service so you will need to contact them to find how much it will cost for the tools you want but as it is already being used by the likes of Defective Records and the Ministry of Sound, you can expect to hear more about them.

That's it...Enjoy

Mark (",)

Berlin Calling Episode II: 1on1 with Ostfunk Berlin 11 questions about Berlin, Funk and Sven Vath

Loved the weather yesterday, didn’t you?!? London in full July blossom. Our sincere thoughts go to whoever bit the bullet and actually went to Lovebox…



Respect..?! ?











Well, today is Sunday and (hopefully) a different day. So this is probably the best time to consider getting out of bed and head straight to the coffee pot and then computer chair. Aaaaah, bliss! Sit yourself nice and comfy and whilst sipping that miraculous hot dark liquid, click play on this mix
Arena Badeschiff Match Hoffman (Shocked Musik) by Shocked Musik
and meet the Ostfunk Crew aka the headliners in the Terrace stage for Episode II of Technicolour: Cinematographic House Music

Coming from the (forever) capital of electronic music: Berlin, Ostfunk Records has been steadily growing for the past few years as a trademark sound on the scene. Working techno, house and freeform ethnic sounding grooves, Ostfunk sounds infectiously danceable and organically wholesome. We summoned our common (Google) knowledge of German-esse and asked a couple of questions. For everyone here in London that hasn’t yet had the chance to answer Berlin’s calling this will be a very good opportunity to do it!
Let’s find out more and brush up on our knowledge of Berlin Ost-Funk
















[code]: Hi there Match Hoffman and Daniel Boon, otherwise known as Ostfunk Records Berlin or “the Berlin connection” how we affectionately called you in one of our previous posts. We’re delighted to have you guys over on our side of the Atlantic headlining for the second episode of Technicolour. How are you and where does this interview find you?

Ostfunk: Hi there; nice to talk to you and we are really happy to play Technicolour! This interview finds us very well and excited about coming to London in two weeks time. It all starter as a conversation with Cj when we were drawing up some collaboration ideas between Codekontrol and Ostfunk. After the party we did together at Tresor this is the next step. Working together with Codekontrol went great even if not without troubles here and so we're looking forward to continue our initial ideas

[code]: As if we were all meeting up for the first time at a friend’s after party, introduce us to Match Hoffman and Daniel Boon.

Ostfunk: :) Daniel Boon is one of the two founders of Ostfunk. He and Oliver Tatsch started the whole thing seven years ago and on the 12th of November we will celebrate the 8th anniversary! We’re preparing for an awesome party, we’ll be living it up with a couple of friends and artists: Martin Buttrich, Nick Curly, Anthony Rother just to name a few.
Daniel plays as all over Europe at the moment. His sound is what you might call “the Ostfunk sound”; powerfully good vibes with a lot of Berlin flavor in. We think you’ll enjoy it quite a bit.

Match Hoffman runs the booking agency and the label side of things at Ostfunk, in charge of a lot of artist bookings and getting the events up and running in due time.
He also plays music (:)), his sound is on the housier, deeper side of Berlin; Bar25, Arena Club kind of groove. At Tresor, you might experience Match breaking free and getting into more techier stuff...teching out really. We’re both really happy to party at Egg for the very first time

[code]: How and why did Ostfunk came to life? What is the meaning of Ostfunk?

Ostfunk: Ostfunk started as a small party brand in Berlin. We managed to avoid the “early death syndrome” so common in the starting-up promoter game and now, after almost 8 years Ostfunk runs the biggest events in Berlin, with more than 8000 capacity and we are working with the “Berlin Summer Rave” or “Nature One Festival” which has more than 60.000 capacity every year! In Berlin Ostfunk has regular events as Famielen Feier at Tresor (where you guys came and played as well :)) and "Gegenstrom". Also we have label nights and open air parties. We like doing these at Arena Badeschiff.
The meaning of Ostunk is quite simple but in English you have two explanations:
Eastern funk or Eastern radiowaves
Choose as you like! But as we all come from East Berlin we wanted everybody to know it and so we put Ost (East) in our Funk = OSTFUNK

[code]: What is the label’s proudest achievement right now? That moment that puts a big, thankful smile upon your face every time it comes up in conversations

Ostfunk: We've just released Marc DePulse "Lucky Punch" a great four track EP with some wonderful remixes from Marco Fender (Supdub/Trapez) and Mihalis Safras. The release is doing great all over Europe and getting a lot of plays which makes us all very very proud!

We’ll make sure we bring our latest promos and releases with us to Technicolour! Also in the next days we will release a new Lizzara and Tatsch EP with remixes from Umek, Daniel Boon and some deep house tunes from Match Hoffman.

[code]: From an aesthetic point of view, how would you describe the “Ostfunk sound”?

Ostfunk: The Ostfunk sound is a mixture between party rave underground techno und fluffy deep house....hahaha. We represent the party section of Berlin, we want to rock out at every event and we want the people to rock with us every time. I would openly say that the Berlin influence is impregnated deep within our sound DNA. You will surely hear that!

[code]: How does it fit in the overall Berlin soundscape? Also tell us more about the evolution of the Ostfunk sound since its beginnings and to right here, right now.

Ostfunk: I would have to say busy and ecstatic. We are very open to all kind of artists and sounds as are too our crowd. I think that’s what makes the typical atmosphere at our nights.
In Berlin you have all kinds of clubs and artists and we’re always trying to bring the best together for a typical Ostfunk party.

[code]: How about the Berlin sound? How is Berlin these days? Tell us about the transformations you’re seeing on the Berlin scene.

Ostfunk: At the moment we see many new and great artists showing up on the scene; also new promoters or party brands. This makes Berlin so alive. Every weekend there are great parties or clubs running somewhere in Berlin. A lot of new influences, a lot of new directions. As you can tell…We love Berlin! :)

[code]: Who else, besides you guys, flies the Ostfunk colours high and mighty? What artists are currently signed/ releasing on Ostfunk?

Ostfunk: Our philosophy is that everybody is welcome at Osfunk if the sound fits. Right now the inner circle is made up of friends; we’ve known each other for years and we all grew together with Ostfunk: Oliver Tatsch, Thomas Lizzara, Daniel Boon, Stereo Jack, Match Hoffman and Marc Depulse. A new face is Marco Fender, a very talented guy and we are so happy to have him.
And of course then there are all the remixers who share a similar passion for the Ostfunk sound; like Exercise One, Mihalis Safras, Lützenkirchen just to name a few. There are many others.

Also if there are any producers reading this, feel free to send us your promos if you feel you that Ostfunk could be right for you.

[code]: What are the feelings that London stirs up in you when mentioned?

Ostfunk: We are excited. Technicolour will be my third time in the UK and my very first time in London! It’s Daniel’s second time. We heard a lot of great things about the club and really hope to fire up a great crowd at Egg in Ostfunk style!


[code]: The Technicolour vibe promises to be a surreal experience, a colourful playground where the house music sound meets cinematographic imagery. What can we expect from the Ostfunk story for the night? Give us a little “trailer”

Ostfunk: Try mixing Berlin Calling with Trainspotting and that´s quite close to what we’re bringing to Egg. And why not end everything in an Odyssey 2012? ;-)

And one more at the end here:
11. What colour is Sven Vath’s eyeliner these days?"

Ostfunk: I have no idea about Sven…but Marusha’s is surely not green anymore!