NEW BLOOD IN THE OLD COUNTRY

If Spain can steal the title of culinary capitol of the world from France then it’s possible Italy can do the same for Dance music.  Over the years the Electronic scene has watched a number of hit makers and pop sensations come out of Italy including Gigi D’agostino (“Bla Bla Bla”), Eiffel 65 (“Blue (Da Ba Dee)”), and Benny Benassi (“Satisfaction”) but the same prestige bestowed upon France, the U.K., and U.S. has seemed to allude the region.  No need to feel sorry for them since the boot shaped country is pretty much the worlds fashion capitol, not to mention, FIFA world cup champs, and home of some of the hottest women in the world.  Glamorous and most definitely historic, but history is history.  What about the present and future positioning of Italy’s music scene.  Two new producers, GiGi Barocco and Submantra, have something to say about that.

GIGI BAROCCO:  Electro Rock Star

GiGi Barocco’s MySpace page is off the hook.  Not in a, “his layout is sick,” way but a, “this guy is sick,” kind of way.  With no shortage of personality, his music matches his wild presentation, beat for beat.  Electro House is all the rage in the Hipster set these days and could transplant Progressive as the chic club movement in 2009.  But what is the Italian club scene demanding?  “House music, then house music, and of course house music too!  Most people in Italy just wanna hear what they already know.  Minimal House is really in fashion over here.”  GiGi states about his home (Americans can feel better knowing we’re not the only pop crazy country).  Coming out of Milan, GiGi hopped on the path to the music biz early, “I was born and my first words were, ‘Mama, I wanna get into the music business!  Gne gne,’ ect.  So I started to study guitar, play in school bands, after [I finished] school I said ok, now I wanna do it SERIOUSLY!”  In 1999 at the age of 17 he began producing Trip Hop but after  landing his first DJ residency at a hot night club he was compelled to bump up the BPM and create sounds for the dancefloor.

With the release of the single “Chapa” (Second Session Records) this year Barocco has introduced an aggressive and highly stylized sound guaranteed to get the floor jumping.  It can be legitimately stated that most Electro leans in one of two directions of influence:  Hip-Hop (Bodyrox, Diplo, A-Trak) or Indie Rock (Armand Van Helden, Shinichi Osawa), it’s safe to assume which direction GiGi has gravitated towards.  “Ohhh Yeeeeah!  I love the old school sounds [of Hip-Hop].  I’m sampling a lot of stuff from old records right now, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Sugarhill Gang and many others.  I used to listen to tons of new school , from Cypress Hill, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Dr. Dre, Tha Dogg Pound, Snoop and the rest of the gang(stas)!”  Along with a love for classics he hasn’t lost site of the present, “In this period Crookers, Bryan Cox, Herve, Van Helden, and Bloody Beetroots are some of my favorite producers,”  but that’s not all, “everything influences me, any fart I hear could inspire me!  Of course burps can do it as well.”  Bodily functions aside, his list of potential collaborators are much more talented, “I got a lot of names in mind…Luciana [who works with Bodyrox] is sooooo sexy and her voice is…oooh shit!  And of course M.I.A....naaa, that’s too obvious…yes yes, let’s do it!”

Beyond the rock star personality, with all jokes aside, GiGi is a serious contender for Rookie Of The Year in 2009.  Having recently spun at Fabric in London during the 2008 Breakspoll Awards and releasing “Chapa”, Barocco has a number of releases set for the upcoming year.  Check out his unreleased bangers “Pumpin Up The Meter” & “Puaaaaaaaah” on his myspace page (www.myspace.com/gigibarocco).  What’s next, “A couple of sick releases on Crux and Cheaper Thrills (the new Herve’s digital label), a remix for Breakdown on PBR and another insane remix for Acid Jacks on Idiot House!  I’m also workin’ on a crazy bootleg (90’s represent!!) so stay tuned fellas!!”

CHECK OUT THIS EXCLUSIVE MINI-MIX OF GIGI BAROCCO, BY GIGI BAROCCO:

“Chopa” available at www.BeatPort.com

Get more on GiGi at www.myspace.com/gigibarocco and the Crux Da house blog http://cruxdahouse.blogspot.com

SUBMANTRA:  Deep House Revivalist

It’s been said by devout followers that House music is dying.  The classic aesthetic of House, or Deep House, has been chased to the underground and has recently lost it’s only American mainstream broadcast on XM Radio after the company merged with Sirius satellite radio.  Like many popularized genres, the soul (in the musical sense) has been drained slowly from the core that it originally birthed from.  “I am contrary to the idea that Deep house is dying because of the popularity of other [sub-genres], but I think that dying can be defined in rebirth and, above all, a kind of class.”  An optimistic outlook from Bologna, Italy based producer/DJ Submantra, “in Italy it is a great moment in electronic music, in Italy at the moment it [is mostly] electro house but it is also growing with the deep house [scene].”  Maybe Submantra will be the backup that Dennis Ferrer has needed to breathe new life into the heart of the scene.

It’s been a busy second half of 2008 with the release of the single “Grateful” followed up by “Energy”, a contribution to the Jazz House Independent compilation, and numerous remixes (all through Italy based label Irma Records).  Each track represents a firm direction, staying true to the aesthetics of the genre.  “My influences begin with the house music of the 90’s to reach the soulful and deep house of today.  They are influences that come both from Europe and from the U.S.A,  I'm inspired by a lot by the productions from Purple Music (a Swiss label) and Defected (a U.S. label) and from IRMA records with whom I started working with three years ago.” 

Beginning as a DJ at the age of 13, it is safe to say that he is a purist, “I hope that vinyl never disappears from the musical scene because it is the object most spellbound in the world of the music.”  Despite his affinity for the classic tools of the trade, Submantra’s live sets are technologically up to speed utilizing turntables along with computer software and featuring live vocals from his collaborators.  2009 will bring new light to Submantra and Italy respectively with the release of “Get Down” (featuring vocals from Francesca Brancone) as well as remixes for label mates Big mojo, Amana Melomè, and Don Carlos.  No one said resurrecting was an easy job.

“Grateful” & “Energy” available on www.BeatPort.com and itunes

Get more info on Submntra at www.myspace.com/Submantra