Giueseppe Ottaviani's Up In The SkyFebruary 8, 2012
By Cyclone.
You'll know Italian punk house acts such as Crookers, The Bloody Beetroots and Congorock, or electro superstar Benny Benassi, but Giuseppe Ottaviani is quietly leading a Mediterranean trance revolution.
Often mistakenly tagged a 'DJ', Giuseppe was in Australia for a club tour last year but, prior to that, he joined Stereosonic 2010. Now he's returning for Creamfields Australia 2012 with his live power-trance. "I never play as a DJ," Giuseppe reveals. "It'll be a live act. I'm a live performer and not really a DJ, to be honest. I will do what I usually do – just bring my keyboards, laptop, mixer, and controllers and stuff. So I will bring my mess of cables on my desk – but it'll be a live act." The good-natured Giuseppe is accustomed to widespread confusion about what distinguishes performing 'live' from DJing. "Everyone who plays this kind of music is called a DJ, so I don't mind, that's fine – but you'll see I'm not in the DJ Mag [poll]...," he laughs. Except Giuseppe is in the lower reaches of the current poll, his global fans obviously keen to show him love, regardless. At Creamfields, Giuseppe himself is hoping to catch Above & Beyond, the Brits leading the festival's epic trance contingent.
Growing up in the ancient centre of Viterbo, around 45 minutes' drive from Rome, Giuseppe was exposed to classical music as a child, learning to play piano. However, as a teen, he discovered electronica – and DJ culture. Giuseppe DJed in clubs, and on radio, and experimented with production. In 1999 he formed the live tech-trance outfit Nu NRG with onetime scratch DJ Andrea Ribeca – they'd met at a party – and, aligning themselves with Paul van Dyk's VANDIT Records, they enjoyed cult hits like Dreamland. But, eventually, Giuseppe went solo. He stuck with Paul, the German releasing his Linking People. Giuseppe's debut 'artist' album, GO!, dropped three years ago.
Many dance types are jaded by constant jetsetting, but not Giuseppe. "I love flying!," he raves. Giuseppe jokes that he's "probably" crazy. He delights in looking down into the clouds and meditating. "It's a big inspiration for my kind of music." He also revels in the chance to meet people and experience different cultures around the world. In fact, travel inspired GO!, taking in the uplifting single No More Alone (featuring Brit vocalist Stephen Pickup), a hook-up with Irishman John O'Callaghan, Our Dimension, and the "chill-out" tune Angel. Does Giuseppe plan a follow-up? "Yeah, absolutely! I'm working right now on the new album because it's been a while. I've been touring quite a lot... It's never easy for me to have free time for the studio and to travel – because I'm not a DJ. So every time I have a show, I have to prepare all my stuff before in the studio and get it ready for the show. It takes time and you never find the right time for new tracks and a new 'artist' album. But right now, finally and fortunately, I have the time and I'm working on it. All my ideas – all my demos – are pretty much done, so I just need to turn them into full tracks and the album will be ready." He expects it to materialise later this year. ("I'll try my best!")
Alas, one thing Giuseppe can't do when flying is compose music on his laptop, but he does other work – that is, if he's not watching movies, drinking wine or napping. "I can do a mix set – that's why my radio show [on the Internet station Afterhours.FM] is called GO On Air, because I tend to mix my radio shows on the plane."
Considering his hectic schedule, Giuseppe is surprisingly industrious. He recently presented a mix compilation, GO On Air, which showcases some of his own productions, one a prestigious remix of Armin van Buuren's Take Me Where I Wanna Go. (The artwork depicts Giuseppe attired as a pilot!) He co-produced two songs for Paul's 2007 outing In Between, including Far Away, the pair exchanging files over the Internet. And he's since cut more music with Paul. "We did a collaboration for his new album [Evolution] in the same way," Giuseppe lets slip.
So popular is trance today that even urban acts are borrowing its riffs – something that amuses Giuseppe. He attributes this to music-makers using the same Access Virus TI keyboard and thus generating similar effects. Above & Beyond's Jono Grant is unsure about the trance-hop trend, but Giuseppe is unfazed, ensuring a lively debate in dance circles. "I'm fine – it's not an issue for me." Still, he's aiming to utilise different synths to create his own trademark sound. "But," Giuseppe concludes, "if the sound of trance music – or the sound of electronic music – goes everywhere, that's cool!"
Giuseppe may love to travel, but these days he also performs at home. While back in 2010 he lamented that Italy's '90s trance scene had diminished, it's now "getting better" – ironically, just as the country's economy goes down. "I just started to play back in Italy again, which is a very good point for me, 'cause I love to sometimes play back home." And Giuseppe is a homeboy. When in Viterbo, if not in his studio, he spends time with family or friends, even dining in a local restaurant. "The food is quite good here, so I love that," Giuseppe laughs of the city famed for its old papal palace and nearby thermal springs. (He avoids Rome because of its "horrible traffic".) But, were he to move, it'd be somewhere with a comparable climate. Giuseppe rather fancies Florida, hurricanes aside, or sunny California. "I don't like the grey clouds or the rain." Unless he's up in the skies...
