Interview with Picotto in Tandem:

quote:

For years Italian DJs have had no luck in breaking into the world DJ circuit. Mauro Picotto has been the first and now slowly others have begun to follow. Mauro has become a star DJ filling venues worldwide and playing with the best of them. I had the honour of meeting him during his tour here in Toronto and chatting him up just hours before his set at Distrikt nightclub. How do you find Toronto? "This is my sixth time here and I love it. The last time I came I spun at the Guverment. It was great. The kids here in Canada have such a phenomenal attitude, really open, you know, probably the best in the world." The tour you're on has lasted a few months now, what's it been like? "Danilo Vigorito, Gaetano Parisio, Marco Corola and I have had a really great time playing together. The Australian part of the tour has been quite grueling though, having to spin not long after the 24-hour flight over. Then there was my adventure trying to get into Canada from Los Angeles. The customs official wasn't too bright, maybe for his age, sixtysomething, and he couldn't get around that my permits faxed to him were from an agency called Giant but the club I had to play at was called Afterhours. He didn't get it. So I ended up waking my manager in Italy so he could sort things out. Naturally I missed my plane, and the whole experience left me really unnerved. Those things they never reimburse you for." How's this year coming along? "I'm finally releasing my double album. The first side is going to be pretty relaxed. Not necessarily chill-out but music to listen to. When I was in Ibiza last summer bars on the strip were playing my slower songs and people were really digging it, so I thought I'd compile them on disk 1.The other CD is like a set I play in the clubs. It's all songs I've made myself but put together in a non-stop fashion. I've left quite a bit of breakdowns so if kids want to mix them on their CD turntables they can. Otherwise they're already mixed and you can just let them play." How are the kids reacting on this tour? "Fantastic. You know, I get the occasional fan who asks me why I don't play the really hard beats I used to. And I tell them it's because I already played that hard and I've moved on. Others might ask why I didn't play one of my famous songs from years ago or from my other CD. Honestly I think you should be out to hear what I'm playing now, the new stuff. If you got the CD, go home to listen to it! It doesn't surprise me why some famous DJs who spin Trance still play their hit songs from years past. It's been a couple of years now that I haven't heard a great trance track that gives me the emotions the old ones did." So you're incorporating more songs made by you in your sets? "Sure. Some fans might turn their nose at you at first but soon they'll realize to really hear your music they've got to come see you live. It's about becoming more exclusive. Mind you it's also saving me a bundle not having to buy all those records!" Plans for the future? "I'm lightening up my schedule and trying to spend more time with my daughter. Having left the record company I was with and opening my own label has already left me with more time of my own." What about the touring in the future? "Within the next two to three years I'm hanging up my headphones." For real? "I've given my best for a lot of years to all my fans and now I've got to start thinking about my family. I won't stop djing but instead of being away for such a long time, I'll spin once a month in a special venue and make it a really well-thought out night." What's the best club you've ever played in? "There really is no best club. There are so many to mention really. The crowd changes, the décor changes. The most fantastic in my book, though, would have to be when I played in South America in the Amazon forest on the outskirts of Medellin. There were huge tropical parrots flying around us among all these giant trees. To reach us there you'd have to drive two hours long these awful dirt roads that were so unkempt it left me asking how anyone would ever reach us. They had taken us by plane and had us land on these abandoned dirt strips that had probably been used by narco-trafficants during cocaine runs. Sure enough, over 5,000 partiers found their way there dancing all day from seven in the morning. It was one of the most beautiful experiences I've had." Who else was there with you? "Gabry Fasano was there and so was Marco Corola." Gabry's not on this tour? "No. He is just releasing his new album, Life Cycles, on our new label Alchemy so he's back home taking care of that." Why Alchemy? "Well, Gabry and I kind of fancy ourselves the alchemists of our sounds. Trying to turn lead to gold, you know? But we're still working on that! I'm getting close with my latest productions that have really done well. It's all about following my instincts and finding sounds I really like." What's going on this summer? Back in Ibiza? "Absolutely! I'm having my own Thursday residency called Meganight where other famous DJs, friends of mine, will be coming in to guest star. The club owners are also letting me chose the décor this year and how the night will be organized. For example the DJ booth has been lowered and put in the centre of the dance floor so I can really get the vibe off the kids during the night."

___________________
..::Adventure is something that while it is happening you wish it wasn't!::..

<<<I am, I flatter myself, completely a citizen of the world. In my travels, I never felt myself away from home.>>>