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You are known for your mixing skills and ability to play with multiple tracks in your sets, own productions as well as many other things. How long have you been Djing and how did your music career started?
Thank you for your nice words Thales. My very first approach to music were concerts, street parades and social spaces between 1999 and 2000. I was definitely too young, eheh.
In 2001 one of my mates introduced me to music production and eventually gave me a pirate copy of Reason 1.5. In that period I started discovering specialised music stores in my hometown and after a few years of collecting ( very random records ) I eventually got my first turntables.
You have performed in many clubs and parties throughout all these years. What was your favorite place to perform? When and where do you feel was your best and worst performance? Why?
Unfold XL at Fold was definitely my favourite place. The crowd is filled with love and good vibes and they know how to rave and being together respectfully. The sound system is just incredible and the dj booth is in the middle of the floor, so that every time I dropped the bass I felt like slapping myself! I had a similar feeling at corsica studios in room 2 but Fold was so much bigger! One of my best set was last NYE for MANIA. It was a 24 hours party. Sometime I’m so stressed out after my most technical sets that I forget to have fun. On the other hand if I’m in a good mood I have fun despite of the quality of my performance. My worst ever set was at the castle in 2019. It is a limited capacity venue, really intimate. Long story short I got there really early and by the time I had to play I was way too wasted! I remember giving up on vinyl because I just couldn’t do it and moving to cdjs. It was a train wreck ahah! After my set I’ve been asked to back to back with my mate Tsibo and I don’t remember anything apart from the fact that I had a great time!
Nowadays with more and more upcoming artists, do you feel it is essential to be a producer as well as a Dj? What made you start producing music and when did you start?
Music is constantly changing and so the discipline of djing. Nowadays is necessary to multitask in order to establish. Producing music is a way to reach ubiquity and to expand for djs, but they are still very different one from the other. My first approach to production was reason and immediately after I started experimenting with step sequencers. I used to go to high school with a korg electribe that I would hide on my laps making music during lessons. I used to produce weird drum and bass and also instrumental beats and then recording rappers and singers. I had fun and I learned the workflow but I was no way near professional.
My first decent releases came way after my first dj gigs, around 2015.
Has Techno always been your main genre or you have worked with others before? What are your 3 all-time favorite techno artists and why?
In the beginning I was mixing every records I could put my hands on, from rap to drum n bass, reggae or electronic. In 2002 on of my best mates showed me the dvd of the exibitionist by Jeff mills. I was blown away but still my first gigs and so my first decade as a dj was mainly focused around hip hop, urban music and scratching. Moving to London in 2012 and discovering a totally new scene made me want to discover more about electronic music. I moved full time into it around 2015. In 2018 I stated my project ØLMØ, focused around a specific shade of techno.
Tell me 2 of your favorite records and 2 advices for new Djs out there.
I love growth by Jeff Mills. I really like the track and the dj tool on the b side, but this record is special because I’m emotionally close to it. It’s technically not mine eheh. I borrowed it from a good friend many years ago. He moved to Uk and then off to explore the world. He didn’t even dj and I believe that It’s always been an unspoken gift. If you’re reading this one Brando and the record wasn’t actually an unspoken gift, I will return it at some point. Ahah lot of love!
The second favourite record probably changes every other week. At the moment I would say Horror Vacui LP by Setaoc Mass. It’s one of those albums that you can play from the start till the end.
About the advices for new djs I would say that patience is the most important skill for any artist. Give time to time and don’t give up your love. Art is reached through the expression of feelings, Ideas and Identity. It takes time to find the right way to connect your inner world with the outer one and it takes to learn skills and knowledge in order to be capable of making both world resonating.
Tell me a bit about your mix. What can we expect from it?
It’s a mix of my favorite artists at the moment. It is danceable but it’s also a journey that could be appreciated sitting down, if it makes sense. I tried to keep it technical, using 3 decks and a drum machine. I like to de-compose tracks and to use layers to tell a story the way I like.
After party or pre drinks?
Pre drinks are for close friends, more intimate. After parties are great for meeting new people. Can I say both? hehehe
Listen to the mix here: https://on.soundcloud.com/rDZeg
Follow the artist here:
https://www.instagram.com/olmo_uk/
https://soundcloud.com/olmouk
https://www.facebook.com/olmosounds