Page 62 - DemoZone Magazine Summer Issue 2020

62
ZONE-MAGAZINE.EU
A master of both uptempo club tracks and more winsome downtempo fayre, he cites influences as wide ranging as Ulrich Schnauss, Massive Attack and School of Seven Bells for his more cerebral back catalogue additions which includes three albums for Tripswitch’s Section Records - Accidental Beauty, Subaquamarine and Kollision (with Xspance). Referencing his influences can be heard as echoes on everything that Roberto does, while at the same time, they glisten in their own unique light. Translucent in sound.
One of the most telling sea change events for Roberto was playing his first gig at a disused warehouse in East Berlin. “It was my very first go on 1210s and I blagged the gig after meeting some Germans at MoS.” he says, “I got a crash course at Zoom Records one afternoon from Billy Nasty and then flew to Berlin next day!” Gigs at Ministry of Sound and beyond bookmarked the 90s and early 00s, a vibrant time for dance music and for the development of progressive house.
Even now Roberto’s ambitions are as strong as ever. With a flurry of releases and remixes in 2018, 2019 and into next year on labels such as Mirabilis, Transpecta, ManMadeMusic, Pangea, Modern Agenda, Emotional Content, Section Records, Krafted, Tarnished Tracks, Wizarding Wolf and his collaboration with Xspance, and new solo album on the horizon, as well as his recently launched new show Interstellar on Frisky Radio, regularly crashing into their top ten, and his stunning set at Modern Agenda's label showcase at ADE 2018, the future is looking bright for Audioglider and his sonic doodling.
First off thank you for sitting down
with Zone Magazine about you and
your music!
It's a pleasure. Thanks for asking me to talk about music. That's one thing I CAN waffle on about.
Tell us where in the world you are
and what your plans for the week
and month ahead.
I'm based in London, not far from Brixton, though with the current Covid-19 crisis it could be anywhere right? I was furloughed from my day job for a month which I used very wisely to complete a load of music projects I had outstanding.
Tell us more about you.
Well, it's fair to say I've been around the block a bit - experienced Punk and Post Punk as a spotty teen, when the DIY ethic and aesthetic has been incredibly influential on how
I currently work. Was interested in all manor of independent artists and labels from the era whose no boundaries approach to creation was inspiring - Cocteau Twins, Joy Division, 4AD, Cabaret Voltaire, Wire, Gang Of Four, Talking Heads and others. Unfortunately I couldn't get the sounds and melodies that were in my head - not until many years later with affordable audio equipment / software / computers.
I've been making music using sound libraries and rudimentary DAWs - eJay and Acid were my go tos for a while as they were intuitive - I'm really not a tech or gearhead and preferred the WYSIWIG approach (What you see is what you get) and was putting a bunch of demos on a music sharing platform called Acidplanet - a precursor to sites like Soundcloud. A couple of those downtempo tracks were sent to Nick Warren as I had heard he was looking for new music for a GU comp he was putting together - GU30. I never expected a reply but reply he did - wanting to sign both tracks and the publishing - those tracks were Whiskers and Zusammenallein. It's all gone downhill since then!
" In fact remixes are a great way of unblocking the creative process when making originals. Just hearing other people's parts or vocals puts you elsewhere, and outside of your usual self "
How was 2019?
Was a bit of a whirlwind tbh - made loads of strides with music, my workflow becoming a lot more efficient, releasing my second collab album on Tripswitch's Section Records, with fellow music maker and pal Xspance. Playing DJ sets at Modern Agenda parties in the UK and at ADE. Playing back to back with fellow Origin presents team member, Nadia, at Progressive Astronaut's afterparty - that was so much fun, hilarious and vibey. She is such a talent! Oh and my monthly Frisky show, Interstellar, has been going really well.
How is 2020 going so far for you guys?
Gosh its such a weird year so far isn't it? Lockdown has got me weirdly inspired with all kinds of tracks signed - breakbeat, prog house, prog breaks. May is already bonkers with 5 releases or remixes on various labels across the globe from USA to Switzerland to Hungary to Holland to Ireland via Germany, Russia, France and beyond.