Giuseppe Ottaviani – Interview for ASOT CZ
Hi Peppe, it’s almost like yesterday when I was getting ready for our first interview. You performed at EXIT in Brno at the time. It was a great party. What has changed since then? What about your health, are you all right?
It was a great party indeed. I was about to cancel the show because of my ear infection but I wanted to do it anyway. It wasn’t the right choice as expected, the next few days were quite painful but definitely worth it. So the real big change is that my ear is completely healed now and I don’t need to wear those fancy protective headphones.
What are the reactions on your Live 2.0 show? I really liked Armin’s reaction in ASOT 832, when he pulled out the phone and started recording (he was really impressed). That does not happen very often to other guests…
The Live 2.0 never fails to impress and it usually gets the best reactions in small clubs where I’m close to the crowd and people can actually see what I do and how the music reacts to all those buttons and nobs that I’m playing with. Ultimately it’s my favorite toy so you see me smile all the time which also affects the mood of people watching me playing with that.
What about the GO Music label? Is it prospering?
Yes, it is. You don’t see many releases though, I like to keep it exclusive and only release a track every month, or so. Quality over quantity is the motto and I do put my hands on every single release. That’s the new concept of the label, I jump into the very final step of the production process and I tweak things here and there to adjust the track to my likes and then I master it. This is also because I need the stems of the track to be imported into my Live 2.0.
Do you have any news about PureNRG? You recently were at the Luminosity and Airbeat One Festival. Will there be another show you didn’t announce this year? Or, are you going to get a new release?
We have new shows lined up, I think the next one is Sensation White in Poland and Pure Trance at ADE. We are also scheduling a new single release plus working on new exciting stuff. Can’t tell you much here. 🙂
I know you do not like personal questions, but many fans are wondering how you can combine your personal and professional life, especially when you have two children?
I never say I don’t like personal questions, just people don’t ask them much.
Well, it’s not an easy task especially now that my two kids are already 8 and 6 and they require my presence even more than before but there are few things that help me with that. I don’t do tours, even if a have, say, few gigs in the USA I never stay there but always fly in and out, coming home after every show. And this applies to every show I have, I don’t take free days to relax or visit places anymore, I’m more like taking the latest flight available to the gig and the first one to come back when possible. Unfortunately, this doesn’t apply to Australia, that’s still bloody far away from.
The other thing is my studio is in my house and the kids can come in and out at any time. I take care of their breakfast every day and bring them to school and prepare the meal for lunch. All small things that keep my relationship with them quite strong, so they basically see me all week long and I fly away on the weekend. Honestly, if I look around to my friends and their „normal jobs“ I do spend way more time with my family that what they spend with theirs.
How do you think trance & progressive music will develop in the following years? Do you wish it to evolve in a certain direction? Which one?
This is like asking me how the new iPhone 12 will look like. I have no idea and music is quite unpredictable, which is also why it excites me. You feel what’s gonna happen in the next 6 months but it’s not clear afterward. What I can say is that Trance continuously evolves, also embracing elements from different genres. A good example is the heavy use of Psytrance bass lines in Trance productions. Honestly, I don’t mind that, it keeps things fresh and as long as we keep staying within certain limits (limits that define Trance as a genre) it’s all good and fun for me. So new elements, new sounds are more than welcome as long as the big melodies are still the main focus of this „music with a soul“ that we call Trance.
A little joke at the end… I hope you will not be angry at us. The guy on the left is one of the main figures of cult Czech film “My Sweet Little Village”. If you want to play in the 2nd part, let us know. We could probably arrange something. 🙂
Hahaha, that would be awesome as long as you don’t ask me to speak Czech.
Thank you for the interview and we are looking forward to your set in Ostrava.
Thank you guys for the interview, it’s always a pleasure to come and play for you. Take care and see you soon.
This interview was created in collaboration with the organizers of the Tranceformers 2018 event.