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Blending the soulful nostalgia of disco and classic house with a fresh, underground edge, Di Saronno has carved out a unique space in the electronic music scene. With deep roots in hip-hop, jazz, and R&B, his approach to sampling and production has earned him recognition from house music legends and top-tier labels. Beyond the studio, his global travels and two-decade career at sea have shaped his sonic identity, infusing his music with diverse influences. In this interview, we dive into his creative process, inspirations, and vision for the future of house music.
Di Saronno, your music evokes the spirit of disco and classic house. How do you balance nostalgia with innovation in your sound?
I can say that nostalgia effect has a very close impact with my sound, even if lately is going towards a more underground and unique one in terms of elements and how all my music concept the way I want, innovative from the technical point of view. My roots are Old-school, hip-hop and RnB, Jazz, and more, especially from the 80s and 90s, and someone in the past been said to me that my technique of sampling is very similar to the Hip-Hop G’s like Pete Rock, Dilla, Preemo, Madlib, 9th Wonder (some of my favs) with a difference that I do classic NYC, Chicago House Music.
Traveling across the seven seas must be a unique source of inspiration. How does this nomadic lifestyle influence your creative process?
Not many knows that I been working at sea for almost 20years, between cargo and cruise vessels as Deck Officer. This came after when I was already an emerging and stubborn producer that was sending bootleg to local Italian radios for competitions or just for the simple wish to get broadcasted.
Traveling the worlds especially UK, US and Australasia gave me a lot opportunities to boost my creativity what I already know with local touches and create a unique and outstanding evolutive process in terms of knowledge and appeal.
You are passionate about sampling. What have been some of the most surprising discoveries you’ve made in this art?
Samples digging discover was just a thing that I mostly kept for general knowledge for almost a decade, until I started my Di Saronno project in 2017 that was initially based with disco “duck” samples in a very lavish way. Before that I was just using fragments or very little snippets to include in my previous works (taken from old vinyls, CDs and the initial explosion of sample libraries and packs). Then I completely changed the way to used them, and I decide to devote myself into the use of an AKAI MPC (just the way like one my best mentor Phil Weeks was doin’ his thing) and also because the policy that was behind was too strict, in a matter of clearance for releases, in primis when I also got really fascinated by an electronic Australian band called “The Avalanches” and their skills to combine multiple samples to make something special, and here we go! But I don’t hide that every day in the field my proactivity on sample using makes me more determined and comprehensive.
You’ve worked with iconic house music labels. How has collaborating with these institutions shaped your journey?
Working with iconic labels like Nervous, Peppermint Jam, InHouse, Dopewax (MAW), TRAX, Henry Street Music (mostly NYC and Chicago imprints) exploited my creativity and willingness of doing more and they shaped my personality in order to gain the respect in the underground and street house scene. The ambition is to push constantly the right screech of originality. No wonder why if my personal satisfaction is on the moon and back, especially when my work has been supported by power-house G’s like: Kenny Dope, Todd Terry, Kerri Chandler, Roger Sanchez, Sneak, Phil Weeks, Derrick Carter, Mark Farina, Harry Romero, Johnny Fiasco, MIIS, Disclosure and more…
The Body Heat Gang collective and projects like Italoexotica have a strong identity. How do you engage with these local scenes?
BHG and Italoexotica are family, Milan’s concept of house music is very expanded more than other main Italian cities, and that’s how I found myself to be welcomed as an “external” member of those crew, (I grew up in the South part of the country after moved from California where I was born). Both music collectives are always in continuous development in the Milan underground and not only, BHG is doing very well in UK!
I try to engage myself as most as I can when is a matter of collaborations, limited vinyl releases and parties. BHG for example is well known for his way to create mind-blowing extravagant parties whom I played and attended with big synergy.
The electronic scene is constantly evolving. How do you see the future of house and club music?
With AI tools becoming more and more accessible I see a flood of AI generated "songs" being pumped out by people trying to cash in.
Electronic artist and musicians are going to have to do something to completely distinguish themselves.
I'm expecting to see a major surge in live performances, with people playing keyboards/drums/guitar along with vocalists. It might be a while to go yet but mark my words AI is coming in a big way and the average listener won't even know, eventually there will be a backlash which is when we will see some major changes. Maybe the next generation of listeners won't care and all music will be made by AI in the end, but I think the live performers will always have an audience.
As my G’says “artists tend to scratch what you can scratch, bringing the production world credibility in a miserable spot, and it’s a true pity” (cit. Phra “Crookers”)
If you had to pick one track that represents your essence, which one would it be and why?
I mostly like to deep dive into samples that can make my mellow and romantic side shine through.
How-ever I feel to give a shoutout to my roots, the real reason we are here and that’s what my last joint is all about, Enjoy x ;)
Email: disaronnomusic@mail.comTraxsource: https://www.traxsource.com/artist/395631/di-saronnoBeatport: https://www.beatport.com/artist/di-saronno/626640Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/disaronnomusicFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/francescoferraromusic
Bandcamp: https://disaronnomusic.bandcamp.com/
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