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An interview with Collateral Intelligence. Go!
Can you tell us something about your experience? Where are you ? How did you get into music?
My experience with music has been incredibly beautiful, music has always been a place where I free myself from anything else, a place where it's just me, my machines and my sound. Basically that is how I have always kept this great relationship with musical creation. The most important thing is that I do it because I really enjoy it. I think if music was really my main job, it would certainly make me think of it in a different way. I come from Malta, a little island in the Mediterranean Sea where the music is really huge and there is really a lot of great quality music being made and there are events going on around it. The only little downside is that on such a small island, the exposure to local people still has a very small scope, so even the concerts are even more challenging as they basically have a good percentage of the same crowd in all places where you touch.
I started to dedicate myself to music at a fairly young age, I used to always be at my uncle's house reviewing his records and enjoying that first love of music and exploring all these new sounds. I went from Oldschool Electro by Dynamix Two and Afrika Bambata, this love then evolved to darker sounds Electro Bass and finally Techno and Acid House, where I found two great albums that completely changed my musical life, Plastikman's' Sheet One 'and' Asteroid 'by Emmanuel Top. These two albums embedded something in me that I carry with me to this day that I still can't really explain.
How is your sound evolving? What artists and genres do you enjoy mixing right now?
I enjoy doing a lot of different music genres, it really depends on what mood I'm in or what last burst of inspiration hit me. Most of the people who follow me know me best for the dance music stuff I post, but there is actually a lot more than that lurking in the background. Obviously I'd rather have my machines and do a live set or a live performance, but I also love playing Acid House / Techno and Rave DJ Sets. There really is a lot of cool Acid spanning those spectra. The Posthuman and Jerome Hill tracks, for example, are always in my bag or on my USB stick. That said, at home I like to listen to more relaxed things, if I had to say, for example, three artists that I have listened to the most in my life, it would be Aphex Twin, Luke Vibert (Wagon Christ) and Portishead.
Other What can you tell us about your latest work, Butterflies at the Funerals?
This album and this new "Collateral Intelligence" alias has been in my plans for a few years, but until a couple of years ago I never really took it seriously and sat down and really made the effort to write a full album.
Things took a bad turn when my dad was seriously ill in the hospital and during that time my only escape was being in the studio as months and weeks passed, the album was slowly forming.
What have you wanted to express with your latest work?
As I said before when I was writing this album, it was perhaps the most difficult moment of my life, so the music really was a means of hope, pain, faith and fighting power. Through my music I wanted to express the feelings of a journey that began in the worst possible way and ended in the most beautiful way. Hopefully the listener will also be able to feel and relate to this journey throughout their own life.
What makes you happy?
Of course having my family and friends healthy, their respect and living a good life with people who love me and that I love is what makes me really happy. Music will always be the tool that enhances this feeling, but as most people who know me can tell you, I'm always the type with a smile on my face.
What can you tell us about your next projects?
Many interesting things are coming soon. Unfortunately, during this pandemic, the record printing plants have suffered major delays, so I still have quite a few vinyl releases under the Acidulant name that I'm really looking forward to as well. During this year and in the hope that the pressing plants will be up and running again soon, I will also announce my new record label, which will feature legendary artists along with promising new names. I'm really counting the days when I could give a full announcement on all of this.
During this year, the Collateral Intelligence project is going to be part of the biggest musical project of my life. Work on this project will begin in the coming months and will include a collaboration with design guru Toni Gialanze of Late Interactive and Cheryl Lofreda, professional contemporary dancer with Concept Of Movement.
