Interview with SofaTalk

SofaTalk’s deliciously eclectic music presents as a patchwork of styles carefully pieced together to produce a sound that, whilst tricky to define, ultimately, is a true joy to experience. His unique take on electronica pulls influence from across the global underground, his homeland of Italy, the nu jazz movement, and beyond. Charged by a boundless energy, the one-man producer and artistic powerhouse splits his time between managing his label Cognitiva Records, overseeing the artistic direction of event-brand Cognitiva All Star, and hosting his monthly radio show Soundscapes on Universal Rhythms Radio. Any time left is spent toiling away in his Rome-based studio working on remixes, collaborations, and continuing to refine his far-out signature styling.

SofaTalk’s forthcoming album ‘The Souls Code’ is released on Oath Creations on the 25th February digitally

Your music blends house, funk, neo-soul, jazz, and broken beat in a truly unique way. How do you approach combining these genres in your production?

My musical background comes mainly from Jazz and Soul. I studied piano as a kid and was enchanted by Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder for how they managed to blend acoustic piano with synthesizers. At the same time, I always had the need to look for inspiration from more abstract and experimental things listening to Fusion, progressive rock, dub, NYC post-punk of the 80s (A Certain Ratio, Talking Heads, ESG...)

All these sound inputs were fundamental for my education. Today I follow contemporary electronic movements such as Broken beat, UK garage, Detroit House, Los Angeles' instrumental Hip Hop / Beats, Breaks, Electro, Dubstep and Drum'n'Bass that give me so many creative ideas, I never follow a well-defined line in my productions, I try to find an alchemy between global sounds and rhythmic parts by blending different sounds.

‘The Souls Code’ is set to release on February 29th. What inspired this album, and what story or message does it convey?

This is my third album, five years after "South Side" released on "Broken District" and 9 years after the first "Diforisma", on my Cognitiva Records. It all started about a year and a half ago, I wanted to focus exclusively on a complete, intimate project that could tell something, a sort of storytelling, a journey through various sound cultures. I needed to experiment with sounds and rhythmic parts that I had not yet explored. I was therefore able to work in a very creative way, feeling free to also create songs with unconventional arrangements and compositional structure following "my soul code". I am very satisfied with what came out of it thanks also to the collaborations with Zopelar and Veezo and of course I thank “Oath” very much for giving me the opportunity to express myself freely.

You’ve released music on respected labels like Banoffee Pies, Outplay, Omena and Broken District. How do you decide which labels best suit your sound?

In addition to being a musician, I am also a label owner, I know how essential it is for a label to follow a line of an original artistic pattern. I think the search for the right channel to propose my new project is the most important moment.

I am very fond of all the labels with which I have had the pleasure of collaborating and publishing music. Each of them has marked a piece of my path.

Can you tell us about your collaborations on this album, particularly ‘Out Of Nowhere’ with Zopelar? How did that track come together?

Whilst I was working on this track, I spent a lot of time on the electric piano chords and the rhythmic part. However, I needed to talk to another musician to get some opinions and maybe some tips on how to finalize it in the best way. I really like sharing and having feedback on my works with artists I respect.

I had been thinking about a future collaboration with Pedro (Zopelar) for a long time, I love his way of arranging, his original sounds, I immediately thought of him, I saw this track very linked to his sound and I was sure that his collaboration could give the creative touch I was looking for. His Brazilian-tinged additional chord progressions and synth leads gave the song that extra touch I was looking for.

As the founder of Cognitiva Records, what vision do you have for the label, and what kind of artists or sounds are you looking to showcase?

The constant research and the idea of ​​being able to contribute to drawing a well-defined line on the sounds of the label are the strong points of Cognitiva Records. We are constantly looking for new sounds and the continuous mutations and experimentations in the movements of electronic music "Jazz oriented" with influences of global cultures.

The label is largely album focused, choosing to work on more emergent listening experiences. We mainly release organic things, multi-instrumental projects of bands or solo artists but at the same time we have a limited series "Point of View" which is more focused on “dance oriented” productions.

You also work on sound design for contemporary art projects. How does this experience shape your music production?

Contemporary art is a form of creativity with a strong emotional impact. It is very stimulating to be able to create music for a performance, synchronize sound backgrounds with body movements, light effects, video frames. The harmony with the artists is fundamental, especially being able to convey the right emotions and follow the artistic concept. Sound design allows me to experiment with sounds and this reflects a lot on the wealth of experiences that I then transfer into my way of conceiving music.

The underground electronic scene in Italy has been growing in recent years. How do you see its evolution, and what role do you think you play in it?

In the last few years, the underground electronic scene here in Italy has grown a lot, between well-organized festivals, clubs, web radio, magazines and very good journalists, labels, record shops, pressing plants and record distributors. The quality level of musical productions has also grown. As far as I'm concerned, underground movements have always been the core of my concept of making music, I would be very proud if we could talk about a contribution to the growth of the scene.

What’s next for SofaTalk after ‘The Souls Code’? Any upcoming projects, collaborations, or live performances we should look out for?

I have a few things coming out: a collaborative EP, some remixes, and a new mini album that I really care about that will be ready for release at the end of the summer.

SofaTalk’s forthcoming album ‘The Souls Code’ is released on Oath Creations on the 25th February digitally

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