Reform

"We just listen to so much music and we try to produce only what we like"

Reform creates music that works in all settings and transcends genres. They are simply music addicted, their studio sessions are based on machine jam sessions as well as digital and vst processing, with whom they create their own sound, their own electronic style. We had a chance to talk to him, so enjoy your reading and check out his latest releases, like Nightfall.

Hi Guys! Where can we find you right now? How did you start off your day?

Hi guys, thanks for having us! We are in Tuscany right now, we live near Florence in the same city. Today we planned to have a studio session together, as we have to fix some little things on our new tracks we made during this quarantine. So, studio time today!

How did you first get into the electronic music world?

Well, we had different approaches into electronic music. Me (Ludovico) started to live nightlife as a clubber; at first I followed the hard techno movement and I did lot of parties all over Italy, which was a really hot area for that movement, especially in Bologna and Florence itself. Andrea had a similar approach but he started from deep house, to be clear, that genre which Tale of us, Maceo Plex etc bring to popularity in the first years of 2010 decade. Another key moment was the first time I entered to Cocoricò, a well-known club in Italy; few weeks later I bought my first console and everything started.

I see that you also play with many instruments. With which of them do you feel more comfortable?

Yes we have several instruments we like to play with, one of our absolute favourite is the Minilogue from Korg. We made so many records with that synth, and we really like it because it’s great for lead synths but also tool synths. We use that almost only for main synths in our tracks. Another great machine we have it’s the Moog sub37; honestly, it’s a milestone to have an instrument from Moog in the studio and sub37 sounds really phat. It also has many hidden features for expanding it to make different sounds from the “original Moog” one.

How do you manage to combine such different genres? How do you manage to give them unity and harmony? What do they have in common for you?

We just listen to so much music and we try to produce only what we like. Obviously, when we arrange a track we keep an eye on the impact that it would hopefully have on the dancefloor, but we always start on a melody or a riff or a drum set we like to work with. In this way the tracks get to the end easily, they just flow. We like to listen many different genres from rap (both big fans) to rock or electronic music. Sometimes we find inspiration from that, especially from rap which we think has some similarities with techno music.

You EP ‘Nightcall’ is out in July on Anja Schneider’s label – how did you connect with her and achieve this release?

We are so happy to release this EP on Anja’s label. Since the first moment we met her, we understood what she was doing with Sous, and we knew we could work together in some way. We met almost an year ago at Loveland festival where we played the day before her show and fortunately we stayed to the festival also the Sunday, so we shared the pick-up so we had the chance to talk with her. She’s definitely a lovely, lovely person! Big hug Anja! :)

What did you want to transmit with ‘Nightcall’? Can you go through each track and tell us what inspired you for each track?

Well, ‘Nightcall’ is a dark, tool track we made for our sets with a bell sound on the main drop. We missed a voice and we decided to sample the words from Roach Motel, from his track “Night”. It’s really trippy and we made especially for burning the dancefloor.

The Second track has our own vocals instead. We pitched and modified them, which was needed as we are definitely not singers!! We wanted to make a track built for open air festivals, especially for daily slots so we work on something fresh.

‘Back in Time’ is where we really did go back in time for a more trance and rave feel. We added a breakbeat drop…..Ludovico remembers good times with those beats!

How long have you been DJ’ing – do you think your sound evolved since you started?

For Ludovico it’s been 12 years since he started, and for myself Andrea, it’s about 8 years. Already that seems like a long time ago! We started with different genres (like minimal and deep house) then we turned our focus more to techno within the last 5/6 years, so yeah we definitely changed in some ways, but we think it was also a very natural step. Many many artists start from a genre and then they raise up with another one. In some cases this adds something more to their sound.

How would you define your sound in 3 words?

Melodic, powerful, balanced.

As a duo, what have you learned from playing and working with each other?

We are different people, and have different ways to approach music. One is more impulsive, the other is more rational and meticulous. For example, we have a track we finished in two hours and another which took more tan a week, but working with each other was important and it improved our skills, learning from our different personalities, and mistakes.

What are you missing most about the music industry during lockdown?

We really miss the dancefloor reaction to our music and the feelings you get in the club. We miss talking with people who share our passion and also the chance to test new demos in the club. It’s not so easy to produce new music for 3 months without being able to test the tracks and see people reactions, which I am sure for us as with everyone else - is the final and most important check for proving if it’s good or not.

So what music are you currently obsessed by? Has your music taste at home changed during lockdown?

It’s not easy to produce no stop techno music so in this period we listened more than we normally would have to different genres. We both listen mostly to rap, which we have done for many years. But yes, during these months at home we preferred more melodic beats but sometimes we missed the dancefloor techno tunes, so we go to the studio and play around. Not a club, but you can play it loud and have some fun. It’s also weird not being able to find live mixes online, videos of events and more on socials etc, sometimes they help to inspire, so we’re looking forward for this to all come back.

Would you like to share a favourite set of yours at the moment? Tell us more about it, when and how was it recorded?

We have several sets we can share but maybe for our career it’s the one we had a Loveland. To play in such an international festival was something unique and to share the DJ booth with techno stars was a huge satisfaction. It was very easy to be honest, the Loveland team do a great job and they record almost every set of their parties; so we had the records after few days. We played with our classic live setup so 4 cdjs, pioneer rmx1000 and external fx (we use Boss Rv-5 reverb and DD-7 delay).

What one track would you recommend us to liven up being stuck at home?

Ludovico - I can recommend Wave Corners – Even Mike (Dissolver rmx)!

Andrea - MRD - Save Me Another Time. If someone likes 80’s feeling tracks, well, would be cool to listen it.

What makes you both happy?

Its always the simple things, I think that applies to most people. For us both, its to share an evening with Friends or family at a nice restaurant with good food and good company.

Can you tell us something about your current or future projects?

After this EP on Anja’s label we have a track on Odd Recordings VA and we are finishing a new EP on Second State. We also have several demos we would like to share but we may have to add something more for a solid pack. Let’s see in the next months!