Younger Than Me

"In our opinion, staying focused on just one genre could get boring, so we try to make a real cross-over with all of our passions and visions"

Younger Than Me I have been orbiting our radar - or rather our ears have been orbiting their musical sphere - for a while now. A project created by Italian djs and producers Francesco and Marcello. When two men come together to make cool music, it can be found in some of the most glorious sounds known to mankind.

Hi Younger Than Me, I would like to thank you for your time! First of all, I want to know how are you feeling at this moment and where are you playing these days or weeks?

Hi Mate thx for invite us! We’re coming from a little break and ready to start the new season. Atm we are a little busy with some new productions and super excited for the next gigs at Kablys + Club in Vilnius and the opening party of the new season Futura at Dude Club Milan. Where did the name Younger Than Me came from? Who thought of it, and what it is supposed to mean or represent?

Actually it’s easier than you expect: Francesco (younger), Marcello ( Than Me) It can maybe sound silly but we thought that it sounded good ad a name, so here we are: Younger Than Me!

How did this fantastic adventure start for you? How did the band come together?

We know each other from 5 years or 6 years ago, when Francesco moved to Milan. We started to collaborate in the same crew at Tunnel Club as two different solo projects, but then, 4 years ago, we decide to create something new and different together.

How have things developed since you started?

It’s been hard, a lot! LOL first of all a duo project need a perfect empathy because you need to create and play and produce with 2 brains and 4 hands.

We changed a lot in this 4 years of collab, we started with an 80’s disco, italo and new wave sound for the two ep’s with Bordello a Parigi; then we started to put a kind of new electronic influence for the Relish Record’s release. In the Tusk Wax 27 and the new upcoming stuff instead, you will find some 90s “rave euphoria” vibe.

How did you discover electronic music?

First of all we are clubber! We come from the dancefloors from different ages and trends, but for sure we discovered electronic music as fans.

What music has influenced you? Are there any that could surprise you? Are there any musical guideposts or influences that led you to have the sound you make?

Francesco: This is a difficult question, i listen a lot of different of music, from the 80’s to the 90’s periods, but i think Underworld, Happy Mondays, LCD Soundsystem, Moby, Bowie and Joy Division are the biggest ones.

Marcello: I’m in love with new romantic and synth pop period, Visage, Bronsky Beat, John Carpenter but I also love Ennio Morricone, Hans Zimmer and Vangelis.

This is YTM! The different backgrounds that we have improve our style and we hope it is perceived in our productions and dj set.

How did you first break into Djing?

As we told u before we are clubbers and inside both of us there’s, of course, the desire and need to have fun, But when u become a Dj the perspective changes and you start getting the adrenaline by entertaining the people,by seing them having fun and by sending “your message” and your emotions with your music (or selections).

One of the main features of your approach as a DJ is to both entertain and educate an audience. What in your opinion makes an artist great, besides talent and dedication?

Passion for sure and not being afraid to get off the grid.

Is there a particular thing that you look for in music? What was the first idea on you did build the sound of Younger Than Me? Has that sound changed a lot over recent years? What is your music criterion?

We change a lot in these 4 years of collab,

As we said before, we started with a 80’s disco, italo e new wave sound, to arrive to thid 90’s rave sound in the very last stuff. We’re basically like Chameleons. In our opinion, staying focused on just one genre could get boring, so we try to make a real cross-over with all of our passions and visions

How would you describe your sound? Your music mixes elements of techno, disco, electro… how would you describe your music to someone who has never heard any of your songs?

It’s always quite difficoult to describe our sound, but we really appreciated a description from one of the last reviews of our ep: “A perfect link between the old rave party and the new influences from Europe Club”

Your latest EP is your most diverse and intense work so far. What was your concept when you started to work on it?

We usually don’t start to produce with a specific concept, but just with some few ideas about the mood and about what we want to play in that moment.

Can you already tell us into which sound directions the new songs will go?

We can give you a clue : #makeravegreatagain 😊

Do you often get in the studio with clear ideas and everything well tied or leave something for improvisation and inspiration at the moment?

It depends. Sometimes we really know we want, but others times we just improvise starting from a basic idea.

Could you describe your creative process? How do you usually go about making a track?

Listen to music, we know It might seem obvious but it isn’t. Listening to dj sets, live music or also a movie’s soundtrack can be stimulating to find an inspiration for a new track.

What are the key challenges that independent/underground musicians encounter?

At the beginning one of the biggest problem for newcomer musicians is that the labels doesn’t listen to yours works, so you need to proceed step by step. It is also important to create connections with other artists and people who works in the scene.

What are you most hungry for in life?

To have the possibility to live with our passion, in this case with Music.

What would be your all-time ultimate venue/festival to play at?

We actually just started this journey, so we don’t have a specific venue or festival where we want to play at. We enjoy to play everywhere and we just try to take the best from all of them.

Do you have any vision or personal predictions about music evolving in the future and its position in the world?

We think that music, like other arts or like fashion, is a circle: you basically take inspirations and influences from other ages and mix them with the new “trends”.

Upcoming projects?

We got many. At the moment we’re pretty busy with the studio work, so u can expect some “hot” news soon 😊