Eduardo de la Calle

If there’s one word music journalism truly loves, it’s “reclusive”. Another one would be “prolific”. In the case of Eduardo de la Calle neither would be a hyperbole: The Spanish producer lives in a remote area near the mountains and has put out eight EPs in 2015 alone. For Groove, he sat down with the Italian DJ and producer Marco Faraone who runs Uncage, the label on which de la Calle’s newest EP Klassiker Elektronischen has just been released to talk DJing as shamanism, gear and the future.

Marco Faraone asks Eduardo De La Calle

Which Equipment do you use when producing? Do you have a favourite piece of studio gear at the moment?
I produce mainly with Korg Poly 61, Yamaha DX 27, Akai MPC 5000 3 Units, Clavia Nord Lead and Protools Sequencer. My favourite piece of studio gear is the Akai MPC 5000, with this machine you neever know what’s going to happen next. It’s really unexpected in terms of edition, sound control and effects, I really recommend it.

Why are you so interested in the German language and – as the titles of your EP for Uncage suggest – German Romanticism lately?
I like the German language mainly because of its difficulty. I tried to learn the language when I was living in Germany and it was a very hard task! I got homesick and frustrated because it wasn’t easy. In terms of German Romanticism, I find it very enriching. I believe in the direct relationship between language and music, so making electronic music and putting lyrics on the track, it makes sense to me.

What do you think about the media?
Today, everyone says that it is necessary to have the support of the media and your product can go much further. But from my point of view, I think it’s much more important to focus on creating a product that you’re happy with, without thinking about how far it could go, who will like it and who won’t.

What is the best gig you’ve ever played?
One of my best gigs was in Vietnam, I was stunned at how people felt the music I was playing. The different styles of music and the audience was something that I wasn’t expecting there but it works!

Do you have any plans and projects for the future?
I’m always thinking how to improve and to give my best in the studio. I want to continue doing new things with video and audio and collaborating with big and small labels, like Uncage who are very creative.

Eduardo de Calle asks Marco Faraone

What’s the best thing about being a DJ?
Being a DJ is first of all my passion and luckily today my job. When I started out as a DJ, I wasn’t even thinking about the idea of potentially playing outside of my small hometown. So for me to travel the world and play my music, it’s a satisfaction that has no price. It’s the best thing ever when your passion is your job. Being a DJ is like being a shaman, we have the ability to make your mind travel, make your body move with the music, forget your problems, guide and communicate sensations to the crowd in that moment.

Do you think that human life, with all the magic that it has, has been created to record Techno or House music in a recording studio and then to travel every weekend and perform?
I think that life has created energy and you can use this energy to produce something positive, like music, art and culture. These have been created because somebody wanted to share a message or just to bring out something innovative or just different. I don’t think that human life has been created to produce Techno, House music or even to travel for gigs; but we’re here for a reason. For us DJs, being a DJ is like a ‘mission’ and that mission is to share our message with people through our own music.

Does living in Italy influence your music style? What do you think of the current Italian Electronic Scene?
In Tuscany, we have had a nice club scene for many years. Tenax in Florence, where I’ve been a resident for 3 years, is a part of the history of Italian Club Culture. In my opinion, it’s one of the best clubs in the world. I started DJing when I was 14. Since then I discovered House and Techno music and I was going to the best clubs in my area every week, like Tenax, KamaKama or FrauMarleen. The current Italian Music Scene is amazing, there are so many good and well known clubs and I would say that we have one of the best crowds in the world!

Do you think music and Techno Culture will be dependent entirely on the Internet? Do you think there will be DJs in the future or a bunch of guys with their computers that have forgotten the art of mixing?
I like and respect the art of DJing. I started playing with turntables, playing difficult styles of music to mix like Hip Hop and then Drum’n’Bass. I’ve tried so many different ways to play music and I’ve also experimented with different instruments, but at the end I went back to my first love, vinyl. Vinyl has become popular again in the last year or so, hopefully the music industry has noticed this and will start releasing more tracks on vinyl as there is a demand for it. Of course there will be the DJs who really play music and there will be the ‘bunch of guys with their computers’. At the end of the day, the important thing is the result and the music you play. If someone’s a supernerd and he only plays vinyl but he plays bad music, that isn’t going to get the crowd moving. The perfect combination would be to play vinyl (to support the scene and value the music) but also have a good music selection.

Who for you is the best Electronic music producer ever and why?
I’m a big fan of Robert Hood, a producer who makes super high class music. He’s a very eclectic artist, who for sure will have a space in my record bag. DJ wise, I like Laurent Garnier because he’s able to jump through different styles and he creates a magic wave in his DJ set. He’s not a DJ, he’s THE DJ! My big hero and it would be a dream come true to share the decks with him or maybe collaborate one day.

Stream: Eduardo de la Calle – Klassiker Elektronischen

Eduardo de la Calle – Klassiker Elektronischen (Uncage)