Photo: Press (Adiel)
Adiel‘s mix for our Groove podcast explores her key influences. Starting with a track by Rrose, the Goa Club resident also pays her dues to Stroboscopic Artefacts founder Lucy, Takaaki Itoh (twice) and of course her recent collaborator, Donato Dozzy while also showcasing new and forthcoming material of her. It’s a perfect introduction into the world of the hypnotic and sometimes otherworldy world of the Danza Tribale founder, who both in her productions and her sets has perfected the art of creating continuous yet ever-evolving grooves.
With Danza Tribale, you have launched your own record label in 2016. After a slew of releases with your own productions, DJ Red was the first artist to debut there with a solo EP. What’s the concept of the label – do you plan to open it up more for other producers?
Everything started in 2016 out of a personal need of freedom of expression, I suppose. Danza Tribale is focused on research of hypnotic music and exploring shades of tribal dances. It is intended to provide a bespoke platform for techno dynamics both obscure and profound, alternately wild and restrained, instinctive and functional. New things are shaping up with new artists coming on board.
Just like DJ Red, you are a resident at Rome’s Goa Ultrabeat parties. The club itself was formative for you in your early years as a raver and you quickly got on board, taking on a job there. What was your first experience with Goa like, and was the first time you got in touch with electronic music, too?
The moment I discovered I wanted to be a DJ came to me after a special set I’ve heard at Goa Club. That set opened my mind completely, I was mesmerised by the feelings I went through and I was able to keep that energy and those emotions with me for a long time. That’s when I got inspired, and in that same moment I told myself that I wanted to try to give other people the same feelings, too.
From your first EP Anatomia del Cavallo to your collaborative release Cavallina together with Donato Dozzy, horses have been a topic in your music twice now. How does that come about?
There is an amazing wooden horse that has been in front of the Goa club’s booth for many years. I used to stare at it all the time while playing and it has become a symbol for me and for the club itself.
Your latest release however took its inspiration from a book on psychology, Oliver Sacks’s Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. What drew you to the theses of the late neurologist and which impact did that have on the music we can hear on Musicofilia?
When I started reading Musicophilia by Sacks, it made me discover the neuroscience and the relationship between mind and music. Some of these concepts really resonated with me, so I explored a way of translating them in music.
In a video feature with Electronic Beats, you spoke about synaesthetic effects that music has on you – dark basses come in blue, jungle tracks in brown and red, and so on. Does this also affect you when you are working in the studio?
My music production is a direct consequence of what I see and feel, sometimes it’s based on an uncontrollable sensation of “hearing the sound of colours”, but at the same time it’s something that attracts me.
You are a vinyl-only or at least mostly-vinyl DJ and have been booked in 2019 more than ever, which means that sometimes you’ll have to pack for two or more gigs in different locations at once. How do you prepare your sets?
When I prepare for my sets I always keep in mind two things: where I am going to play and when. It’s not easy to prepare for two or more sets in one weekend, but I always try to make my personal interpretation of the place where I play. This is how I learned to be a DJ. Being a resident at Goa Club taught me to be open-minded about music and know no boundaries.
What was the idea behind your contribution to the Groove podcast?
My contribution to the Groove podcast features some of my favourite music old and new. I don’t often play a lot of my tracks but here you will find some of my unreleased works, too!
Last but not least: Where can we see you behind the decks in the near future and what are your plans as a producer and label owner?
There is a collaboration in the works with one of the artists that I have respected the most for a long time. I am talking about Anthony Linell aka Abdulla Rashim! We’ll be releasing our new EP Raso in December 2019 on Danza Tribale. There will also be a new track on Dystopian’s ten year anniversary compilation in Autumn, a new solo EP at the beginning of 2020 on a key techno label that I really like, and new gigs at ADE, Photon and Fabric.
Stream: Adiel – Groove Podcast 227
01. Rrose – Cavity [Eaux]
02. Beroshima – Interplugreaeaction (Marcel Dettmann Remix) [Dystopian]
03. Adiel – Unreleased
04. Lucy – Dyscamupia (Backwards) [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
05. Donato Dozzy – Vetta [Tresor]
06. Black Lotus – Geometry [Flash Recordings]
07. Jeff Derringer – Penalty Phase [Oktave Records]
08. Adiel – If not me, who? [Unreleased]
09. Regal – Still Raving [Involve Records]
10. Takaaki Itoh – Rooter [Planet Rhythm Records]
11. Lory D – Acid-CLX22 [Numbers]
12. Dawl – Bad Trip [Libertine Records]
13. Takaaki Itoh – Stonner [Planet Rhythm Records]
15. The Advent – Soond Pove [Klockworks]
16. Chom Dobu – _Alderson Disk [Atmophile Electronics]
17. Adiel – Musicofilia [ARA 002]
18. Truth – War of the Minds (ft. Werd2Jah)
19. Adiel – Unreleased
