italy

Milan, Design Week 2024, a big party in a wonderful location with Meduza’s Mattia Vitale at the DJ booth. Waves of people reach the dance floor: first a group of Dutch designers in their 40s dancing with cocktails in hand, then a wave of 20-year-olds raising their hands in the air when they hear the hooks of “Piece of Your Heart” and “Lose Control.” At the end, everyone passionately sings Daft Punk’s “One More Time,” while Mattia has fun playing with the effects. Meduza are capable of making themselves loved by a transversal audience.

If artists like Daft Punk have exported the “French touch” to the rest of the world, then Meduza could be considered flag bearers of the “Italian touch,” the tradition of Italian DJs and producers who have transmitted a certain style in dance music, from Giorgio Moroder to Tale of Us.

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Before the interview, they have some fun commenting on a handful of 12-inch vinyl singles contained in a DJ bag. The eyes of Mattia Vitale, Luca De Gregorio and Simone Giani lit up when looking at the covers of tracks that made the history of dance music. “Groovejet” by Spiller, “Needin’ U” by David Morales, “Music Sounds Better With You” by Stardust, just to mention a few.

Now it’s their turn to speak, in the aftermath of their new single “Fire,” the official anthem of the European football championship.

You have a lot of gigs this summer — more than 40 in three months.

Mattia Vitale: Plus some pre-shows at Cafè Mambo in Ibiza!

Luca De Gregorio: Those are cool. We mix for an hour, sometimes back-to-back with some guests, while the sun sets. In Ibiza we also play at “Our House” parties at Hï.

You are now regulars in Ibiza. Has your audience changed in recent years?

Vitale: In my opinion there is a completely different generation than before, and the average age has dropped a lot.

Simone Giani: The type of music offered is also changing. I could say that it is much more linked to international successes than in the past, when DJs tried to maintain that certain Ibizan identity in the sounds.

Vitale: Obviously in July and August the island becomes much more musically commercial, due to the type of tourists who arrive. But compared to the past, Ibiza has become more open to the demands of what the audience wants. In September, you will also find industry insiders in the clubs and that segment of pure clubbers, true enthusiasts and many Americans. At that time of the season, you can really have fun and feel more free as a DJ.

You are experts at DJing in every situation. What does it mean for you as a DJ to be on the decks at Tomorrowland and then move on to the decks at Lollapalooza, to give two examples?

Vitale: This is all very interesting. I grew up as a resident DJ, so always used to changing the set depending on the audience or the type of evening. For me, the fact that I play in different situations every week also helps myself to be able to work on the tracks, on the edits, and to completely change my perspective. Of course, when you go to play a festival you have to play your own music. We present ourselves as Meduza: we are there because the public expects our performance, with our productions.

Giani: At Tomorrowland, we feel like we are in our natural habitat, within the company of other DJs and producers, while at Lollapalooza we are among bands and artists who do something completely different. It is precisely at that moment that we often feel even more gratified, because our singles played on the radio or streamed online bring together a diverse audience that you often find at festivals, such as Lollapalooza.

The acceptance of dance music at festivals began between 1997 and 1998 with Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk, remember? People who danced to rock began to respect clubbers and mix with them.

De Gregorio: In the last 15 years, electronic music has really exploded as a presence at festivals, as well as having created a circuit of festivals where the genre is dominant. Today, electronic music has the same value as genres such as rock, pop, hip-hop.

Giani: You mentioned the Chemical Brothers. What comes to mind is not only their courage to play at festivals where rock was the main genre, but also the fact that they managed to make a difference! This reminds me of my time at the conservatory: I too did my act of courage by demonstrating my interest and passion for dance music. I remember finding myself mocked most of the time!

Italy has always exported great dance music. Your tracks have a sense for melody that is also the result of this long tradition.

Vitale: Sure. We grew up with Italian pop music from an early age. We feel that legacy emerge when we get into the studio, where we always make a mix of all the experiences we have in our heads. Those melodies become present again.

Giani: I grew up with the songs of Lucio Battisti and Lucio Dalla, for example. From the 17th century onwards, we Italians have been masters of melody.

Vitale: In the ranking of the most listened to Italian authors in the world, there is Vivaldi! Luckily, I’d say.

Giani: I don’t really like very rhythmic DJ sets without melody. I respect “purist” techno DJs, but for me it’s an approach that becomes monotonous after a while. I need breaks, singing and melodies that take you on a journey. That’s what we do in our DJ sets.

Your case is special. Thanks to your hit songs, even the most traditional media play your music, but today many good Italian artists of the electronic scene are not broadcast on radio or TV.

De Gregorio: I can’t explain it. It’s strange, because in Italy in the ’90s, dance music reigned everywhere, becoming a global phenomenon. Then evidently our dance music lost appeal on TV and radio.

Giani: Since then, dance music has often been considered a second-class production.

Yet today many hip-hop, trap and even pop artists flirt a lot with contemporary dance.

Vitale: The thing that really saddens me is that there are artists who gather large audiences with their shows and don’t have visibility elsewhere. Benny Benassi and Tale of Us have a media impact, yet the reaction of the mainstream media is close to zero. There is also a certain lack of respect, if we consider that we are all “children” of Giorgio Moroder, who exported that Italian touch we are talking about to the world. It’s sad to achieve success first abroad and then in Italy. When we enter some recording studios abroad, we see that there are a lot of Italians working there who had to go there to demonstrate their skills. In our country, they didn’t give them a chance.

With your latest single, “Fire,” you worked on commission for the first time.

De Gregorio: You don’t know how many versions we have made. … We have more than a thousand files in one folder! For that track we worked with a great professional, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic.

The thing that strikes me about your productions is that in seven years, you have produced seven hit songs. On one hand, you are not very prolific, you don’t release a lot of new music. But on the other hand, it is not easy to churn out a sure hit every year.

Vitale: We prefer quality over quantity. Everything that comes out of the studio must be approved and precise. Before starting the interview, we were talking about the vinyl of David Morales’, “Needin’ U”: Before releasing it, he tested it in DJ sets, and only after seeing the public’s reaction did he decide to release it as a single. It is now one of the classics of house music.

De Gregorio: The opposite happened to us. For the third single, after “Lose Control,” we were sure we wanted to release a certain song. It was conceived during the pandemic, so it hadn’t had the opportunity to get played in clubs. After the lockdown, we tested it live. We looked at each other and immediately changed direction. Then we worked on “Paradise.” Testing a track “on field” has always helped us; it’s an advantage of dance music that other genres don’t have.

Meduza

Cosimo Buccolieri/Billboard Italy

–This article originally appeared in Billboard Italy

If the evening of July 17 in Lajatico, Tuscany, celebrating 30 years of Andrea Bocelli‘s career were a film, it would be an American blockbuster. In the Teatro del Silenzio (“Theater of Science”), a fairytale place among the Tuscan hills that only opens once a year and is in its 19th edition, there were big names as guests, an amazing stage, and the most loved Italian songs in the world, including “O Sole Mio” and “Funiculì Funiculà.”
“I tried not to be overwhelmed by emotions,” Bocelli said the next day. “I tried to express them, to convey them through each song, each duet, while maintaining the cold blood necessary to complete this bet, as beautiful as it is large, ambitious and – I can say it now – also a little risky, given the amount of songs, the lineup, the many people involved.”

A guest list like this onstage hadn’t been seen since the times of “Pavarotti and Friends.” In fact, for the first time Bocelli virtually duetted with the image of Luciano Pavarotti, who appeared in a video behind him for “Notte ‘e Piscatore.”

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At “Andrea Bocelli 30 – The Celebration,” the percentage of foreigners was close to 90% of the 12,000 present every evening (July 15, 17 and 19), as explained by Veronica Berti, Bocelli’s wife and organizer of the event. Most of the visitors come from the United States, but also from Congo, Peru, Spain and South America. In many cases these are people who return to the Teatro del Silenzio every year.

Bocelli himself sought the reason for this feeling of affection toward him. “I believe that it is an audience that still knows how to get excited and frankly express its feelings, that is capable of having fun, of being moved, as well as enjoying good music. Every time I go onstage, what I want most is to give back to those present a bit of positivity and serenity, lighting a smile in them, a moment of tenderness. When this impulse of mine is seized, I am happy. Just as I am happy that many return to the Teatro del Silenzio year after year, undertaking long journeys to experience the concert and also what Italy is able to express, from art to cuisine. It is that ‘culture of beauty’ that we sometimes underestimate, but which the whole world loves.”

One of the main reasons that pushed Bocelli to organize such an event in his hometown is to be able to show artists of that level to his fellow citizens. It’s not every day you see José Carreras, Placido Domingo, Ed Sheeran, Lang Lang, Laura Pausini, Tiziano Ferro, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Russell Crowe and Zucchero on the same stage.

The evening of July 17 was a great celebration for all those who love Italy and its music, not just that of Andrea Bocelli. “I also thought of my parents, to whose memory I dedicated the first edition of the Teatro del Silenzio,” said Bocelli. “I like to think that every note that rose between those hills that they loved so much reached them in heaven.”

The sky was cobalt blue, the moon was in the background, the temperature was perfect as the sun went down. The large orchestra took its place. A child entered the scene and started a record player playing “O Sole Mio” (from Bocelli’s live album Night in Central Park). Bocelli descended from a high silver staircase in the center of the stage, which seemed to point to the sky, starting the show.

The first part had an operatic flavor, apart from the presence of Zucchero, who came onstage already in the fourth piece with “Miserere.” Then came two protagonists of opera: Placido Domingo and José Carreras. Also worth mentioning are the baritone Franco Vassallo and the soprano Nadine Sierra, who gave a very touching moment with “Vicino a Te S’acqueta,” from the opera Andrea Chenier. Meanwhile, the 500 drones above the heads of the audience reproduced a moving starry sky and the staircase became a triangle on which the videos were projected.

The second part of the evening was no less sumptuous. Kicking things off was none other than Will Smith, who performed the lyrics to “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” written by Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein at the end of World War II with music by Richard Rodgers.

Then Lang Lang arrived. The Chinese pianist played “Ritual Fire Dance,” leaving everyone astonished. Then it was the moment of Virginia, Bocelli’s daughter, who is only 12 years old and had already shown a great love for music. She sang “You Raise Me Up,” a title that couldn’t be more appropriate.

Another exceptional guest took to the stage, a great friend of the host, Laura Pausini. He sat on the piano to accompany Pausini for Charles Aznavour’s “She.” In the end, Pausini wanted to say how all this reminded her of her beginnings at the piano bar, just like Bocelli himself. “At the time we were happy to sing for a few people, as much as we are now to be in front of such a large audience,” she said.

After her, it was Russell Crowe’s turn, who has the perfect vocal timbre and attitude to sing Leonard Cohen’s “Take This Waltz” alone. Then it was the Bocelli brothers’ turn. Matteo sang his “Honesty” accompanied by Amos on the piano.

Bocelli then introduced the next international guest. “One day a guy who was already quite famous and already playing stadiums came to me,” he says. “We recorded a song together, but he let me know that my part wasn’t right. He asked me to do it again, and he was right! That song now has half a billion views on YouTube.” Ed Sheeran came onstage, and together they sang “Perfect Symphony.”

The surprises didn’t end, because Johnny Depp took to the stage as guitarist. He and Bocelli performed a cover of “En Aranjuez con Tu Amor” in honor of their late friend Jeff Beck, who died last year; all three played it together in 2020. At the end of the performance, Johnny Depp said how important it was to play that piece, which made you imagine that Jeff was there with them.

Finally, Laura Pausini returned to the stage, this time in a duet with Tiziano Ferro on “Invece No.”

The three evenings of “Andrea Bocelli 30 – The Celebration” will become a film with the same title, directed by Grammy nominee and Emmy Award winner Sam Wrench.

The album Duets (Decca Records / Sugar Music) will be released Oct. 25 and will bring together many of the collaborations of the last three decades, but also new songs, for a total of 32 tracks. The album will feature duets with Ed Sheeran, Céline Dion, Sarah Brightman, Dua Lipa, Jennifer Lopez, Giorgia and Luciano Pavarotti, and new duets recorded specifically for this album with Shania Twain, Chris Stapleton, Gwen Stefani, Marc Anthony, Karol G , Sofia Carson, Lauren Daigle, Elisa, Matteo Bocelli and Hans Zimmer.

At the end of the year, the documentary Andrea Bocelli: Why I Believe will also be released, telling his story from his beginnings in piano bars until today. In the winter, Bocelli will be on tour in North America, for 10 dates in San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Uncasville and Miami, as well as returning to New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden York for two concerts. The tour will begin in San Diego on Nov. 4 and conclude in Miami on Dec. 22.