Follow The Feeling: A Chat With Luca Piermattei After The Release Of The ‘Sound From The Heart’ EP
We catch up with the rising underground talent, talking about what he’s been up to in the last months, his studio approach, his London and Ibiza infuences and more
Listen as you read:
Interview by Henry Ivry.
The first time I heard Luca Piermattei was on an EYA Various Artist release back in 2018. It was an impressive record all around, but Piermattei's track was easily the cream-of-the-crop. It was light and bubbly with cheeky flecks of acid, but it also had a bit of that ineffable deepness. You know what I'm talking about as soon as you hear it - it's a certain warmth and depth that transforms a tool into a proper track. Needless to say, I was pretty curious about the producer and made sure to add a couple of strategic Juno alerts and kept an eye out for his next releases.
As it would turn out, 2019 was would be a breakout year. Piermattei turned out serious firepower on a series of who's who labels, including HardWorkSoftDrink, Colt Music, Open Channel for Dreamers, and Kontrast Records, but it was his entry for his label Polarity Records that really stood out. It had all the teeth of classic 90s acid techno (the type someone like Nicolas Lutz loves), but it also had wells of emotion, bringing little flourishes of Warp era tenderness to chrome-and-steel techno templates.
Since then, Piermattei has only continued to refine his sound and, as we hear about below, this can be traced back to his musical lineage - he grew up in a house that had more records than Dr. Seuss books. This was a passion that took him to London and then Ibiza where he honed his skills behind the decks before taking the leap into production. As we now get ready to return to clubbing, Piermattei's most recent release for System Error’s sub-label, ‘Sound From The Heart’, sounds like the type of future classics we'll want to hear out sweating next to strangers. If there is any song that captures both the excitement and apprehension of clubbing in 2021, it may very well be lead single, "The Cycles of Nature." As I mentioned in my Resident Advisor review of the track Piermattei paints with a wider palette - bringing in some fierce UKG-informed low-ends alongside his typically introspective melodies. It's another showstopping release for a producer on the rise.
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us! We can imagine it's been a long 15-months. How are you doing? How have you been coping this past year? Has much changed for you?
Hi guys, thanks to you for the interview, and congratulations for your channel, always very interesting. Well...certainly they have been very special months for anyone, especially for those who work in the music world. I had to readjust myself by doing other jobs, but always making music and digging as I like.
From the outside, it seems like you've been keeping busy with a steady stream of releases and a few more forthcoming. Have you found this time inspirational? Productive?
The pandemic has postponed some of my releases that should have been released in 2020, and the latest ones were released with the right timing, I am very happy with all of these, I have received excellent feedback, in recent months I have been able to experiment a lot in the studio and it has been very productive for me.
Taking it back to your roots, we're eager to hear how you connected to electronic music. We hear your dad was a DJ? How did your upbringing and hometown shape you?
My father has a strong passion for music, and I grew up with many records at home. Growing up he transmitted this passion to me very strongly and I dedicated myself to it from a very young age. I started playing in various clubs in the area and dedicated a few years later to musical productions.
“When I go to the studio I make music in a very natural way, I don't look for a genre but I try and experiment by searching for sounds based on how I feel”
Alongside your hometown, I know that you spent time in both London and Ibiza. How did those cities change or shape your musical tastes?
London has raised me a lot because it is a very advanced city, especially in electronic music. It was essential to be able to approach clubbing with various people from all over the world and even older and more experienced than me, many musical influences helped me to form my music style. Ibiza also taught me a lot, the chill-ambient and abstract influence I took from there, and made me realise that I have to focus more on musical production.
You've clearly been involved in dance music for a long time, but it isn't until 2018 that you really start releasing your own productions. Do you feel more like a DJ or a producer? How do these two parts of your craft inform/speak to one another?
I started playing very young and producing a few years later, then in the studio I found a part of me that I didn't know, and I spend whole days there because it makes me feel good, but I also love to dig and play in clubs. Very well spent periods in the studio, and other periods to dedicate myself only to digging and DJing, they are 2 different jobs but they can be great together.
What I love about your productions is how emotional they feel (no matter what genre you are working in), but that there is also a lightness about them (I'm thinking here of that Kontrast record in particular). How do you approach choosing songs for a new EP?
When I go to the studio I make music in a very natural way, I don't look for a genre but I try and experiment by searching for sounds based on how I feel, when I find the sounds that I feel are most mine in that period, I record and work on them, certain periods I record softer things like the EP on Kontrast, other periods things a little harder, but always keeping my touch.
As a producer, it's exciting to watch you move across so many labels. Can you describe how you approach production and finding a home for your records? Do you feel that these labels (from HardWorkSoftDrink to System Error) are part of a larger community or scene?
Every release and label has its own story, for example I met Max and the hardworksoftdrink crew at Robert Johnson and I was attracted to their vibes, as people, I sent them many tracks and after a long time the EP came out.
Moses is a good guy and he knows how to do his job well. I really like the System Error project for the idea that there are also experimental tracks and not just dancefloor. This music comes from the heart and not from making money, it is also coming to bigger channels and parties and there is a lot more following than a few years ago.
Speaking of labels you co-run Polarity Records. One thing that is striking about Polarity is that you've worked pretty extensively with artists who have been in the scene for some time (e.g. Darren Nye, Andy Ratzen, Ewan Jansen). Why was it important to work with these established artists first? Was that intentional? The next release is from a younger producer - is this a shift in the direction of the label?
Well, it was not intentional to work with these artists but it all came naturally, they are all great artists. For Polarity we are looking for original and quality music, not only experienced artists, Modex is young, and he is really a very good talent.
“Every release and label has its own story”
We are getting near the end of the pandemic (or so we hope!). Do you feel the dance music world has changed?
The world of dance music has taken a hard hit but I'm sure it will rise stronger than before.
What are you most looking forward to this summer?
For this summer I hope that the pandemic will go away definitively or almost, to be able to go back to dancing peacefully like before, and for the rest of our days.
