Swiss-Italian DJ Maurizio Colella, better known as EDX, has been bringing his unique style to cities across the world for 25 years. Producing for 20 years under current nom de guerre, That’s PRD caught up with him after a raucous show Friday night in Shenzhen’s Club Pepper. We asked about his move to club-friendly music, how often he gives up on a track and China's role in the DJ world.
So are you Italian or Swiss?
I’m Italian-Swiss. If there were a soccer game, I would definitely support the Italian side.
How was the show last night?
It was a ton of fun, a lot of people. It’s always fun to play in Asian countries, especially China where the distribution of music and social media has a completely different take than other countries. People were dancing, having fun and they knew a lot of my songs. Great show, hope to be back again soon!
What’s your routine before playing a show?
Sleep. A lot of sleep.
Watch the music video for 'Road Kill' by EDX below (VPN off):
What’s your most memorable party experience?
It’s hard to pick just one experience – you’re traveling the world week after week, different continents, every experience is a special experience, especially if you go to a country you’ve never played before. One moment you can be in a small studio in Zurich producing music, then the next you’re traveling the world, meeting people who know your songs, who know the words and who are excited about your music.
Without naming any names, what’s the worst set you ever played?
To be super sincere – no worst experience. There are experiences when you are super excited to play a show and it turns out Mother Nature doesn't support you, like a storm or something, and you miss a flight and miss a show. That's the worst experience for DJs.
What's a part of the job that most people don't think about?
In the beginning, when you start to DJ, you have to put in a lot of time working on your own music, working on your signature sound. Even today with the new social media generation you have to still work really hard.
You also work really hard to create a family and a team around you – a lot of people don’t know or expect that. But all in all, it’s a lot of fun. It’s great to do what I do.
You’re noted for switching to a more club-friendly style in 2013. Why?
It was a natural movement back to my roots when I released my own music in 1998. Back then, everything was much more funky, much more soulful. I used my progressive house roots and the music became less packed – it had more breathing room.
In fact, I just slowed down the music, but have kept the EDX signature sound since around 2007.
A lot more foreign DJs are touring in China. What role is China playing in the DJ world?
It’s a super unexplored country when it comes to electronic music. I guess electronic music was always here, but China is getting more involved with the market. It used to be very closed.
Now that the music is coming over, we need to get people to understand it and all its different genres.
You’ve been active since the 90s and seen the technology change so much. What’s the biggest change?
The Internet. Back in the day, the amount of people you reached was limited to the amount of records you could produce. You produced 1,000 records, you reached 1,000 people. After sending the records out, you had to wait for the feedback. Sometimes the records were sent back, sometimes you were asked to send more.
Even if you had talent, you had to pay at least USD15,000 for the most basic (music production) equipment. Many times, your only chance was to have a big record company invest a lot of money in popular radio distribution.
Now it’s easier for musicians to compete, but on the flip side it also means competition is larger, it’s harder to get your music heard. You can just download software and produce music as long as you’re talented and understand music, and it doesn’t cost you anything like it used to.
I read that it took you two years to make ‘On the Edge,’ how long does it take you to bring a song from idea to finished track?
Typically four hours. But understand, the idea doesn’t start when I’m in the studio. You get inspired during a normal day.
If you’re very lucky, the idea grows very fast and you can finish it very quickly. If you really want to work on a track, you need to test it out in a club, go back and tweak things and make sure it works in the crossover market.
Ninety-five percent of my songs are done in one day. The other 5 percent is just tweaking things around.
How often do you scrap a song?
Lately, because the signature sound has become so close to the (EDX) brand, there are more outtakes. I usually work 30 minutes and decide if I should just start over again. The outtakes are not based on the fact that I don't like them, but just that they’re not going where I want to lead.
[Images via Club Pepper]
0 User Comments