Luca Bacchetti Interview

Words-Art Jefferson
Images courtesy of Luca Bacchetti

Luca Bacchetti isn’t concerned with “titles”. What matters most is the artistic merit and the final execution of what was created. In other words, is it a great work of art? It is that creative love that keeps this producer and DJ continually touring the world and releasing intricate electronic music that captures crowds throughout.

Part of Luca Bacchetti’s passion can be traced to his Italian roots. Born in Lucca, Italy, Bacchetti touched various aspects of the arts. From painting to production, the desire to create proved inseparable. He eventually crafted a sound that defined audible sex appeal. Whether house music, techno or even nu disco, many of his records evoked a sense of wanting to release the self and become vulnerable to the rhythm.

In 2005, Luca Bacchetti’s songs “Any Revenge” and “Night Disturber” with Pokai, appeared on the Tenax Crew Vol. 1 compilation. He went on to record a series of records for the Tenax label including the EPs “When Less Is Better”, “Equilibrium”, “Rena Majore” as well as the “La Fotografia” single with Alex Neri. Bacchetti continued to produce of a slew of recordings, building a catalogue that boasted an impressive body of work with releases on Defected Records, Ovum Recordings, Hideout, Culprit and more. His remix work includes Danny Tenaglia, Satoshie Tomiie and Toolroom Records’ Koolwah, just to name a few.

As a DJ, Luca Bacchetti has established a solid reputation as club sure shot. Packing venues such as Fabric, Space, Cielo, Panarama Bar, Pacha and countless others, his festive to deep selections are indeed a musical voyage. Perhaps each space is a palette with every song acting as a fine stroke on the canvas, eventually forming a bigger, beautiful picture. This is the love of the art.

Now calling Barcelona, Spain home, Luca Bacchetti’s uncanny love for traveling the world was one of the inspirations and motivations for establishing his Endless imprint. Under the label, he has released the dreamy record “Atlantic”, “El Maravilloso Mundo De Xilitla” and the “Who Can You Trust?” EP – featuring the track “Loneliness”, with Guti. Luca Bacchetti’s latest offering is his two disco compilation for Arkitekt Recordings which is a mixture of tech, deep and cutting edge house.

Luca Bacchetti is a renaissance man who lives for what he does. Through the use of various mediums of music and visuals, he has used each tool as a means of sharing his passions with a wider audience. Each result has been truly amazing, proving to be the work of a true artist.

AJ-You’ve been living in Barcelona for a few years now. Has residing in Spain contributed to the way you produce tracks? Many of your songs have great swinging percussions which to fit perfectly in a Spanish and Latin American environment.

LB-When I decided to move to Barcelona, my thinking was that the city would have acted as a further stimulus to my already sunny disposition. Obviously cities like Berlin are absolutely fantastic, but they just don’t have that element which I’m always looking for.

My sound was already very funky and rich with percussions before I got here. The reason is simple: I’m 100% Italian! There’s Latin flowing through my veins; but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for introspection too. It is the continual searching which feeds my enthusiasm and motivates me in my work. Plus Barcelona is the most Latin American city we have here in Europe. When I’m in Peru or Argentina I feel at home… in some Barcelona neighbourhoods there’s a real South American feel, it’s great!

AJ-People know you for producing electronic music but you also have a strong love for Hip-Hop as well. During the 90s, Hip-Hop and house music could be played in the same clubs, especially with the Hip-Hop dancers also being house dancers. Over time, they became segregated. At this point in time, do you think that clubbers are becoming more open-minded to hearing Hip-Hop and house in the same night?

LB-Talk of styles is something which is more of interest to the press than someone who just wants to have fun. Anyhow, it’s a wheel that keeps turning and the styles are constantly evolving. At the end of the 80s and during the 90s Hip-Hop was something else to what it is now and represented a whole different world. I’m no prophet but I really believe that the day will come when you can play everything in a club. After all there are only two kinds of music: good and bad, and they should take the release date off the covers!

AJ-You have released music on various labels such as Ovum, Defected, Crosstown Rebels, Culprit and more. What prompted you to start your own label Endless?

LB-Basically, (it was) just the need to manage something on a more intimate level, where anything is possible, without rules or stylistic limitations. ENDLESS is born of wonder, we are immersed in a world with an infinity of places to see and music to discover … if you allow yourself to be influenced and live by this wonder, and thanks to this job I’m very privileged in this sense – you begin to understand that there is more to it than meets the eye…there’s something big worth celebrating. But the important things are the desire, the imagination. At 15 I was already traveling with my mind, we must question ourselves and work on that.

AJ-You’ve recently worked on the second mix series for Arkitekt. This is a double CD release. Sonically what journey did you want to take the listeners on?

LB-The chance to mix a double Arkitekt CD has given me the opportunity to capture a photo of this moment in my life via two distinct paths, with as many facets and colours as possible, without being conditioned by a specific stylistic constraint. The right context for a classic DJ Set is the Club; but this CD has a different conception because, although inspired by the club scene, you will be listening to it in other settings. Therefore its construction is based on different criteria: those of colours. Whereas the first disk begins with deep tones which transform into a rich palette of bright colours, the second disk is more introspective with even deeper tones. It’s as if from within the colour spectrum as I start from green as the centre, to then set off and explore the opposites.

AJ-When creating mix albums, does it allow you a bigger palette to express yourself musically opposed to strictly producing individual records or is it the same freedom?

LB-In the end I always decide which territory to explore…the difference is that a mix album contains a lot of music which isn’t mine, which I feel really in tune with; but wouldn’t necessarily have been able to produce. We are each unique, as is our music. In this I am free, but I am never satisfied, I always want to do (not have) more. Let’s not kid ourselves – freedom is something very few really have because the market place imposes certain compromises. That boy in his bedroom in many cases disappears and transforms into someone else.

AJ-One of your big inspirations for creating is your love of travel. Which cities do you fancy the most for inspiration?

LB-I could answer all of them! The crazy thing is that when I retire to my Tuscan mountains, my mind invariably wonders to NY or LA; but when I’m in those cities I think of how beautiful it would be to be back in Tuscany at 800 meters surrounded by my mountains. Only you can guide your music and make it fantastic.

AJ-Finally, you’re also a visual artist as well. Have you done any curating? That would be something great to see.

LB-It’s something I’ve been promising myself for 2 years; but because of time I haven’t been able to organise it yet. I’ve already got a clear idea of what I want to do, it’s just a matter of time.

Arkitekt 02: Luca Bacchetti is out July 15th on Arkitekt Recordings.