SPECIAL GUESTS

Straight into it mate – the quick five…

* Where do you come from and where do you live?

I’m from a small town close to Rome, which is the place where I’ve born. I’m still living here because for me it’s the perfect place where to relax when I’m back from touring. It’s a green, quiet and traffic free place.

* Style that best describes your sound?

Trance music mostly.

* Favourite tune for 2009?

Beside my One Day I really fell in love with ‘THIS MOMENT’ Nic Chagall ft Jonathan Mendelsohn

* Best gig for 2009?

Transmission in Prague is probably one of the best this year

* When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I didn’t have a clear idea at that time but I was spreading music all over my home playing anything able to emit a sound

You started playing the piano at 4 and have a background of academic studies in classical music; when did you start getting into in electronic music?

I’ve been introduced to electronic music around the age of 14 thanks to a couple of friends of mine that gave me some Techno CDs. I immediately fell in love with the new sound but after a while I’ve got a little bit bored from those techno rhythms and I wanted to add some melody on top of techno beats. This is more or less how I discovered what was called Trance music in the rest of the Europe.

Do you think a classical background is important in order to have that “something more” when it’s time to produce new tunes?

Since the most important part of any of my production is the melody having a classical background and being able to play the piano helps me a lot. Even if technology developed a lot today helping producers in their work, still I can work much faster just playing my keyboard and to record it. In this way it’s also very easy to transfer what you have in mind into a production.

Do you think playing in club is the modern answer to the Opera of centuries ago?

No I don’t think so, you should have a full orchestra with their “new electronic instruments” playing live in a club, which would be a little complicate. What I’m doing is just a little part of it playing my keyboards in my live shows, and then technology does the rest of course. But still this is the best way for me to play my music and to communicate with the crowd since it allows me to perform my skills as a producer in front of a real audience.

You obviously collect lots of frequent flyer points travelling all over the world. What is the best place you visited so far this year?

I went to Buenos Aires a while ago and I really enjoyed staying there the day after my show. Great environment and above all great barbeque!!! Argentinean steak is simply the best.

You recently did a gig in Australia: how did the Australian crowds react to your music?

Great as always! I was touring for Cream together with Ferry Corsten and I definitely had a great time there. Can’t wait to come back.

Here on Global Soundsystem we are very excited to feature your album ‘GO!’ as AOTW: tell us the story behind this album. How did it all come together? Is there any part that has a particular meaning to you?

I didn’t plan it actually, it just happened. It took over one year of work because I was always busy touring with my shows and I had not much time for my studio-work, especially at the beginning. I was looking around to find some new artist to collaborate with and I found some great artists like John O’Callaghan, Tom Colontonio, Gate4 and some unknown but great singers like Faith and Francesco M. At one point I realized that I was able to make an album so I started to think about it. I tried to make a wide range of music to show people my vision of music in general including some Trance-, some Techno / Tecky- and some Vocal-tracks as well. That is a combination of the music that I like most and that touches me.

You live in the beautiful city of Rome: any good producers from Italy that you enjoy working with?

Josè Amnesia is a great producer, who lives about 2 hours away from my place. We had a great time working together in the past (NU NRG vs Rob Aker – Visual Sonar) and I will probably collaborate with him again in the next future.

You won a Trance Award in 2004 and 2006 for Best Live Act as part of the NU NRG outfit. Tell us more about your experience with NU NRG.

The Trance Award in 2004 was the only one with NU NRG, then I won the award in 2006 and again 2007 on my own. Of course the experience with NU NRG was amazing and I have great memories of that even because it was my first project and it allowed me to get into the dance scene. Despite that I’m feeling much better now going solo

You still play live now and you stated that you like the fact that in this way every show is unique. Any good memory of particularly special shows you would like to share with us?

Luckily I have lots of great memories but if you ask me for the most emotional one I must look back at 2002 when I played for the very first time at the Loveparade 2002 in Berlin. You know it’s like a “first love” you can never forget.

Titling a track ‘Thermopile’ is quite interesting: how did you have the idea to give this title and can you tell us what the hell it means?!

Technically speaking a thermopile is an electronic device that converts thermal energy into electrical energy. Thermopiles are the key component of the infrared thermometers that are widely used by medical professionals to measure body temperature via the ear, they are used widely in heat flux sensors as well.

BUT they are also used to measure the output power of a LASER and since I’ve always been amazed by laser shows in big festivals I wanted to use this related word for one of my productions. I’ve got the inspiration when I tested it (as a demo) for the first time at Mayday Poland 2007, there was a great laser show while I was playing that track!

Where from here my friend? What’s next in the world of GO?

I don’t have a specific next step planned but for sure you can expect lots of new music, new releases, new remixes and new collaborations as well. Someone says: “What ever the next year will bring for Giuseppe, it will be big!” Well I really hope to be able to do it and I’ll do my best for it.

The all important Producer’s picks…

* What software do you use to produce?

Steinberg Cubase 5 as main sequencer and a very few plugins like NI-Battery 3 or Spectrasonic Trilogy, but honestly I don’t use VSTs so much, I definitely prefer the analogue sound of my real keyboards.

* Favourite plug in?

In terms of dynamic processor Waves plugins do a pretty good job.

* Favourite Synth?

Access Virus TI and Novation Supernova II

* If you had to give away one secret what would it be?

I don’t have secrets at all, I can just suggest something: try to don’t make your music louder and louder at any cost and making everything louder than everything else compressing it until you see the vu meter completely frozen at full scale….it means you loose the dynamic of your track. A good guy (audio mastering engineer Bob Katz) says that if everything is loud then nothing is really loud…it’s just flat I would add.

I know, so many people will disagree with me but don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to discourage loud records I just want to prevent it to be “too much” and believe me sometime it happens.

* What was your favourite track to produce?

Changing Ways was the funniest. Francesco M. is a jazz singer and it was not easy to bring him into electronic music. I was explaining him what a club mix means for us but for Francesco a club mix is exactly the opposite. It’s the most atmospherical “mix” played with as less instruments as possible and performed in a very small and dark club with not many people around. So you can imagine what was this cooperation was like , but he was great!

Tell us something no one knows about Giuseppe Ottaviani!

I live at a lake and 20 minutes from the sea …and I don’t like fish!

Links

Giuseppe Ottaviani official website
Giuseppe Ottaviani on Facebook
Giuseppe Ottaviani on Twitter
GO! microsite