Italy looms large in the imagination. Whether it's Antika Ekberg dossing about in the Trevi Fountain in La Dolce Vita or Rob Brydon channeling Michael Caine as he stuffs his gob with ravioli on the Amalfi coast, the country brings us an endless array of pleasures to think about on the grey, dismal days, when it seems like England is drowning in ennui and misery. Gelato! Ferraris! Paolo Maldini!One thing we don't tend to think about when we let ourselves drift into a sun-dappled Tuscan fantasy is dance music. Sure, there's and endless swathe of campy Italo records to lose hours on YouTube too, and yes, with a bit of digging you can download every set Baldelli ever played back when his cosmic sound was king, but on the whole, we don't really connect them in the way we do overly-defensive football or political corruption.One man working to change that is DJ Soch, producer, selector, and boss of the fantastic Black Angus imprint. He's been plying his trade for the bet part of 30 years now, and is currently on an incredible run of form, releasing an endless stream of deeper than deep house that's got us desperate to zip over there ASAP.Given that, we've decided to give you a real treat: we have a premier of the fantastic "Love For Yourself" from his upcoming Kick, Tom & Hi-hat Vol. 4 EP, a stunning all-vinyl mix, and an interview with Soch himself. Mama mia!
DJ Soch: It was between 1986 and 1987, I was 14 and already passionate about music. I started taking guitar lessons from my uncle but I was too lazy to learn an instrument. One day I went to family friend's place and their son, who was older than me, had DJ equipment—that day I decided turntables were my instrument.You've got a way with a vocal; do you spend hours and hours looking for samples? Do you reckon you spend more time doing that than, say, exercising?
The search for a sample is fundamental to me. As soon as I have some spare time I spend it listening to old music looking for the right sample to use. I think this is a form of art too. Lots of the most famous—and not just house music—productions have been created around a sample. The right sample comes when you last expect it.
It's all about realizing dreams. Black Angus Records is going to stay underground, for now releases are vinyl only and in limited editions. I've released only my own tracks so far but by the end of this year I will also release other artists music. I can reveal next releases are going to be edited by Nicholas and Nick Anthony Simoncino, and, besides, I' m looking for young artists to be part of Black Angus Rough, a sublabel with a more lo-fi sound.Can you tell us a little about the clubbing scene in Italy at the moment…who's big, what clubs do we need to visit, do people still play old Gino Soccio 12"s?
Nowadays I am one of the resident DJs at Serendipity, one of the most important clubs in Italy over the last few years. I don't know the whole Italian club scene but I can recommend a few such as Harmonized, Rashomon, Goa, Dude and Macao. In the last ten years, a lot of interesting festivals were born such as Dancity, Fat Fat Fat, Robot, Spring Attitude, Elita, Club to Club and Terraforma. I don't know if any DJs are still playing Gino Soccio!DJ Soch's Kick, Tom & Hi-hat Vol 4 is out on Black Angus on May 15th .
Advertisement
THUMP: Mr Soch, do you remember the first time you distinctly realised you wanted to devote your life to dance music?
DJ Soch: It was between 1986 and 1987, I was 14 and already passionate about music. I started taking guitar lessons from my uncle but I was too lazy to learn an instrument. One day I went to family friend's place and their son, who was older than me, had DJ equipment—that day I decided turntables were my instrument.You've got a way with a vocal; do you spend hours and hours looking for samples? Do you reckon you spend more time doing that than, say, exercising?
The search for a sample is fundamental to me. As soon as I have some spare time I spend it listening to old music looking for the right sample to use. I think this is a form of art too. Lots of the most famous—and not just house music—productions have been created around a sample. The right sample comes when you last expect it.
What's the big plan for Black Angus? Is it gonna primarily be an outlet for your own work or are you gonna get other artists involved?
It's all about realizing dreams. Black Angus Records is going to stay underground, for now releases are vinyl only and in limited editions. I've released only my own tracks so far but by the end of this year I will also release other artists music. I can reveal next releases are going to be edited by Nicholas and Nick Anthony Simoncino, and, besides, I' m looking for young artists to be part of Black Angus Rough, a sublabel with a more lo-fi sound.Can you tell us a little about the clubbing scene in Italy at the moment…who's big, what clubs do we need to visit, do people still play old Gino Soccio 12"s?
Nowadays I am one of the resident DJs at Serendipity, one of the most important clubs in Italy over the last few years. I don't know the whole Italian club scene but I can recommend a few such as Harmonized, Rashomon, Goa, Dude and Macao. In the last ten years, a lot of interesting festivals were born such as Dancity, Fat Fat Fat, Robot, Spring Attitude, Elita, Club to Club and Terraforma. I don't know if any DJs are still playing Gino Soccio!DJ Soch's Kick, Tom & Hi-hat Vol 4 is out on Black Angus on May 15th .