Audiofly shouldn’t need too much of an introduction. As DJs, producers and label owners, they have continually delighted the clubbing community around the world with their melodic, undulating take on house music. We recently caught up with Anthony and Luca to talk about their exciting new night, ‘Flying Circus’, their upcoming compilation, recorded in conjunction with Blond:ish, and a whole load more.
The Flying Circus concept is quite simple. We are a nomadic, non-commercial event, which tries to create a certain unique kind of atmosphere wherever we land...Can you introduce us to the ‘Flying Circus’ concept? What do you aim to do with this night?
The Flying Circus concept is quite simple. We are a nomadic, non-commercial event, which tries to create a certain unique kind of atmosphere wherever we land. We like nature and space generally, and try to focus the larger part of our events in environments which amplify the love. Clubs are a kind of necessary evil, something that needs to be done to compete in such a competitive arena, but our hearts and souls are forever on the beach
You’ve said that it started by accident. Can you tell us a little more about that?
It was once a radio show on Proton radio, something Luca and I used to do, in fact one of our first things we ever did aside from produce. At some point a close friend of ours Diego Martinelli offered us a Wednesday slot at Nikki Beach in Miami…it was a weak day in the Miami calendar, but all of the people we were closest to in the industry gave their support and played, and for some unknown reason, everyone turned out in full force… the event was an immediate success and has kind of become one of the customary stop-off's during that rather crazy week.
You’ve said that Flying Circus has given you the opportunity to “invite all our friends… to play together... to be inspired by each other and to just get a little ‘hang time’.” Do you find this sort of scenario brings out both the best in you and your guests? Does it lead to you trying out a few things you might not in a more ‘regular’ gig setting?
I think it's a predominant factor in our scene in general, most of us are friends - there are very few negative relationships, as far as I have seen.
I think it's something do with the act of collaboration, maybe in anything really! Collaboration brings out the best in everyone. You can totally see that in our shows. Maybe we aren't playing back to back or maybe we are, but there is a synergy in sharing a space and a moment. So imagine collaborating with really close friends! Up the energy, up the vibe.
Being a DJ or live producer is like 'channelling' without the "I see dead people" element. The more you dive into the music, the more the crowd follows you...You’ve said you don’t do too many parties. Why is this?
When they invent teleportation, we might do more, but we like to keep it special. If it becomes too 'factory-line', we would probably not enjoy it anymore. We aren't doing this for money or fame or anything else, just cause it feels right, and maybe because we felt there was a fit for us in the scene. So more parties aren't a necessity... just good ones!
You’ve said that you “generally seek the more spectacular, opulent and nature-touched locations to hold our events... once again adding to the overall vibration.” How do you go about selecting these locations? What is it you’re looking for when you scout out new places?
I have a defining rod and compass... nature shows the way!
You’ve said that the “more we enjoy, the more you enjoy” in relation to the crowd. Is that crowd interaction important to you? What do you look for on the dance floor to know that you’ve made that connection?
Being a DJ or live producer is like 'channelling' without the "I see dead people" element. The more you dive into the music, the more the crowd follows you. They vibrate, you vibrate back. In that sense you are channelling the music into and out of the people. They feed you, you feed them. A good feeding comes based on a good sound system, a great environment and a happy artist. Upon entering a club, you know pretty much instantly if there will be a good connection or not.
Aren’t you also releasing a compilation in August? Can you tell us any more about that?
It’s basically a double CD where we and the Blond:ish girls get into a monologue for 74 minutes each. No stops, no toilet breaks. You get to hear our lovely voices for a full 148 minutes. Isn’t that great? But in all seriousness it’s a very exciting project that took us months to complete. From the first draft to the final project I think our mix changed shape at least 5 times. It’s our first ever Flying Circus compilation and Blond:ish are our trusted companions in this musical journey.
We are immensely proud of it because it showcases the musical mentality of two duos, one male dominated and the other female. Our mix is a bit deeper, more "heads down" let's say whereas their mix is a bit more fun and adventurous. And this contrast is what makes the core of every Flying Circus party in the end so i think we've achieved what we were trying to do in the first place. It also helps that the girls are incredibly fun and very easy to work with.
Creatively speaking each track had to have a certain deepness going for it and the kind of quality where you don't get tired of listening to over and over again... How difficult was it to decide what tracks made it on to the compilation?
It was a long process because of licensing issues, mostly. The first bunches of tracks that we selected were impossible to license. Some of them were on vinyl only and the producers weren’t budging on having them on a compilation. Others were unofficial edits off some big tracks and the main labels weren’t gonna let us it, so we were stuck between a rock and a hard place for a while. Then we switched our way of thinking and in order to make it easier for ourselves, we looked into licensing tracks from our own two labels (Supernature and Maison d’Etre) alongside the stuff we had cleared already. In the end we are super happy with the final project but it really took us a while to get there. Creatively speaking each track had to have a certain deepness going for it and the kind of quality where you don't get tired of listening to over and over again. We purposefully avoided choosing bigger tracks for the sake of a more fluid mix. We wanted each track to be a continuation of the previous one and in all honestly i truly think we achieved that.
They bring their incredible personality most of all and people absolutely love that. And musically right now they are on top form...Didn’t you put this compilation together alongside Blond:ish? How was it working with the girls?
We didn’t exactly work alongside each other as they worked solely on their mix and we worked on ours, but we advised each other on the creative process along the way, making sure we weren’t gonna sign the same tracks and stuff like that. There was a point though, where we actually worked all of us together to make the promo video for the comp. They had this idea of making a video with little puppets impersonating all of us and it was a lot of fun shooting it. The girls have this incredible energy that is almost impossible to resist. We love them to death and the more time I spend with them, hear them perform and spend time as friends, the more I realised we couldn’t have find a better fit for the comp and Flying Circus as a whole.
What did they bring to the party that you wouldn’t have necessarily thought of yourselves?
They bring their incredible personality most of all and people absolutely love that. And musically right now they are on top form. I think people are always pleasantly surprised when they hear them for the first time because most times you don’t know what to expect. But they are fun, they play great music and they are the life and soul of the party wherever they go. The perfect fit for us basically.
What else is upcoming on both of your horizons?
As Audiofly we are currently working on a new EP, and we just had the honour to remix Argy - Love Dose for Poker Flat. Also Both Anthony and I are working on our respective solo projects and collaborating with other artists too. When you have worked together for as long as we had you’ll find that it’s a necessary step to do our own thing sometimes. I always been kinda afraid to work on my own music but Anthony has done so for quite a while and has inspired me to pursue my own musical avenues in many occasions, not least because it brings a new dynamic to the studio when we record together again. At the end of the summer we will lock ourselves in the studio together again to work on our second album. The travelling has been so exhausting that it hasn’t allowed us to even think about until now but it has become a prerogative to find the time for it.
At the end of the summer we will lock ourselves in the studio together again to work on our second album...OK, a few fantasy questions now. If you could remix any artist out there, who would you go for?
I give you three. Thom Yorke obviously coz he’s a fucking legend and who wouldn’t wanna remix him? Roisin Murphy because she has dexterity on the mic and I truly think we could do a great job remixing her, and finally Nina Simone if anybody ever finds an unreleased track from her.
If you could team up with any other producer to make a track, who would that be? Or they are, for that matter?
I would have to say Ricardo. I absolutely love his beats and I am really curious about his process in the studio. I’d Love to see how he works and what makes him tick. One other person is the aforementioned Mr Yorke. I can’t even imagine what it would be like… (I am sure I sound like a little girl now don’t I?)
Who makes it onto your fantasy line-up for a club night?
First of all it’s not a club. It’s a beautiful forest somewhere in the world where everything is ecologically powered and self-sustained. It would start at 2pm with live music by Darkside, Bob Moses and the likes and then move on to people like Lawrence, Efdemin and the Smallville crew in the early evening. When the place is well and truly going the usual suspect from our own Flyng Circus crew would be the true protagonist with people like Blond:ish, Martin Buttrich, M.A.N.D.Y., Lee Burridge delivering in full force.
I think at least half of that fantasy comes alive every weekend for us. We are working on the other half as we speak.
Flying Circus - Friday @ Sankeys Ibiza 2014 - Line-up
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