Luca Agnelli is a name we’re hearing more and more of. If not from his own killer productions on labels like Soma or remixes on the likes of ELEVATE and Avotre, it’s from the volume of noise being dispersed from his label Etruria Beat. Etruria Beat is an imprint which is rapidly on the rise. Heavy hitting techno with beastly basslines is the recipe and Luca is doing a stellar job keeping things fresh. We caught up with the Italian recently to discuss his haircut and all things Etruria Beat 🙂 Enjoy!
WWD: Hi Luca, thanks for taking the time to have a talk with us. You’ve an impressive hair cut! Who cuts it for you? 🙂
LUCA: My friend Milo Pepe.
How long does it take to style in the morning?
Less time than than you think.
Can you talk us through the new release on Soma? Is there a central influence behind the record? (OUT TODAY!)
I feel particularly glad for this release, the track is based on the hypnotic main chord which remains constant from start to end, the synth instead sits on the breaks of the track and gives accent to the starting pattern at the end of each break, this creates a special powerful impact for the dancefloors.
In your eyes, when it comes to making it as a top level producer, how would you compare the importance of hard work, talent and bringing some unique to the table?
All aspects are important, talent first of all, but without hard work you cannot reach knowledge and goals. Having your own style is also important because the public can recognize your own imprint even when music is evolving to new music shades.
How did your connection with Soma first come about?
I‘m a big fan of the label, i play a lot of their music, when some demos prepared for them were ready, i sent them an email and here we go.
You started streaming live Facebook videos every Monday a while back. How important is it to interact with your fans?
Yes I started in October with my weekly series of “Monday Live”, the relationship with my fans is very important and I thought to give them something more. I give them a lot of previews… my very new demos, Etruria promos and some of those that I receive from other labels. 100% of music share, in a very easy and natural way, from home, with my cats! 🙂
Do you have any other innovative ways to engage with your fans?
Ha, hot right now, but i’m always very aware about what’s happening because i’m a technology lover.
Doing social media as a DJ / label owner is a job in itself. Do you wish it wasn’t so or do you find it’s a nice break from studio or touring?
Yes it’s nice to be connected with my fans and share with them a good part of my life but of course it is a job in itself, as you said.
The Italian techno scene is huge right now! If people were to hit up one club, where would you recommend they go?
There are a lot of nice clubs, but these are the best for me:
Guendalina (Lecce), Tini (Cecina), Spazio 900 (Roma), Fabrique (Milano), Mob (Palermo) Bolgia (Bergamo), With Love (Catania), Nice to Be (Napoli), Cocoricò (Riccione) Cromie (Taranto).
Obviously there are some huge names within the Italian scene right now – Capriati, Carola, yourself are just a few…if people were looking for a new name – to who would you direct them?
There are many newcomers to follow, obviously all my Etruria Beat crew like Bastinov, Dast, Kaiser, Toms due, Reform, Diego Amura, Little Charles, and others like Donato Dozzy, Marco Shuttle, Lucy, Roberto Clementi, Marco Effe, Manent, Alignment, Mattia Trani, Salvo Castelli, Zippo.
With regards to your own label Etruria Beat, things are going from strength to strength. What’s your favourite thing about operating your own imprint?
The great satisfaction is to put together some selected artists, making more than a group, a big family; but then it is also very important to see that the music that I have chosen is played and supported by the great techno international artists.
Do you find yourself spending more time involved with the label rather than producing or do both work seamlessly around each other?
I do both things, it depends, they go together, but for the label I have some collaborators.
Have you a particular policy on welcoming new artists to the label?
Music first of all, then we also look at the artist’s profile, what he has already produced, labels on which he has released. We want a kind of exclusiveness to work and invest on our artists group.
The one most important thing that anyone ever told you about making music?
I often like to apply a transient designer on my kick in order to gain more power.
You’ve a consistent output in terms of your releases. Do you follow a set structure with studio time or is it more go with the flow?
I work only when i want… 🙂 not a structure, most of my tracks have been started when i was travelling after my gigs, in the train, in the plane, in the car also 🙂 and then of course i develop them in studio.
Looking to the next months, give us some information on your plans?
After my EP on Etruria beat with remixes by 2000 and One and Hiroaki Iizuka, I have the release on Soma. Then there will be the remix for my Etruria artist Dast on Elevate and a remix for VNP on Nice to Be records. I have also an exclusive track that will be released on the compilation of Space Ibiza mixed by Pig & Dan and after released on Elevate. In the summer I will have also the track “Phoenix” released on the biggest label, Adam Beyer’s Drumcode. In September I will release a remix for Angle on Tip Top audio.
Follow Luca Agnelli : Facebook // SoundCloud
Follow Etruria Beat : Facebook // SoundCloud