The Italian trance master Giuseppe Ottaviani will be joining Talla 2XLC at Technoclub's 'Dance For Love' event on the 27th July so we went for a catch up with him for his views on the forthcoming gig and his latest music project 'Magenta'...

Personifying trance music’s energy in both approach and output, Italy’s Giuseppe Ottaviani has long been recognized as one of the genre’s most respected and prolific merchants. From his earliest studio work (as the engine behind famed group NU NRG), through to his latter-day releases under his own name, he has established himself as a benchmark for eminent trance. Over the last 6 years his boundary-breaking in-concert experience Giuseppe Ottaviani Live! has put hundreds of thousands of hands in the air and feet on the floor at the world’s best-known EDM festivals. Exclusively feeding these performances is his vast litany of club hits and remixes, of which ‘Ready’, ‘Angel’, ‘Linking People’, ‘Through Your Eyes’ and ‘No More Alone’ are but a few. Giuseppe’s remains both contemporary and omnipresent in the scene with of-late productions like ‘Falcons’, ‘Arcobaleno’ and most recently ‘Lost For Words’, ‘Earth Beat’ and ‘Love Will Bring It All Around’ continuing to win trance hearts and minds. In May 2013 Ottaviani stands on the threshold of the release of his 2nd artist album ‘Magenta’.

Every dance music fan should have a grasp of who this very talented Italian trance producer is by now but there is a little reminder to jog the memory. Giuseppe is currently on the road promoting his latest artist album, which has been very well received by the dance music scene and one stop he will be making this month is for Technoclub’s ‘Dance For Love’ event on the 27th July. We caught up for a word with Giuseppe for his thoughts of visiting the Technoclub once again for Talla 2XLC.

i:Vibes: Giuseppe thanks for talking to ivibes.nu. How is your summer going? What has been your coolest experience in and out of the studio/club been?

Giusepppi: Finally relaxing from the studio since my new artist album 'Magenta' has been released, but I'm pretty busy touring and promoting the album all this summer. The album launch party at Ministry of Sound in London was definitely one of the highlights so far, as well as my return to New York City.

i:Vibes: You are returning to the Technoclub after last being there four years ago. How excited are you about returning back to this legendary club?

Giusepppi: Very much excited indeed. Four years have been a long time, and I miss that place and that crowd. I can't wait for the show and play all my new tunes from my album.

i:Vibes: In your last visit, you were supporting the release party of the Technoclub Volume 29 that you mixed with Talla 2XLC. What memories do you have from this night?

Giusepppi: It was very cool to walk in the stores and find the physical compilation. It was such a good night, we also filmed it and you can find the video on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/giuseppeottaviani to refresh your memory I'm expecting no less than that this time.

i:Vibes: Your CD mix had many unforgettable tracks, but one of the big anthems was your remix for Markus Schultz “The New World.” When you listen to a track today, do you find things you might have done differently on the remix, just due to how you have developed the last four years as a producer?

Giusepppi: Of course I do, if I would have the chance to put my hands on any of my older productions, I would definitely change something to my new likes and bring the sound up to date. Music evolves and changes so fast. For example it was not a surprise that Linking People 2011 was sounding quite different from the original made in 2005.

i:Vibes: I really have fond memories of your 2011 remix for Aly & Fila ‘Rosaires’. How much of a challenge is it remixing something so perfect from Aly & Fila?

Giusepppi: Well usually I don't pretend to make things better, I just want to give my point of view of a certain track. ‘Rosaires’ was good already, but I split the main melody in two parts and used only the first part to create something different which reflected my point of view indeed. When people ask for a remix they are looking for that little change that surprises them, something that you can only see if you are not involved in the original production, something that you can do if you look at the track from 'outside'. And this is what I did.

i:Vibes: You have worked with many great artists, but what was it like working with legend Solarstone on ‘Falcons’? What special element did Rich bring this track that wouldn't have been without his help?

Giusepppi: The great thing about Solarstone is his Pure Trance concept. He makes his music in the way he feels and likes the most without any influence from the non-proper-trance sounds that are all over the place these days. Some how when I work with him I feel free to do and to make what I properly call trance music, and I have the chance to be myself without feeling the pressure from the new generation's musical taste. ‘Falcons’ is seriously what I label as Trance and that track wouldn't exist without the help and philosophy of Solarstone.

i:Vibes: It has been four years since the release of your debut album ‘GO!’. Now you recently released ‘Magenta’. How has your sound developed since the 2009 release ‘GO!’?

Giusepppi: As I said before music changes so fast, evolves and so do I. Despite my effort in supporting Solarstone's Pure Trance, in my own world I really like to be influenced from the other sounds, and I try to bring those elements that I like the most into my own sound. In this way, I can deliver something fresh without loosing my identity. As you may have noticed, 'Magenta' sounds quite different from 'GO!' and that's the result of what I’ve just said, good melodies, vocals and lush synths are the main thing for me, but you can clearly feel the influence from what I call the “sound of now,” not in an excessive way of course, but still you can feel my new sound.

i:Vibes: What was your main goal with ‘Magenta’? It is never easy to follow up a smash album like ‘GO!’?

Giusepppi: The goal was to reach the next step. ‘GO!’ was great, but mainly an instrumental album. Magenta has 10 vocal tracks out of 15, so it’s been made not only for the dance floors but also for listening on your iPod or car or at home. The real goal was to make just one mix that would work for both, home listening and the dance floor. I didn’t want to make an album mix and then a club mix, I wanted to stay in between and use the same mix for both scenarios.

i:Vibes: One thing that you have in common with your mentor Paul Van Dky besides being able to create good melodies is having increased the cooperation’s the last two albums. On ‘GO!’, it was seven artists on seven tracks and on ‘Magenta’ 12 artists on 12 tracks that helped on the tracks. Do you feel more comfortable now getting into a groove with producing tracks with other people?

Giusepppi: Well I’m not able to sing, so of course I need to do collaborations with singers and song writers. Regarding the instrumental tracks, I actually love to collaborate with other artists as I believe there’s always something to learn when collaborating with other producers, especially when we are talking about of producers like Ferry Corsten and Aly & Fila.

i:Vibes: How difficult was it coming up with a follow up to ‘No More Alone’ with Steven Pickup with ‘Illusion’? The track came out nice. What was inspiration on this track and how long did you guys take making this?

Giusepppi: As we couldn’t get any better results on the ‘No More Alone’ kind of style, we decided to radically change our direction and that’s why ‘Illusion’ was born. Definitely something different with a little more popish vocal that indeed reflects Stephen even more. I tried to focus on a lead melody that could match the flow of the track and being stuck in your head for a while. I’m happy with this song.

i:Vibes: After making ‘Angel’ on ‘GO!’ with Faith, she returned on ‘Magenta’ with ‘Nothing Wrong’. ‘Angel’ was perfect with her angelic voice. ‘Nothing Wrong’ has more kick, but also very unique. Was there much pressure on making something different, but unique on ‘Nothing Wrong’?

Giusepppi: Yes, it may be a little harder than the previous ‘Angel,’ but it still remains very “angelic” with Faith’s voice, and I really love the main melody of this one. No pressure, but excitement I would say. I don’t like to work under pressure and this job has to be fun first of all.

i:Vibes: After working so often with Paul van Dyk, it seems like one could hardly get excited again working with another producer, but were you able to get excited as a little boy does getting Halloween candy when you worked with Ferry Corsten? What could you learn from the Dutchman in your making of this track?

Giusepppi: Of course I’m always excited when it comes to collaborate with everyone, especially when I collaborate with those legendary names. Ferry opened my mind a lot and showed me how not to work with too many barriers in my mind. Basically, if you like something you should just do it without thinking too much on what people would say about it.

i:Vibes: Your radio show Go On Air is heard every Friday. What makes your show unique and different from other trance shows?

Giusepppi: Since in reality I’m not really a DJ, but a live act, the radio show is a great way for me to express myself as a DJ too, playing the music I like the most and not only my own music like I do in my gigs. I think that what makes this show special is a feature called “Hor Or Not” which is actually the chance we give to new unknown and or upcoming producers to be heard form the big audience. I receive a lot of demos and unsigned productions at promo@goonair.net, and every week I pick my favourite one and play on the show. This gives a big exposure to these guys since a lot of the listeners are also DJs and label owners. Then listeners can vote for the track on www.goonair.net and decide if the track is Hot or maybe Not. If it’s Hot then it gets a replay in the next radio show giving to the producer even bigger exposure. I also like to give voice to all those that are not real producers, but love to make mashups and usually they do a brilliant job and I call this section the ‘GO ON AIR Mashup Selection’.

i:Vibes: You were on the Paul van Dyk float at the 2002 Love Parade just as you had started your music career with Nu-NRG. If somebody had told you then that you would have accomplished so much would you have believed them?

Giusepppi: Hehe not really, that was already a dream come true back in 2002, I still can’t believe I’m doing this as my primary job since then.

i:Vibes: I still love listening to your remix for Technoclub resident Andre Visior and Something on my mind. When was the last time that you listened to this and where do you rank it in your remixes?

Giusepppi: I played it few weeks ago, I still love to play my favourite remixes on my gigs and ‘Something For Your Mind’ is definitely one of them.

i:Vibes: Recently you played in New York at the Santos Party House. How was this experience playing live?

Giusepppi: Was the first time for me to play in that new place and I couldn’t believe how good it was despite the storm and heavy rain that New York experienced that day. We had a full packed house and the show went great. Seri also made a live appearance with me performing ‘Gave Me’. That was a very nice surprise for everyone I bet.

i:Vibes: If your relaxing one evening above the Spanish stairs in Rome looking over the city with a glass of wine after a long day in the studio, would ‘Adiago for Strings’ or ‘No More Alone’ give you more goose bumps?

Giusepppi: Not really, the silence and the natural and beautiful sound of the city would make it for me. Especially after a full day in studio, what I’m looking for after is just sit down, relax and try to point or to see some of those very small things that the hectic life we all have during the day time hides to our eyes and ears.

TECHNOCLUB PRESENTS: DANCE FOR LOVE 2013

:: Technoclub presents: Dance For Love / 27th July

:: Find out more about Dance For Love right here!