Audiofly have been soaring with releases on labels like Get Physical and Culprit, in addition to an exciting series of parties known as the "Flying Circus." With an unforgettable New Years party in Playa Del Carmen, followed by appearances at the BPM festival and a Flying Circus in NYC last weekend, they've been working tirelessly and having a lot of fun along the way. We catch up with the debonair Luca Saporito, co-pilot of Audiofly along with Anthony Middleton, for the latest in the world of this dynamic duo. They will be playing Igloofest this weekend, February 2nd, along with Agoria, at a Pulse presented event, so look out for this party!
You're entering 2013 after a huge 2012, with big releases on Get Physical, Culprit, and Akbal amongst others. Are you feeling optimistic about the new year? Incredibly optimistic. In fact the year couldn't have started any better with Flying Circus in Playa and a few gigs and afterparties with most of our friends in Tulum. The vibe was electric at every single gig and playing with your feet in the sand is.....well, nothing in the world beats that, really. Now we feel recharged and ready to hit the studio when we get back home in February (we're still not home yet, as we're finishing the last leg of our US/Canada tour).
Your gig schedule has been relentless, with dates in seemingly every continent. What has been your favorite party to play over the last few months? Uff, so many to mention, but our 5hrs session at Treehouse in Miami was very memorable. Music On with Marco was also really good and Flying Circus in Kazantip with dOP was spectacular too (which has consequently kickstarted a semi residency from them at FC). Playing the opening of Amnesia was nerve wracking, in front of almost 7000 people, but something we will never forget. Our own events in Playa del Carmen are always priceless...we really cannot complain.
You're playing at the winter wonderland known as Igloofest on February 2nd, at a party presented in collaboration with Pulse Radio! Tell us what excites you about playing this unique festival with Agoria and others. We spoke to so many artists who kept telling us how incredible and unique this festival is. The idea of playing in front of a crowd that MUST dance or they'll freeze is hilarious! At the same time most artists who have previously been also told us to keep very warm as the temperature might hit -20 (celsius) even though the DJ cabin is heated. We love playing in Montreal because, despite the cold, people are so warm and receptive towards any kind of sound. Also it's the first time we are playing with Agoria so i am quite excited to see what he does. I love his productions but i have never heard him live. Loads to look forward indeed.
Your Flying Circus party series has garnered immense popularity. How is the "circus" concept important to Audiofly? The 'Circus" is central to everything we do. The concept is definitely working well for us but it's seriously hard work and loads of planning. We have weekly meetings about it and we're always trying to improve what we do and constantly raise the bar, trying to offer people new ideas and new concepts on a regular basis.One of the highlights of the past year was FC Moscow edition. The line up was perfect and the visuals were really really stunning, gyrating all over the room and changing the mood of the music even. Parties like this always give us inspirations for future ideas. It's not always easy as there is certainly stiff competition out there but we never rest on our success and you can be certain that 2013 will bring a bunch of surprises that we are currently working on.
How do you find time in the studio despite all the touring? The $1.000.000 question. It's probably the hardest thing a touring musician will ever have to do. We have been out of the studio since mid- December and it's killing us. But it's part of the job and you learn how to manage it and live with it. The best thing about it is coming back after a long hiatus and having a head full of inspiration and ideas that translate in a very organic and fun studio session. The worst thing is that it takes a while before your creative juices flow back into place, especially after a long tour. Being two people and getting both of us fully in sync can be very hard after a long break too. But once that's over, the magic starts happening again.
Tell us a little bit about your collaborative process - Anthony and Luca, do you always sit down together to make music or are ideas shared back and forth while you're travelling? The main studio is at Anthony's place. He's always been the "head" of the group and I am the "shoulders' so to speak. We work in many different ways but usually anthony starts a melody and we take it from there, or I'll bring a loop I previously made on my laptop. Samples can be a big inspiration as long as they are not overused. Recently there has been a great energy in the studio and we totally love the organic way of working together. We are learning a lot about Maschine at the moment and we totally love it. It's so easy and intuitive and yet it's able to give us great results in a short period of time. It might not be the heart of a studio but it certainly helps in situation where time is key.
Any new releases or EPs we can look forward to this year? From the Audiofly camp, we have some collaborative projects that are in the works with Philipp from Mandy (under the name M.A.N.F.L.Y.), Inxec, Uner and also a vocal collaboration with Jaw from dOP. Anthony will have a solo project out under is own name on Get Physical in the next few days. Supernature will showcase some great new artists (namely Dance Spirit and Tamer Malki) and keeping the fire burning with a great selection of remixers. There is also a planned V.A. that should see the light of day soon with some great musical diversity showcased throughout. Maison D'etre (our sister label) is slowly but surely getting more and more into people's consciousness with great releases by the likes of Uner, Ultrasone and Just Be to name a few. We're paying great attention to the artistic side of it - we have employed a number of artists that will design the covers of each Ep in their own style, giving a different edge to each release. Maison also is the label of the two that will release vinyl on a regular basis.
Any up and coming artists that we should keep an ear out for? Definitely Ultrasone, Tamer Malki, Fabio Giannelli and Dance Spirit. in their own way, they're all bringing something new to the scene. In the Live sector Bob Moses will soon be a household name for their amazing diversity and live sessions.