Italian DJ, producer, and now label owner David Castellani has been hard at work planning the future of his newly launched Noetic imprint.
The label has already released music from Voiski and Redshape, alongside the label founder, and are now preparing for their third release, which will see them welcome industry veteran Matrixxman to their roster.
We spoke to the now Los Angeles-based Castellani on the latest edition of our Inflyte Radar, where we had a chat about what he has in store for Noetic, how he compares the L.A. club scene to his home country of Italy, and his work with modular racks.
Hi David, you’re on our Inflyte Radar this month, please tell our readers what you have going on?
Hello, thank you so much for having me. I have recently launched my label “Noetic”, and have been focusing on the music and release schedule for that. We are now coming up to our third release which highlights my original music, alongside remixes from some of my favourite artists, such as Voiski, Matrixxman, and Redshape. Besides that, I have been spending lots of time preparing a live modular Eurorack set that will debut soon.
You launched the label back in July with the release of your Alpha Gamma EP, why is 2021 the right time for you to launch a label?
Starting an imprint has always been knocking around in the back of my mind and I think most electronic musicians consider it a step that they’d like to take at some point. For me, it was always about finding the right time. A place in my life where I could stop and focus on building a label the way that made sense to me – this also meant having the time.
When I made the move from Chicago to LA, there was a natural reset in parts of my life that allowed me to dedicate my focus to starting Noetic. Another important factor was feeling like my musical awareness was getting to a point where I knew I could be most effective in curating high-quality music for the label. And after 24 years of making music, I’m honestly glad I’ve waited.
And who else can we expect to see on the label in the near future?
The next EP will feature myself plus a remix by the legendary Matrixxman. I am very excited to have him included on the next release. He’s always been an artist that I have looked up to and have been a great fan of.
Unfortunately, as of right now, I can’t announce the next artists on deck for Noetic, but I can say that you should expect forward-thinking electronic artists that like to push the boundaries of dance music. I believe techno and electronica are almost by definition genres that embody using tools, techniques and an overall approach that breaks the rules.
Which other labels will you be releasing on yourself before the end of 2021?
I’ve been putting all my focus on Noetic and building my live modular sets, so I don’t have any releases planned with other labels before the new year. But I am speaking to some imprints about releases for 2022, so I will let you know soon.
You’re Italian, but live in L.A., was the move a career focused one?
I actually moved to the U.S. from Italy with my parents before highschool. My father, like many immigrants, had the American dream and dragged us here with him. Growing up I’ve always spent lots of time back in Italy, keeping close ties with family and friends. Now as a dual citizen, I feel blessed to have the freedom to live and work in both the U.S. and the E.U.
And how would you compare the L.A. club scene to that of Italy?
Though both have a great party scene, in Italy you find more of a focus on clubs over private underground events. The Italian clubbing world is thriving and has wonderful energy. I believe that Italian law in general makes it easier for electronic music promoters and legal events to thrive.
In L.A., you see more of a focus on underground shows. Via warehouses and private locations, the L.A. scene is bursting with infectious energy, and thanks to promoters such as 6AM, Compound, Incognito, and Observe, there’s no shortage of proper music to be heard.
The truth is that both the Los Angeles and Italian dance scene are wild, vibrant, and I feel super lucky to be part of both. It’s beautiful when you can enjoy underground music in a place that instead of ostracizing the scene, embraces it and allows it to flourish.
We heard you’re a bit of a modular synth enthusiast, how do you incorporate modular racks into your productions?
Modular synths are at the core of my soul and at the core of most of my tracks. I really enjoy using my modular rig to write and perform music on a daily basis. I try to spend 1-2 hours “jamming” on my rig everyday and can be tracking upto 32 channels individually at any time.
After I’ve spent a few hours recording live, I’ll go back through the audio and start dissecting it, molding it into its final version. Often I will go back and add new elements from my modular setup when I feel something is missing.
And what’s your favourite modular unit?
This is a very difficult question. I’m not sure I will ever be able to choose one module to rule them all. Some companies and modules I love are Noise Engineering, Make Noise, Erica Synths, Cwejman, ALM Busy Circuits, Anti-Kulture, as well as, Cursus Iteritas Percido, Black Sequencer, ER-101, Dinky’s Taiko, Sinfonion, and The Precision Disrupter.
David Castellani – Electrochemical EP is out October 29th on Noetic.