Oliver Carloni could definitely be one of the UK’s most promising techno exports, besides his own Throne Room Records label, he boasts releases with Respekt, IAMT, Ballroom Records and Funk’n Deep.
As a DJ, he also presents a pretty impressive resume, with past gigs including dancefloors across the UK and Europe. And this October he’ll play two parties in Amsterdam for the celebrated ADE.
We spoke to Oliver for this months Inflyte Radar where we discussed the success of his label, what his future might look like and his thoughts on mental health in the music industry.
Hey Oliver, how’s things? How are you adjusting to the colder nights now that summers gone?
Hi Kyle, things are good! Not so keen on getting up during the colder mornings, but also getting much more studio hours in. So I’m not complaining!
You’re on our Inflyte Radar this month, tell us what you’ve been up to musically?
My number one priority is making sure I keep myself busy within the scene throughout the year, not only to stay relevant but also to keep well ahead of the game. I’ve just released a collaboration track with DJOKO on Spektre’s Respekt Recordings, we made this track almost a year ago so it’s great to finally see support coming in from the likes of Luigi Madonna, Boxia and many more.
I’m also planning a special EP with good friend Leo Lippolis to release next year on my label; Throne Room. As it stands I have a couple of very established names on the cards to remix this, so I’ll be giving more news on that in the coming months.
And what about Throne Room? Things seem to be going in the right direction there?
Yes, Throne Room is exactly where I want it to be (after 4 years of hard graft!). We’re releasing with artists such as David Bau, [ WEX 10 ], Tom Laws, KUSP, all of which I’d have only dreamt about in the past.
Every record label has it’s own mechanics in terms of types of artists, release schedule, release frequency and I’ve made tweaks over the years to ensure a quality stream of music that both club goers, small scale artists and A-list DJ’s all want to listen to and support.
We saw on Facebook that you’ll be throwing a label party at ADE again this year, what can we expect from that?
This year is particularly special at ADE as we have two parties locked in. The first will be a collaboration event with Ballroom Records and 50Hertz on October 17th at Bar Lunar, featuring artists such as Kaiser Souzai, Teenage Mutants, Nakadia, myself and others.
Following on from that we have a label showcase at San Francisco bar on October 18th, supplying label residents and guests such as Indepth, The Reactivitz and Drumcomplex. I have a soft spot for Amsterdam as it’s such a beautiful city, so it’s really cool to have the pleasure of supplying techno to the masses over there every year.
Do you have any plans to release on any other labels before the year is out?
I’m currently focusing on my own label for the time being. I have lots of things I want to achieve so I need to make sure I channel all efforts into developing Throne Room Records.
What about gigs? How’s the tour schedule looking for the coming months?
Aside from the Amsterdam events, I’m currently in talks with Leeds based event We Call It Techno, to headline with some other cool artists later in the year. More news on that will be revealed soon.
Thanks a lot for taking some time to chat, is there anything else you want to mention before we wrap things up?
I’d just like to briefly brush on anyone within the music industry who may be struggling, whether it be from lack of success or mental health issues, or both. We tend to have our eyes on the prize when it comes to progress in this industry and massively over look our own wellbeing.
Repeatidly being knocked back or seeing others flourish can both be equally as damaging to us, even making us question our own ability. I’ll keep this short but in a nutshell my advice is:
Put your health before music! (Make sure your diet, exercise and sleeping pattern is in check). It’s ok to indulge sometimes but keep this in moderation (spot and prevent bad habbits before they get a foot hold). Don’t focus on what other people are doing, or allow jealousy to engulf your thoughts. Surround yourself with supportive, grounded people who want to see you succeed, not fail. Remind yourself of what you’ve already achieved and visualise the next steps daily. Don’t feel guilty if you have to take a break, there’s more to life than music alone!
Follow Oliver Carloni on SoundCloud and check out Throne Room Records here.