Allen (IT) is on the ten yard line as a future staple of the Italian house scene, his sound has made a mark on Snatch!, Etiquette and VIVa Music in the past, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
His four track Action Groove EP has just came out on Davide Squillace’s This And That Lab imprint, featuring three originals and a brilliant remix from Lancaster.
We spoke to Allen (IT) about the new release, his past work as both a DJ and a producer, and what the future might look like for him.
Hi Allen, how are things going at the moment, has music been keeping you busy?
Hey guys, I’m good thanks. It’s a special time in my life and I’d define it as gorgeous! I’m thrilled with the work I have been doing the last two years, as I’ve given up so much in order to fully dedicate myself to music production. I’ve been putting aside everything including gigs that for me are very important. Now I’m starting to see the results of this, and I’d say they are superb!
Could you talk a little bit about your style and some of the labels you have featured on, as I understand you have worked with labels run by Steve Lawler, Pirupa and Riva Starr?
I do not identify myself with any particular style, even if I have tendencies that push me towards house or old school sounds. Style is very much implying someone plays only one specific sub-genre, but I play a full range of stuff particularly in my sets! I love electronic music in all its nuances that can vary from classic to tech, and I’ve had the lucky chance to work with big labels like This And That, Snatch!, VIVa MUSiC, Stereo Productions, Toolroom and NONSTOP plus some others.
I recently checked out your new release on This And That Lab run by Davide Squillace, and thought it had quite a classic sound to it, was that something you were aiming for?
I’m really happy to be a part of this family! This And That is currently one of the best labels at an international level. Davide has done a great job of building up the label over the years, and not only artistically speaking, but also for the quality of the productions. This is already my second release on TNT after the first one I did for them last year where I worked in collaboration with Filix. I’d define this EP as eclectic, because it varies from deep house, to tech house also including a great minimal remix by Lancaster!
What equipment did you use to make the tracks on the This And That Lab release?
In the studio I usually work with the software program Pro Tools. I like working a lot with samples, and I’m always looking for new sounds. Especially percussion starting with everything from kick drums to crash cymbals. Battery is a plugin that I often use for these kinds of sample manipulation works, particularly because an analogue sound is what I prefer, and it always gets things sounding nice and warm.
In the past you have also worked with Filix, do you have any new collaborations forthcoming?
Although in the last months I have made some releases on my own, we are always in collaboration. What distinguishes us from others is that our relationship is not only a working one, but we have been friends for ages; we meet each other daily and know everything about each other, which makes our friendship very special!
On May, 17th we will be working together for a release on Strangelove, which is a really interesting EP I strongly recommend people check out! On May 24th I will be releasing my track on CUFF, and in June we will be again together for a release on My Favourite Freaks!
I understand you are also owner of the Labium & Records Studio, so I wanted to ask if you could tell me a little bit about that other project?
Labium is the basis of everything I do. It is a project that was born in 2011, and came after I’d run another label for four years, which gave me the opportunity to grow up both as a producer and as a DJ.
After learning many lessons, I decided to take a new path that gave me a chance to grow my career. At the time it was a bit of a risk, but I believed in myself, and it has already been extremely rewarding. In the last year I have dedicated myself to pushing my own music, but in January I started again with the Labium releases.
How are things going with the DJ side of your career as in the past I see you have played in quite a few countries including Germany, Russia, America and Brazil?
I chose to stop DJ’ing for a short time and dedicate myself to family life and productions, but in the past, I’ve been lucky enough to play in clubs like Space and Tresor. 2019 will be the restart for my career as a DJ, and I kick things off on May 1st when I play a b2b set with Filix at One Day Festival in Catania on a line-up that also includes Roman Flügel, Dixon and Maceo Plex. I will also be in Ibiza during August then South America in October!
Thanks for taking some time out to speak with me today, before we finish is there anything else you would like to add?
I’d thank Davide and all the TNT team for this opportunity, and I hope to work with them again in the near future.
Allen (IT)’s Action Groove EP is out now on This And That Lab.