Since making his Drumcode debut in 2016, New York native Layton Giordani has released a 12-track album with Adam Beyer’s seminal imprint, the American DJ/producer will make his Belfast debut this weekend as local promoters Shine welcome himself and Green Velvet to the city for a St. Paddy’s weekend celebration.
To mark the occasion, we got a chance to speak with Layton about what he expects from the Irish crowd, how it was to work with Danny Tenaglia and what 2018 might have in store for the future star. Read on for more.
Hey Layton, thanks for taking some time to chat with us, how are things at the moment?
Things are great. I’m currently on a short vacation back in my home town of New York making music getting ready for my shows in Europe.
How do you feel about coming to Belfast for the first time to play The Telegraph Building for Shine on St Patrick’s Weekend?
Gonna be epic! The Irish are crazy and I feed off their energy. So I have a feeling it’s gonna get messy. But in a good way haha! I also heard that the venue is amazing. I really love playing in Ireland so I can’t wait for it. I have a feeling it’s going to be some of my best gigs of 2018.
You’re on before Green Velvet, do you prepare for something like that or do you go with the crowd on the night?
I always prep a good amount of tracks to get a rough idea of what I want to play, but I keep all my other special playlists to. I really just enjoy opening up my set and feeling the vibe from the crowd. You never know what you’ll be getting into until you’re there, so read how they react and play what you think they want.
Your career started in New York, what differences have you noticed since you came across to Europe?
Well to start, I noticed every crowd is different. In a lot of good ways each crowd has their own identity or even dance moves as a whole. It’s pretty awesome. Europe I’d say is a bit more experienced and lively than the states. New York, Chicago, Detroit, Miami and LA are really tuned in though. They know what’s what. I think the states are starting to grow more and more every year and now our genre is becoming a global thing .
And you’re also very young, turning 26 this year, do you have any big goals? Your own imprint or parties maybe?
This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about. I’m still fresh in this game so I don’t want to jump and make any decisions too fast. Right now I’m really happy working with Adam and Drumcode. I’m also starting to grow a lot as an artist as a whole. I’d like to kind of go with the flow and start to see what I feel is best for me in the future.
One of the tracks off your Drumcode release is titled ‘Where It Begins’, is there a message in there?
Of course! It’s the true beginning as an artist and in the album the music tells a bit of a story from start to finish. It also represents the beginning of my relationship with Drumcode.
There is also a track with Danny Tenaglia on the same EP, how was the experience of working with such a legend?
Epic. Happiness. Accomplished. Emotional. Ironic. So many words I could put into that answer of how I feel but it’s truly just a dream come true. He’s so humble, and is also one of the very first guys I ever saw play in New York. So for me it’s a total honor. He’s hilarious too. All round OG!!
What advice would you give to any DJs or producers just starting out?
Create your own Identity and originality. Don’t saturate the market we’re in by releasing every week. Networking is a must. Emails aren’t always the way to go, sometimes it’s better to see people in person! Most importantly, just have faith in yourself. I can’t tell you how many times people have told me I wouldn’t make it in this industry when I was a kid that it was too competitive. Don’t listen to that nonsense. Just do what you love and love what you do.
And before you go, what else does 2018 have in store for you?
Lots of shows. Perhaps another very special collab and of course a new Drumcode release is in the works! 2018 I can feel is the year of growth for me as an artist.