Simone Gatto - From Salento, With Fury

On the occasion of the Velvet Culture Festival – a major, wide-ranging electronic music event from Salento of which OndaRock is a media partner – we meet producer and composer Simone Gatto, fresh off the release of his second LP, “Heaven Inside Your Frequencies“, to ask him about his very long experience in the field, both as a remarkable solo sound manipulator and as a producer of the highest caliber. Gatto is co-founder of the celebrated Out-ER, a label that over the years has produced records by artists of the stature of Juan Atkins, Orlando Voorn and Terrence Dixon. He is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing researchers on the Italian and international electronic music scene.

Reading up on you, both online and in print, I keep coming across versatility as a defining element of your music. The impression I've formed is that alongside this versatile, dynamic electronic substrate, there's a lot more going on: first and foremost, a love for Detroit and an obsessive attention to nuance. So, before digging deeper into your musical universe, I have to ask: having collaborated with Orlando Voorn, who has always bridged his Amsterdam with that same Detroit, even ending up moving to the States on several occasions, and having produced sacred monsters like Terrence Dixon and Juan Atkins, what did that leave you with? How attached are you to that kind of intermingling with the history of techno music?

Ever since I was a kid, I've always been fascinated by the world of Detroit-made techno. I remember one of the first records I bought was "Starlight" by Model 500 - I'd lie on my bed listening to it, mesmerized, even before I'd learned to mix. Orlando Voorn is a master of the genre. Having had the chance to collaborate with him on a few projects helped shape my sound, as well as allowing me to get in touch with sacred monsters like Juan and Terrence, whom I'd always dreamed of meeting and working with. If I had to try to define my sound, I'd definitely start from a strong dub and deep influence that runs through the various subgenres of electronic music, from downbeat all the way to techno, with particular attention paid to sound design.

Let's move on now to the more distinctive aspects of your art. Your first album is actually a philosophical concept album based on the treatise of the same name by Meister Eckhart, the German theologian and religious figure. Could you tell us about this project - where it comes from and what it means to you? It's not every day you come across a concept of this kind in today's vast electronic music landscape…

When I started writing my first album "Detachment" I was doing my PhD in Moral Philosophy at the University of Lecce. I was particularly struck by the sermon "On Detachment" by the theologian Meister Eckhart, who understands detachment as the movement of the intellect and of the whole soul that grasps the finiteness, the partiality, the dependence on the subject's will present in every act of affirmation - that is, in every bond with things - and takes its distance from it. I recognize myself completely in this idea, so I thought it made sense to call the album "Detachment", drawing on this very concept and at the same time sending out a message of "detachment" from everything that characterizes today's music world and beyond: appearance, falseness and attachment to fleeting things (money, hype, etc.)

I know you've done a great deal of work, and still do, in the field of music therapy. Where does this wonderful passion come from? Could you tell us how you connect your sonic sensibility to such a delicate process?

Since 2014 I've been organizing seminars/workshops across Italy, the Netherlands and Germany, in which - together with other experts and musicians - I explored and analyzed (through experiments and hands-on exercises) the power of frequencies on our minds, the emotional and physiological response to music by performers during a show, and the empathic bond that can be established between the performer and the audience. After this research journey, which ended with the publication of my first essay, at the start of the year I decided to enroll at the national institute Artedo to specialize in Music Therapy. I saw it as a natural choice, born out of my love for music and for others. Using sound as a means to expand communication, connection and empathy through sonic improvisation, and in some cases - through vibroacoustics - even to heal people, is something that fulfills me deeply and makes me happy. It's a path I'll be following for the rest of my life.

Listening to your tracks, I always sense a clear urge to zigzag and sway without ever losing sight of a straight line. Yet on your latest album the arrangements sometimes feel more fragmented and "dirty". Would you agree? Who are your guiding lights on the more experimental side? 

Broadly speaking, yes, I recognize what you're describing! Let's say every work is different from the last. The further I go, the more new things I experiment with, and the more I notice my sound evolving into something new. I think that's normal, isn't it? As for my reference points, I have several: Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, Mika Vainio, Drexciya, Boards of Canada, Portishead, Brian Eno, just to name a few I've followed for over a decade.

Your performances are often accompanied by 3D visuals from The29nov. How much does the visual drive matter to you, and how do you take care of that side of your sets?

Visuals are now an integral part of my performances, especially when I play a live set - I consider them essential to deliver a complete show. I usually collaborate with Sebastian from The29nov and Stanislav Glazov from Licht Pfad. I have a great connection with both of them, they know me well and manage to perfectly interpret what my music is trying to express.

You founded the excellent Out Electronic Recordings with Andrea Santoro back in 2010. How's it going, and what has changed in the scene since then?

Trends have changed, along with all the people who follow them. We see a lot of people show up on the scene and disappear within a couple of years, or completely change their musical identity. I believe that if you want to run a label that leaves a mark, the key ingredients are consistency, coherence and passion. As far as we're concerned, things are going great - we've got some nice news coming up for 2018.

What gear do you typically use? Which "machines" are you most attached to, and which ones would you like to explore further?

I feel at home with the synths and drum machines I own, namely: Prophet 12, Moog Sub 37, Juno 60, Roland System 8, Access Virus Ti, Acid Lab Miami, Analog Rhythm. In my compositions I also use various types of drones and field recordings. As a sequencer I've been using Ableton Live for ten years and I know it like the back of my hand. I've been playing bass for over three years, and I've reached a more than satisfying level, but I feel I can still improve. What I feel I need to dig deeper into are modular systems. I often visit friends in the studio who have great setups, and I'd love to expand my knowledge on that front much further. It'll happen sooner or later!

Your beloved Salento, Berlin and New York. How have these three very different worlds influenced your music and your songwriting? 

Salento is my homeland, whose sounds are part of my sonic identity; it's my container, the point of return after every journey. Berlin is where I founded my label, where many of the producers I release live, and it's a city that has contributed a great deal to my artistic and cultural growth. New York is a magical city, full of light and vitality. I've been going there every year for about six years now, and I've come to know it very well. I've met so many people there, from different cultures and backgrounds, who have shaped the way I think and my outlook on things. Even though the clubbing scene isn't as vibrant as in Berlin, there are some standout parties where I play regularly, like Industries Of Machines and Sheik'n'Beik.

"Heaven Inside Your Frequencies" is a different album from its predecessor, aside from the conceptual starting point. It's divided into two parts, and it's intrinsically linked to your first essay, which shares the same title and deals with the power of frequencies across various fields, both theoretical and practical. On the record there's a clear connection between music and nature. Personally, I find it very well realized and deeply thought-provoking. Could you tell us about this particular synergy? Could you also explain more about what interaction with the club-goer means to you, in terms of deepening the benefits of sound and frequencies? 

As I said earlier, music - or sound in general - has the power to expand communication, connection and empathy between people, and to convey a message more powerfully than any other medium. This happens because we human beings are made up of 90% liquid, so the vibrations that pass through us shake us to our core. Now, imagine all the stimuli we're exposed to during a club night. If the parameters with which the music is played - pitch, rhythm, intensity, tonality, dynamics, volume and so on - are left in the hands of whichever "selecta" happens to be on duty, the message conveyed to the crowd will be the result of a combination of random factors. But if the person playing knows the music and selects it according to the parameters listed above, the audience can end up in empathy with the performer (who, through body language, can help heighten this mirroring process) and see themselves reflected in their journey, experiencing very intense emotions.

In your essay you also address the consumption of sound in today's digital age, as well as the earliest theories and application techniques put forward by the pioneering theorists of the genre. Could you briefly explain what you mean by all this, and where your need to bring such a complex yet tremendously relevant topic to the fore comes from?

The need to compare how sound is consumed in today's digital age with its earliest applications stems from a desire to highlight how our ancestors paid far more attention to the communicative and beneficial power of sound than we do today, even though they had 1% of the possibilities we have now. The problem nowadays is that there's absolute saturation, since we can listen to music anywhere and at any time: on the radio, which broadcasts thousands of songs, on television, both music channels and mainstream ones, where videos and performances are a constant presence, in advertising, where it has often become dominant. And then in supermarkets, elevators, shops, cars, creating a kind of constant soundtrack that often turns into an unrecognizable mush, a rhythm with no meaning, background noise; for this reason people no longer pay the attention to listening that they should. Instead, with the technology we have available today, I think it's very reductive to use music in such an inflated way, without taking care to select it according to specific parameters. Fortunately, in recent years this trend has been changing, and various projects have emerged that use sound and music with intention, both in therapeutic settings and in the field of communication.

Apulia is seriously starting to give birth to an interesting electronic scene all its own, made up of many talented producers who are often unduly hidden away in Italy's techno underground, or forced to escape to various European capitals in order to gain greater recognition. It's a complex situation, but one that's starting to be resolved, and the backing of fantastic events like Velvet seems to me one of the best starting points, and ways, to turn things around, or at least to shine some light on the local scene. What's your personal take on this small but significant challenge?

I think, as you said, that the Apulian electronic scene is full of great talent. The problem is fragmentation. Looking at scenes like Detroit or Berlin, the winning factor that got their scenes recognized globally was unity and collaboration toward defining a single, original sound typical of that place. So we need to come together and collaborate with each other as much as possible, and events like Velvet certainly help create meeting points and the collaborations that follow, while also showcasing local artists who deserve a platform to express themselves.

What are your plans for the future? Among the many up-and-coming artists you know and follow, who would you recommend to a wider audience? 

Over the coming months I'll keep taking my album on the road: after Berlin and Lecce, I'll be heading to Milan, Rome, Bologna and New York. In the meantime, I'm continuing my work as a music therapist and as a label owner, getting ready for upcoming releases. Since we were talking about the Apulian scene, let me mention here the names of the artists I admire and who deserve to be kept an eye on for their musical quality: Distant Echoes, Buck e la Substrato Records, Kaelan aka 2030, Haiku, Hydergine, 3kz, Z.I.P.P.O, Alfredo Mazzilli, Dona aka Dj Plant Texture, Marcello Napoletano, Robert Crash, Dan Mela and Okee Ru. Besides the names from the Apulian scene, I'd suggest keeping an eye on Mørk, that is Francesco Devincenti and Emanuele Pertoldi. They're really talented and have a truly personal sound - the first album from Pregnant Void, a sub label of Out-ER, was produced by them. 

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