TIME LOST:

INTERVIEW DAVIDE SQUILLACE

FB: You belong to one of the first generations of Neapolitan artists who began to have international influence. How do you remember those first few years working with the music?

DS: Napoli has been the ground zero for me and a lot of my friends/colleagues. We all started to buy our first pieces of gear and equipment, and tried to understand how to transform an idea and a feeling into sounds through those machines. The learning curve has been quite a journey. Facing totally new technological hardware and discovering what this equipment could do and how they behaved has been intellectually challenging, but I can say that the personal reward has been high. It’s like being a kid in a candy store, where u actually were making the candies.

FB: Was Naples too small to continue living there for you? Where did you see that you could continue growing up?

DS: It was not about being too small; moving out it was more about having the possibility to interact with other ways of thinking, other cultures and other life stories. Growing is about stepping out of your comfort zone, getting to know the rest of world, challenging yourself, losing the ground under your feet and making a new one where u feel comfortable.

I went to London first for about 4 years, then moved to Barcelona. Meanwhile, I was travelling constantly around the world and have been fortunate to interact with many different layers of life.

FB: When was your first time that you came to Ibiza? What do you remember?

DS: The first time was when I was invited by Paco Osuna, one of my good friends. He was playing at Amnesia almost every day, and I started to meet people with him and played my first show at Amnesia. It was obviously a milestone achievement for me. But the best part was for sure getting to know many other producers and being able to talk the same technical language. Sharing and absorbing knowledge from people has been another key moment of my growth.

FB: What does Ibiza bring you, musically speaking, every year?

DS: Mostly you have the chance to hang with your music friends that live all around the world, talk music and listen to their productions and DJ sessions, It’s very inspiring. Ibiza always gives you that spark to keep on doing new music and look around for other new artists that bring fresh beats to the scene.

FB: You would know how to define in 3 adjectives-words, these three cities that you know so well.

Berlin: Organized, Cutting edge, Dangerous

London: Progressive, Cultural, Tough

Barcelona: Comfortable, Friendly, Home

 

FB: Barcelona is currently your city of residence, what does Barcelona bring to your day to day life? How have you handled the politics in Barcelona over this past year? Were there many artists who have considered leaving Barcelona along with all the companies?

DS: Barcelona is home, it’s where my family is. My kids love being in the sun and live life outdoors. Lately, we have had some political issues that made me think about moving out. When I first moved here, it was the place to be in Europe – very progressive and wanted to open it’s doors to the world. They had new ideas and a new way of living. Lately I don’t know anymore. But anyhow it’s my centre of activities and businesses – my team, my manager… they are all here and we work altogether face to face.

FB: Talk to us about your recent album Once Upon A Time in Napoli, which you released earlier this year via Crosstown Rebels. How important is this project as a defining moment of your career?

DS: I’ve never felt the necessity of making an album, I’ve done so many records that I felt it was kind of the same thing in a way. Last year I decided to listen to the latest stuff I made and I slowly realised that there was a common denominator, there were more complex and mature tracks, each of them telling a story – my story from napoli back in the days to today. So I decided to put them together into an album

FB: Let’s go back to Ibiza. Where do you feel most comfortable playing your music? And as a clubber or “tourist”, where do you like to go and what are your favourite parties or places?

DS: It’s more about who’s around you than where you are. When my crew and my people are with me, I’m fine almost everywhere! As a tourist I love the north of the island, lots of people don’t know how many hidden gems are around the island. There are beautiful beaches, green forests and amazing spas away from the madness.

FB: One of the projects you embarked on is “Better lost than stupid”. First of all, Where does the name come from?

DS: It came from a friend of ours, she said it and we went nuts, it totally describes us. We signed an album with BMG/Skint so our first mission is to finish the album, create a live show and take it on the road in 2019.

 

FB: Many times as a DJ, it is difficult to connect with the public, if it is B2B then it can be even more complicated, but by playing as a trio, do you find it easy to create a connection with the dancefloor?

DS: We do love to play b2b2b with Martin and Matthias, and yes most of the times we do connect together and with the crowd, but we decided to stop doing that. We are working on an album and are planning to perform it live as a real band.

FB: What has been your top performance with Better Lost Than Stupid?

DS: Probably one of the most memorable was the first one in NYC and the one at DC10 for a BLTS night – great crowd and, above all, the way we felt about our connection with the entire event was amazing.

FB: About the music you get. What’s the first thing you analyse? What advice can you give to the people who want to send you music?

DS: Maybe the first thing to analyse is if the piece of music is able to tell a story. Yes, there are also the records you need as a tool for the club and the performance, but I prefer to relate the ones that manage to say something. I’m not too obsessed on how it sounds at first as I know if the track is good it can be professionally mixed again, which can give a second life to it.

QUICK FIRE

First place you ever played as a DJ? Ghost club in Napoli

Your best set was where? Probably at DC10 in the garden, not during a peak time…

The best DJ you’ve ever seen play? Richie Hawtin 2001 in Naples

If you were not a DJ, what do you think you’d be doing? Industrial design

Your favourite place in Ibiza and why? Home, where I can be at ease with your real friends and do whatever the fuck I want.

Your speciality in the kitchen? Fresh tomatoes spaghetti

What equipment is missing in your studio? Neve mixer

A track that defines Ibiza for you? Depeche Mode – Ricardo Villalobos remix

¡Thanks!