Blitz fans will recognize the names Alessio Barletta, Lavandonia and Alles Andere. The three Italian, Munich-based DJs are known as enthusiastic selectors and scene members with a penchant for Minimal-orientated shades of Techhouse and Electro. Now the three have teamed up to form their own imprint called > DISCONTINUOUS < and have recently released their first EP > BAL < with infectious four tunes and beats from Alessio Barletta himself.
We wanted to find out more about Discontinuous, the BAL EP and Alessio Barletta’s musical journey.
Check out the preview on soundcloud and don’t forget to shop the record if you dig it, too!
And shop the goods right here:
https://www.hhv.de/shop/en/records/item/alessio-barletta-bal-ep-1108588
Now let’s hear what Alessio has to say!
BLITZ: Hi Alessio, people in Munich have known you as a DJ for a while, now you’re bringing out your first EP on your own label, Discontinuous. Tell us more about it: what can we expect from the music?
Alessio: Certainly something different from what I was doing before my move to Germany. In Rome, I delved into the world of electronic dance music back in 2009 during a period that I consider historical concerning the European and Italian minimal techno scene, a genre that I immediately fell in love with and subsequently pursued and presented as a DJ and producer. Then my work brought me here to Monaco [Munich], where I instantly had the opportunity to broaden my musical horizons by being in contact with a music scene quite different from my usual one, starting to look way closer to techno and electro artists. This experience significantly contributed to my new way of seeing, listening, selecting, and producing my music. With the BAL EP, I want to transfer my concept and idea of making music directly aimed for the dance floor at this part of my life and creative path; 4 tunes made to move dancers in different situations.
BLITZ: How would you describe the music to someone who doesn’t know anything about dance music?
Alessio: If you don’t know much about dance music, I would suggest starting listening from the basics. However, instead of recommending some popular hits, if I were to provide this kind of “explanation,” I would simply play one of the records that, for me, was the beginning of everything: a tune from 2005 by Villalobos titled ‘Chromosul.’ In my case, it opened up the world of what dance music is, or at least let’s say, the type of dance music I wanted to explore and follow. Of course, then I would play another one (the whole story must be told); more actual speaking about my taste, so why not directly the BAL EP; perfect combo in order to highlight the two different visions of music flows.
BLITZ: Tell us more about Discontinuous. When did you start thinking about it? What’s the aim behind Discontinuous?
Alessio: I spent a really long period experimenting with new things, collecting records different from what I would usually pack into my DJ bag, with the aim to find the right balance between my musical background and what I currently enjoy selecting. For a couple of years now, I’ve been focusing on my productions again, pushed by my big friend Mike (Bakked). Initially, my plan was to print some promotional copies to give to the artists I felt most in line with my style, something that I was already doing with Mike. The aim was to find a way to get in touch with selected artists and interest them for my music, but we were far away from calling it a “label”. Discontinuous truly began when it became a three-player game.
BLITZ: You’ve formed Discontinuous together with Lavandonia and Alles Andere – two more, Munich-based Italian DJs. How did you get to know each other? And tell us more about how you worked on the label and release together!
Alessio: Basically, it all started when one day I randomly met Jessica and Alessandro, two guys from Verona who had just moved here. They were talking about music, about a particular record—a record I was crazy about at that time. Enough to fill an entire evening talking as perfect strangers and then to begin a friendship entirely based on music, due to our very similar tastes and paths but different experiences. We met then regularly, with nice nights fully dedicated only to playing records. One morning, I played some tunes I had just finished; one of these was the A2-Roger (track dedicated to my cat) and they convinced me that it was the right time to release them, for real, on vinyl, just as we like it. They were exactly what I needed, the people encouraging me to take the next step, so we merged plans and ideas and we gave life to what is now Discontinuous. That’s it.
BLITZ: Where do you see Discontinuous sit in Munich’s music landscape?
Alessio: We believe that the music experiences gained in Italy can increasingly find space even here – quite simply.
Interviewer: What are your next steps?
Alessio: We are having a lot of fun at the moment and we already have a second release planned. It will be from various artists, formed by artist friends that are part of Italian collectives, well connected to us and that we cherish a lot.
Interviewer: How have your experiences as a DJ shaped the production? Is it your very first production?
Alessio: I’ve already released tracks under a different artist name, as I said with a much more minimal and experimental musical approach, in line with the Italian electronic music movement I was immersed in. Being extremely curious and passionate about electronics and technology, I was eaver to find out more about what happens on a musical level (on a production level) before a track is being finished and ultimately played by a DJ. So I would start work on tracks from scratch. And then it became my immediate parallel passion alongside DJing itself. However, the first thing I do now as part of my artistic process is to dedicate myself to production. Then, I follow it up with the search for new music based on what I enjoyed producing and I try to align the two aspects.
Interviewer: For the gear and production nerds among our readers: do you want to share some insights on the production process and the gear you used?
Alessio: Right now my hardware setup is fairly basic and is represented by the machines I know the best so far and I love to work with since the beginning. It consists of an analog polyphonic and drum synthesizers, drum machine, and a sampler, all with a dedicated sequencer. I program music but I don’t play keyboard. The sound and rhythmic programming of these three machines together is almost always the initial part of the creative process. From then I move to the computer, recording vintage synths and drum machine emulators until arrangement and mixing phase.
BLITZ: When is the next time we can see you and members of the Discontinuous gang play live?
Alessio: We are about to announce our first label night here in Munich and really can’t wait to play together, all three of us!
BLITZ: And now to our final question, that we ask every interview. Aside from personal connections and self-promotion, networking, etc. – what piece of music is on your personal heavy rotation right now? Tell us more about what you adore about it, too.
Alessio:
There’s not a particular > new < one at the moment, as I’m fully focused on production and the rest of time I’m selecting new music; but I want to tell you about one that marked a significant moment in my life, since I moved I moved to Munich.
With > Tactic of Bass <, I want to thank all the people and friends that constantly support me and Blitz Club, that made me feel at home from the the very first night.