Dani Casarano was born in Morges, by Lake Geneva, near Lausanne, to Italian parents. At 12 years old, he was absorbing hip-hop and acid jazz. He also soaked in the sounds that resounded at home, which featured, among others, Italian composer Ennio Morricone. Taking his destiny into his own hands, at just 14, Dani was inspired by house music and invested in Technics turntables. He also took guitar lessons and learnt musical notation. After leaving school, which he attended with Luciano, he decided to take the trip of a lifetime. The year was 1997 and the country he chose, after receiving an invitation from long-time compadre Luciano, was Chile. Magical, metaphysical, and volcanic, it was not unlike the rolling grooves that he loved and played. And it was here that he first met Ricardo Villalobos, Dandy Jack and Argenis Brito.

Dani soon began making his own productions, a servant to a universal groove. Always approaching electronic music with organic and acoustic elements. Always adapting to new places, faces, ideas and seasonal flavours. Yet always preserving the story and soul of the dance, the foundations of the scene. His debut was a CD album entitled In Transit 8 Track, which he wrote and produced under the alias Tony Mass, released on South American label Sum Records. He also contributed a single called ‘Break Sense’ to the Love Parade Santiago – Chile 2005 compilation on BMG. His first track to land on his beloved vinyl was ‘Oiseaux Sans Ailes’, produced with Ernesto Albacete (Ernie), which came out on Spanish label Deep Explorer in 2006. He then produced the techy, synth-heavy ‘El Zapo Hablo’; ‘the toad speaks’ being a Chilean expression for when everyone knows a secret about you. This was released in 2006 on Germany’s Connaisseur Supérieur, thereby the ‘undisclosed’ became self-evident: the man may be modest but his music was now speaking for itself.

Besides solo work, Dani regularly forms a DJ/production partnership with Chile’s Felipe Valenzuela. They are akin to brothers, born just one day apart, and have signed music to such labels as, among others, Bond, Recycle Records, and Metroline, where they were remixed by Oslo Records’ boss Nekes, producing lush funky sounds with earthy Latin American and African undertones – global dance music – that has impacted on heads, from John Digweed to Ben Watt to Nick Curly. Plus, as we speed towards 2010, there’s a boatload of fresh material on the horizon. For example, their ‘Santi EP’ will break on Fumakilla, and a remix will drop for M.in on Berlin-based Waldliebe Musik as well as for Iranzo Lasia on Italy’s Frequenza Limited. Meanwhile, Dani looks forward to kick-starting a second artist album, and even has an ambition to create film soundtracks. He will also continue to build upon his DJing, having already played everywhere from Ibizan superclubs (Pacha, Privilege and Space) to Berlin’s underground (Club der Visionaere) to Latin American hotspots (including D-Edge and Mint) and festivals (such as Creamfields and South American Music Conference (SAMC)).

Yes. In his hands, he’s got history, the future, yesterday and tomorrow. Dani Casarano: someone you’re sure to hear of much more from now on – and rightly so!

House music from Frankfurt: Reboot gets funky for the RA podcast.

Any DJ keen to smash a big room knows Frank Heinrich, AKA Reboot. In the past few years, he’s become a go-to producer for expertly sculpted weekend weapons, complete with plump bass kicks, infectious hooks and as he puts it, “complex rhythm architecture.” He’s also one of clubland’s most in-demand performers, both as a DJ and a live act, which caused him to spend the majority of 2009 in mega-clubs and overnight flights, sometimes playing as many as 20 gigs per month.

So far, 2010 looks only slightly less grueling for the jet-set producer, though he still sees it as an opportunity to lay low a bit. Once he’s back from his current far-flung tour, there’s a newly built studio waiting for him in Frankfurt, where he’ll have a chance to follow up his debut album, which he recently completed for Cadenza. At least until he takes off again for the next string of gigs. We caught up with Heinrich last week to see how he’s holding up, and chat about what the spring holds in store.

What have you been up to recently?

I am touring Asia at the moment. I just had a week in Japan and now I’m stopping over in Singapore, before going back to Europe. I am having a great time here. Lots of amazing people and outrageous parties.

Can you tell us a little about the idea behind the mix?

The idea is to show a nice range of the stuff I play and love to listen to at the moment. Something like a brief summary of a club set I would play these days.

What’s it been like producing your debut album? Have you had change your approach to songwriting at all?

It was a new challenge, finding a way to put tracks together that allow you to listen to the whole album without getting bored. I didn’t really have to change my approach to songwriting, especially from the technical point of view, but I spent more time than usual on sound design. I wanted all the album tracks to have a certain flow, without repeating each other too much.

In terms of touring, you had an extremely busy 2009. What was the best party you played?

Hard to name only one. I had so many amazing parties last year. Some of the high

Del Jardín Latino: -You are one of those artists that do not feed themselves with only electronic music, tell us which recently non-electronic bands or groups are the ones that you discovered.

Alexkid: -It is true that I listen to a lot of different things. Lately I have been listening quite a bit to the XX, a young british rock band, and also to an album on strut recordings which is a collaboration between Ethio-Jazz superstar Mulatu Astatke and the Heliocentrics, a Funk band from New York signed to Stones Throw(which is Peanut Butter Wolf’s label). I strongly recommend to buy these albums!
So yes, electronic is not my only source of inspiration, even though I consider myself as a club kid somehow. I grew up at Laurent Garnier’s Parties at the Rex Club in Paris. From there I keep my House and Technoroots from Detroit and from Chicago as that was what Laurent was playing.

DJL: -How did it affect you the closing of Fcom, the label of your releases for more than a decade?

AK: -To be honest , it was a relief. For the last year , we were not very comfortable in this situation where the label didn’t really know what they were going to do. Sometimes we were feeling they were expecting the same things we had been doing before, or maybe it was just miscommunication. The closing allowed us the artists to explore new things and go to other labels. I was starting to feel like a dinosaur at fcom, and now I get to compete with younger kids -hey , I’m still a kid OK?-… And even though it is not a very simple situation, it is very exciting. Like a good boost! and I needed this. I moved to Berlin, and it has also been inspiring me.

DJL: -When Fcom closed you signed releases for Cadenza and Rekids, two mainstream labels, are you considering being exclusive for  these labels?

AK: -Mainstream??? I don’t really consider them like mainstream (mainstream means commercial). They’re good selling labels, but they’re not commercial. It is not like I have signed to subliminal, and the releases I have made are quite obscure in their genre. The Dubs and Echo tales released on “cadenza split compositions” is very conceptual as the idea behind this is to have two very raw tracks and tools to add on them or on any other tracks, but those tools by themselves are inspired by “musique concrète” or ambient , or generative music… I can’t see this as mainstream. I know I will for sure release more stuff with Rekids, we’re pretty good friends with Radio Slave, and I like the team and the artists.
At the moment I’m also working with Get Physical and very soon there should be a release on NRK.

DJL: -You were in Argentina last month, how was the experience inside and outside the dancefloor scene? Did you enjoy your trip?

AK: -Of course!!!! I loved it. I have to say that this trip was actually quite fantastic. I met great people, which in fact didn’t really surprise me as I have already a lot of Argentinian friends here in berlin and in Spain, and they’re lovely. One of my favourite things whilst travelling is to try the local food and of course I had some of the best meat ever. And yes, there’s some serious partying going on in Buenos Aires when you get to know where to go… (ahem…) But thank god, I was well taken care of by  Lou from “Collage a la française” who showed me the right things!

DJL: -Do you have any future plan with a different aka or with alexkid?

AK: -I started working on my fourth album as “Alexkid” , but I’m seriously considering a side project , more for the floor, as some of my latest remixes and productions, and have a live act. something more “tracky” …
I have a dub/trip-hop band named “Dubphonic” and we just released our second album named “Relight“. We’re getting really good feedbacks from it , which is great because we really were not expecting that much. I am also part of another project with Liset Alea and RodriguezJr, under the name of “Honeythieves“, which is a mix of songs and Hip-hop , influenced by electronic…

DJL: -What can you tell us about this set for DJL Podcast?

AK: -Hmmm… well, I don’t really know , this is a little bit more obscure than what I usually play. It is more “after-ish”… I had fun doing it… There’s quite a few tracks from my chilean friends!
I hope you will enjoy this.

Whether house or techno his tracks have consistently earned praise from tastemakers like Luciano, Sven Väth or Laurent Garnier and earned him bookings at Berlin’s Panorama Bar, Watergate and Bar 25, London’s Circo Loco and TDK Cross Central festival, Amsterdam’s Studio 80, Munich’s Registratur, Italy’s Kama Kama, Brazil’s Warung Club and D’Edge, Manchester’s Tribal Sessions, Spain’s Nitsa as well as a residency for Bristol/London based party Bump.

Now living in Berlin, the Irish born, one time Londoner was tipped by Carl Cox to be one of his Heroes of 2009 on his Global radio show at the start of the year. Since his move to Berlin he has released EPs and tracks on Leftroom, Paradigma, Get Physical, Kindisch, Cocoon and Cadenza. As a remixer he’s turned his hand to tracks by artists like UNKLE and Sasse as well as remixed for labels like Bauns, Meerestief, Fade and Get Physical.

In June he submitted a mix for the hugely influential Ibiza Voice podcast series adding to a long list of mixes he’s created for stations and podcasts like London’s taste making Allez Allez, Carl Cox’s Global radio show, Kiss 100, Galaxy FM among others.

Perhaps its thanks to a youth spent lost in the experimental rock of bands like Sonic Youth, Rage Against The Machine and Fugazi before uncovering electronic music during an eye opening trip to England at the early age of 13 that’s lead to his obsession with futuristic music.

During this pivotal trip he remembers in particular hearing early drum ’n’ bass on a north London pirate radio station. “It sounded like the future being beamed down the radio waves,” he says. “and I’ve been chasing it ever since.”

Other mixes availables here

Source : Tsugi