Podcast
GNMR
Discussion with Gianmaria.Today, for the 3rd episode of Abracadaba Radio, I'm super honoured to host Gianmaria Coccoluto aka Gnmr.
GNMR delivered an hynothic techno set recorded at Hotel Butterfly which can only came from a real Wizard.
Gianmaria was born in Rome in 1994, growing up surrounded by records with a background that stems from Psychedelic Rock and Black music, up to the purest Electronics. He acquired the art of djing from his legendary father, Claudio Coccoluto.
Gianmaria quickly developed a huge passion for electronic music, and started playing records when he was only 14 years old.
His mixes and productions creatively cover a mix of underground sounds traveling between a lot of genres. Its eclectic sounds make the listeners immerse themselves in an absorbing and energetic flow, that is both progressive and constant.
GNMR puts turntables and vinyls at the center of his setup to give its sounds analog dynamics.
I would love to talk about your career if you are into it, can you please me a little bit more about your background ? Did you have basic musical training ? Are you self-taught ? Do you play an instrument?
- Hello and thank you for the lovely introduction, it is a pleasure to be here talking to you.
Of course, my love for DJing started very early thanks to the influence of my dad, also a DJ, one of the top Italian exponents of the House sound in the world. Unlike what you may think my path was very personal, my dad was a fair educator, he made sure and wanted me to work to earn my achievements. When I asked him when I was 15 if I could use one of his pairs of Technics he told me that if my desire was to personally use turntables I had to buy my own pair.
To do that, where to start my first season as a waiter during the summer. Earning and saving that money to buy my first pair of turntables was such an important lesson for me that I think it definitely crystallized my passion for music and for this world.
Can you quote 5 big influences on your art?
- Definitely among the disciplines that most influence my music and how I live it are Graphic Design, all art related to video media combined with music, and Cinema.
I consider these disciplines to be the main inspiration to which I link to create the images and settings for my music in my head.
When I compose I draw on what I have seen to draw visual suggestions from it to translate into sound.
Can you please talk to us about the impact of your origin on your music?
- I was born in Rome, but I grew up in a small provincial town, far from the hustle and bustle of big cities, crazy traffic and store lights on, 24 hours a day.
Besides as an individual, as a music lover and as an artist later... I was able to perceive how important this was for me and my music
Living in a country far from the latest trends and fashions in terms of musical innovations and having had very few people with whom to share and compare my tastes in depth; I remained very attached to what were my personal influences but most of all to my taste, never worrying about whether a song or sound was the right one for the moment or for my friends but focusing only on what I liked. All of this was also important for my DJing, it made it so that my sound could be more universal than ever, growing up on "dancefloors" that were not culturally prepared (which then you don't need culture to dance to house and techno) made it so that I didn't only give importance to the music but also to the order and the moments and the way the records were to be played.
Creating a suggestion, surprising, taking people to another world is a way of capturing them to experience what we want to communicate through our records.
What is the impact of Italy into your career and/or on your music taste ?
- Growing up as an artist in Italy in some ways is fantastic, apart from the meteorological and historical geographic location, which for me plays its fundamental part in the life of an artist.
Italy then is a real cradle of the culture of our movement since it has been introduced innovation in the dance music world for generations.
Generally Italian dancefloors and parties are full of energy, fantastic people and attention to detail as well as remarkable locations.
Growing up here made sure that I absorbed all the history and tradition of this movement.
You recently work on the reedition of your dad’s book “Io, DJ”. Can you please tell us a bit about what was your role in it ?
- Of course, the book operation was a due thing!
In fact after the passing of my dear dad the first edition of "IO, DJ" , which had already been out of production for a few years, was for sale in resell on specialized sites at the crazy price of 150e x copy.
Hence the decision together with Pierfrancesco Pacoda co-author of the book, to work on a reprint that would be accessible to everyone and perhaps be accompanied by new content.
So we chose photographic integration, with more than 30 photos collected from my dad's personal archive and contextualized to the period of writing the book and the topics covered.
I was then responsible for the selection and photographic contextualization and to the production of the text itself.
For you, how different is it to work on a book, or on music/set ? I feel that in both you can tell a story.
- Actually I don't find the work of artistic production in general so different from the specific act of DJing. Of course obviously from the specifically technical point of view the acts are different, but from the creative mental point of view I think the book work, the recording studio work, the act of djing or the artistic direction of a label are not that different.
I think it's just a matter of connecting the dots.
We saw you at different events such as Imagine in Paris but also recently your halloween with @teksupport party + @dubblack.ltd 001 launched at @archivio_records, can you please tell me more about those parties? The place of NY and Paris in your art ?
- Of course, Imagine in Paris was for me without a doubt one of the most important parties I attended in 2022. It was my Parisian debut and I did it with a super tight crew that believes in music and puts the party vibe at the center. I hope to get back as soon as possible.
Halloween in NYC was great, being able to play records in the Ex Output now Superior Ingredients with Tek Support crew leading House and Techno events all over the US.
Can you please tell us what’s your process behind the creation of your sets?
- The part of researching and working on music for me is the fundamental part of the DJ's job, the live performance is just the tip of the iceberg of long and patient work. I choose my music based on the curiosity that the tracks arouse in me, based on the music and sound palettes that I really love and like. I choose what can arouse perceptual emotions and amaze the dancefloor.
Do you remember which record you have first?
- This is a difficult question to answer because I grew up literally inundated with music.
One of the first dance records I bought was this one :
Greek magikē, or art of magic, that's what this EP means to me, not only because I found that this EP is particularly a good match with our universe, but because you will enter into a magical journey that won't leave you indifferent. The art of magic is a special and exciting quality that makes something seem different from ordinary things, that's what this EP is about. Different.
The EP starts off with some very hypnotic techno, moves through a dark one to finish with a slower one. Where the inspiration is coming from?
- The inspiration for the tracks and the EP came from working on the sample part and the music research work. The composition part was quite straightforward and fast, without too much overthinking.
What I wanted to convey was a musical flow in an immersed world traveling on different emotional states and speeds. The concept behind it tells about my emotional situation after my dad's bequest.
I wanted to make a solid and straightforward EP.
"Self Control" tells about my personal moment of searching for stability in instability.
"I Go Forward" is a repetitive mantra to give me the strength to continue, until "Give me Music" with the search for my head lost in the world.
I’m sure that all of these tracks could fit to very different moments, what was your desire with this EP?
- The desire is that this dance EP was also thought of and enjoyable from one's headphones, in one's bedroom in the morning, in the darkest moments where all seems lost...
Can you tell us a bit more about your label project? Where’s the name from?
- Dubblack is the little sister of The Dub label founded by my dad in 1996, as the name suggests Dubblack is the "black" version of The Dub.
The style signature is that of dark, dark and electronic with at the center the concept of the vortex where perceptive, the ritualistic and obsessive music takes us into a vortex of repetition and changement.
Why is having your own label important to you?
- I think having my own label is a manifesto of freedom, liberty and musical space available for those who feel connected to this electric, swirling flow.
You are using a lot of different speeches, on your production and on your podcasts. Did you choose them to send a message ?
- Behind the creation of music or the study of a set there is always a message and a purpose.
My goal is to place the listener to the center and guide him on a journey with no time or space.
Let’s go deeper on the different tracks.
A1. Self Control:
The EP starts with a hypnotic techno. Guided by a strong synth and a dark vocal talking about Self control.
The different textures like the flowing water helps you enter into a fascinating obscure atmosphere.
Self Control was the first track I wrote on the EP. In general the whole record came down very easily, I worked very carefully first on the choice of sounds and samples so that the songwriting phase could be much faster and instinctive.
For Self Control I sought a direct touch with my father and his music, I dusted off his SP1200 and worked on a series of samples sampled just from him in the 90s, it was of great motivation and gave me the feeling that our relationship has a strong continuity even now that he is not around.
The song is divided into two parts, the first one of introduction with FUK DAT's vocal, which does not need too much introduction, neither on the level of the intrinsic meaning of the lyrics nor on the level of the fame of the song, the second part of the song has a more heavenly and ethereal dimension, Self Control's vocal enters and brings peace and control over the song and then sends it into another dimension.
B1. Vado Avanti:
The second track, Vado Avanti, makes you move on, guided by a hypnotic repetitive voice accompanied by an acid bassline. A strong kick drum takes you progressively into a magical darkness.
With "Vado Avanti" I wanted it to do a very solid track, I used samples of industrial sounds to create the atmosphere I was experiencing at the time.
I worked on the whole EP on the spur of the moment and "Vado Avanti" was actually the last track I produced.
I remember it was late at night and I pretty much had the track in my hands even though I felt there was a missing element, in the meantime I was beginning to be wracked with fatigue and totally senile from the amount of hours worked on the track.
While in the darkness of the night lit only by the small LEDs of the synths in the room, I begin to feel in the flow of the track the space to let something in, so I begin to recite to myself these motivational mantra-like words in order to close the track, "I go forward, I don't stop."
B2. Give Me Music:
The last track of the EP is guided by a sample of Paul Simon Nontooth from Exuma, who was a Bahamian musician, artist, playwright and author known for his almost unclassifiable music. His lyrics deal heavily with Obeah, a sorcery Caribbean folk religion resembling African voodoo.
A dead man, out of his grave, is searching for his head and is talking to you, surrounded by a mystical production.
Yes, Exuma is the most magical part of the record, a touch that takes you to another dimension, pirate-like far from the time we are living in.
Exuma's musical poetics like his musical philosophy need to be more popular because they can be of great inspiration and teaching on how to live musical poetics differently.
Conclusion about the EP: Those tracks really make you enter a dark magical world. That's a pretty promising release delivered by the man and I'm thrilled to discover the upcoming releases.
What do Abracadabra make you think of ? - Abracadabra makes me think of something magical, and what you do is.
Growing the culture of a community and serving it with content and information that reaches its users is simply magic.
Do you love magic ?
- Definitely yes!
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