A whole lot of buzz is going on about Daniel Tagliafferri aka Ivory (IT). The Italian dj, producer and guitarist, will be co-headlining CPH DEEP’s event @ KB18 on the 14th of September. We caught up with him to get some more info on his musical roots, and how he goes about making music.
You are an accomplished guitarist, and you produce and dj electronic music, when did this love affair with the genre occur and why?
I developed my musical experience playing in several bands and loving electronic music on two parallel lines for years. One day I noticed that I needed to express more myself through music, playing guitar was not enough, I felt the need to compose all by myself, shape every sound of my music, so I started producing electronic music.
In what way do you combine your experience and knowledge of playing a traditional instrument like the guitar when producing electronic music?
I don’t use guitars in my studio sessions but surely for a certain knowledge of musical scales, propensity to the rythm and melodies I have to thanks my guitar experience.
Where does your musical inspiration come from, any particular artists that has played a role in your own development as musician?
I listen to different kinds of music, inspiration come from the entire background of music I love, I can’t mention just one or two names, every artists is a small piece of my development as a musician. It’s like painting a landscape, you need very different elements and colors, each of them are indispensable for the harmony of the result.
You been quite productive putting out quality realeases on a string, how would you describe your journey from your first relase up until now?
My first release was on Offering Recordings, i have to say thanks to Sifa for this, he trusted in my music from the get go. After this I focused my energy on studio work with intensive sessions, I love to spend time in my studio to create my musical world, I improved my equipment and pumped out lot of releases on good labels, working hard brought me attention from big artists like Dixon and great labels like Kompakt.
What’s the most difficult thing trying to make it as an electronic music artist, any advice for people starting out?
I don’t know if I can give advice to someone, each of us can learn something new everyday. In my opinion, first thing is music, your own style, your sign. Nowadays being a musician means many things: an artist, a manager, an influencer. But first, take care of your music, because have to be unique.
You reside in Milan, what’s the electronic music scene like there and in general in Italy, can you compare it to other countries?
There are two sides of the same coin. People addicted to clubbing not for the music culture but just for trend, for the ”nightlife”, and people who love music, people with culture for music, with a real passion. It’s not for nothing we have a lot of good artists in Italy, djs, producers, in fact, international big labels are full of italian producers.
Can you reveal something about future releases / projects in the pipeline for you, what can people look forward to?
Yes of course, i have 3 releases next up, I will come back out with 3 labels which i have already collaborated: MoBlack, Azzur and Scatcity.
You’re co-headlining KB18 on the 14th of September for CPH DEEP. What can people expect, and how would you describe your sound for the people who don’t know you?
My sets are like my music, I’m strongly influenced by music from around the world, you can find nordic landscapes, oriental melodies, afro.latin rythms, my musical approach has no borders.
By Heinrich Kipp
Checkout the exclusive mix Ivory made for CPH DEEP below! And support his stuff on Beatport
