Marco Carola
In techno, eight years is really like 56 years.
Check out Marco Carola, whose new CD, Play It Loud!, his first since 2003, oozes groove and minimal subtleties, like a man wisely trying to preserve his auditory function, and ours, from the punishing techno tendencies of his past.
We caught up with the Naples, Italy-based based DJ/artist as he began his world tour, in support of Play It Loud!
What’s changed as far as your DJ sets? The main change, the biggest difference, is that before I was using three decks and doing fast mixes and short sets. It was more like a compressed few hours of pumping techno. Today, I’m focused on the direction I’m going without the music. Of course, the pitch has slowed down over the years, too.
Did your followers revolt? I found it difficult at the beginning of my change, where people expected me to play really hard, but I made the decision to play smaller clubs where the people were more open. But while that was a challenge, I still felt people were following me. Today I’m really happy with the sound I’ve reached and that many people followed me in that change.
How has your DJing evolved technically over the years? When I started DJing, I was using three decks. My best friend when I was younger was the son of the owner of Kiss Kiss club in Naples, so I learned about DJing from going there and seeing people play. Their booth had three decks, so it was natural in the beginning to start this way. Over the years I’ve moved from three decks to my set-up now, which is Native Instruments Traktor with two-deck vinyl control and my favorite machine, which is Red Sound C-Loops.
Why the change? The change always happens when you have something that you realize you don’t use anymore. I changed from three decks to two when I started to put the sampler in and I wasn’t using the third turntable so much, or asking for it anymore. And there was about a year when I was taking my record case without ever actually playing a record, so slowly I decided to change to just Traktor. But it was always kid of slow. There was never a day when I thought, “I’ll do this…”
