CARMELO PONENTE

Hello Carmelo Ponente, it’s a pleasure to meet you. For those who may not know you, how would you describe yourself?

Thank you for having me and for your patience, which allowed me to fit this interview into a life that’s been pretty busy over the last few months.

I’ve always found it difficult to talk about myself or describe myself, but if I have to rely on my friends and the people who surround me on a daily basis, I’m apparently a person who’s very passionate about everything I do, but who also pays attention to the smallest detail (not always easy to manage in production, haha)

How long have you been a DJ, and what format has attracted you the most so far?

I started mixing when I was about 17, when I heard that a friend’s cousin was selling his turntables and mixer. Being a fan of the Hip Hop culture at the time (and I still am), all I wanted to do was to be able to mix the vinyls I’d started collecting from labels such as Death Row, Def Jam , Bad Boys and all the artists who made this 90s culture shine. Then, by chance, while I was searching for new sounds in a store, I discovered a CD entitled “ Fuse presents Dave Clarke ” and, as I lived just a few minutes from the club, I got curious and listened to it. It was a true slap in my face that marked a turning point in my life, musically speaking. As I didn’t know much about that techno back then, I started going through the catalog of the artists on the tracklist, then went slowly on to the various labels, and finally fell in love with this kind of techno. I’ll never forget the moment I came across « Badger Bite » from Surgeon !

Vinyl has always been something I have a special affinity for but nowadays, I take as much pleasure no matter the format.

How do you feel your style and approach to sets have evolved throughout your career?

I think that our tastes and styles change throughout our lives, just like everything else. I don’t play exactly the same things and in the same way as I did a few years ago

For me, it was mainly being driven by what I like, without worrying about what people might think, that was the trigger for what I play and how I play it today.

The approach to my sets is quite different whether it’s for a podcast or a club.

When it’s for a club, I like to know what I will play without the order but when it comes to a Podcast, I control this parameter more.

In both cases, I always allow room for improvisation because to me, it’s very important to let his personality speak as much as possible

How did your learning process unfold when it came to producing?

I started out as a DJ before becoming a producer. It took me a long time to see what I could create.

Discovering the world of modular pushed me to go a step further but the fact that I didn’t know much about it made it both difficult and exciting.

That’s one of the reasons why it took me so long to record something because I was never satisfied with what came out. In fact, that’s still often the case today, but it seems to be a normal situation haha

What is your initial approach when you start working on a new project? Do you have a clear idea in mind, or do you prefer to experiment?

My best moments were when I had no idea of what I wanted to do and just simply enjoyed playing with the machines.

I always try to separate the exploration sessions from those that are more dedicated to the production process, which allows me to record materials for a later use.

That being said, as soon as I come up with an idea I like, I record it. And if I can give just one advice, always record your sessions … I have too often regretted not doing so!

If you’d like to add anything else, what would it be?

I’d really like to thank all the people and labels who support my music, it’s a real source of motivation, because as a producer, it’s sometimes not easy to believe in what we are doing.

But at the end, it’s a personal work, which won’t please everyone anyway, but staying true to our roots and doing the best we can is the only way to make a difference :)

Hope you will like it !