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Q: What started you off in the music business – do you remember the song
you heard that you thought “Wow! I want to play/make THAT kind of music”
Alexi: It was when I saw this movie "Breakin' " in the mid 80's, it has this scene where the
dancer called "Turbo" is cleaning up a street corner and Kraftwerk's ‘Tour de
France’ starts playing in the background. I was myself a break‐dancer then and I
instantly thought "woooow I really have to learn how to create these sounds".
Q: You were born in Chile – Chile seems to be a birth place for vibrant techno
producers – I’m thinking of Villalobos and a few others. Coincidence or something in
the air?!
Alexi: I think it’s the seafood and the wine…..hehe!
South America has always had a lot of very talented producers. In the past the
problem was that they couldn’t afford or couldn’t get a hold of the instruments
needed to produce electronic music. Now days when all you need is a computer they
have now started to shine through. I’m very happy and proud about this. Every time
I tour South America I come back with some incredible productions given to my by
people I meet.
Q. So when you moved to Sweden – how quickly did you get involved in the music
scene? Was it an easy transition finding like‐minded individuals to work with?
Alexi: When I moved to Sweden I was 7 years old. The first thing I got into was break
dancing and at the same time my parents enrolled me in classical guitar school. Yes I
did actually find like‐minded individuals quite easily.
Q.You tour all over the world but it seems predominantly in Europe. What’s it like
coming back to NYC to perform? How do you find the crowds here? It seems like
techno is under appreciated except by a smaller crowd – which makes it kind of cool
really!
Alexi: I like going and playing places but I love playing in New York. I have lots of friends
here and there is nothing like playing for them. Usually when I play outside of New
York I tend to play a more techno oriented set because that’s what’s expected of me
but here at home I usually go for a more “housey” style. I really don’t know why I
started doing that, perhaps because I spend most of my time playing techno I
wanted to change it up for myself and try out all this amazing house music that gets
sent to me.
Q. So you decide to make a piece of music (on your own or with a collaborator).
What is that process like? Do you go in with a percussion or a melody in your head?
It must be a different process (or is it) from an acoustic musician?
Alexi: Well to be honest I don’t often walk around with a baseline idea or a melody. I strive
for a feeling or an emotion. When I get inspired to work, the song or track writes itself I just become a mediator between my feelings and the computer. It’s hard to
explain. I feel perhaps like Jackson Pollock with and empty canvas in front of me
throwing very random looking yet very calculated patterns of sounds on it.
Q. You’ve collaborated a lot with Tony Rohr (who just played here at the
Dog and Pony Show). How did that come about?
Alexi: I have worked with Tony for a long time. He is a very talented man and often full of
ideas. With most of the friends that I co’ lab with I try to make sure that they really
work with an open mind. Nothing or no idea in the studio should be too much or too
crazy unless the track says so. We always try anything and everything with out any
holdbacks. If I work with some one who has a very solid idea of what he wants then I
will tell him that he or she should go and work on his own track alone. No point in
collaborating.
Q. When and if you have spare time, what do you like to do apart from music?
Alexi: I’m a visualist. To get inspired I have always enjoyed visuals. Paintings,
photography, movies or architecture are some of things that inspire me. So when
I’m not in the studio I’m often out with a camera taking pictures or walking around
looking at buildings and people. Or sit a home all day watching movies.
Q. If you weren’t a dj/producer, what kind of a job do you think you’d have?
Alexi: I’d be an architect for sure.
Q. As opposed to a musical architect! What’s next for you Alexi– more djing or producing? Any gigs (apart from NYC!) that you’re looking forward to?
Alexi: Right now I’m focusing on finishing up all the co’ lab work that has accumulated
during the past year. I have works with Adam Beyer, Paco Osuna, Davide Squillace,
Ambivalent, Camea, Insideout and the list goes on. Regarding the gigs, I’m really
looking forward to the EnTechno festival in Athens that is produced by New York’s
ReSolute team. Last year was so much fun but what we did after the festival was to
me even more so. We rented this big sailing boat and went on a two‐day sailing trip
around the Greek Islands. Times like this is when I really profoundly LOVE my job!
Q. It’s the end of the world as we know it. You’ve got 2 tracks to listen to on your
way out – what are they?
Alexi: It all depends what mood I am in...Perhaps just, absolute silence.
Check out this link to Alexis guest mix for CGNY
http://www.ad-limited.com/WelcomeToMySlowdown
httpL//www.myspace.com/alexidelano
http://www.facebook.com/alexi-delano
http://www.resolutenyc.com
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