ARTIST OF THE MOMENT: Luigi Tozzi

reading time: 13 minutes

"It's a Mediterranean blue spilling from my heart, filling me up. Cool, deep, fathomless - between light and dark." 

This is how poet Gainor Ventresco describes "the perfect blue" in one of their poems. While it's unlikely that Ventresco had any ties with Italian DJ and producer Luigi Tozzi, these words perfectly capture the sensation that Tozzi's music evokes. Connected to the Mediterranean and deeply passionate about the ocean, his "Deep Blue" series transports listeners to a peaceful dreamlike state. The vastness of the universe and our subconscious worlds are perceptible within its depths.
Tozzi's refined take on techno in his live sets and productions has gained him increasing attention over recent years. Not to forget his impeccable storytelling skills as a DJ (highly recommend the Acquario Immersioni Sets Pt. 1 & 2), specifically showing up in longer DJ sets where the light and the dark go hand in hand, as they do so in life. 
Luigi shared with us a Live Podcast featuring some unreleased material - this mix is enveloping and absorbing simultaneously.  It is in such a way, that one could feel getting pulled into a magical vortex.

On our wishlist for our mix and Artist of the Moment series for some time now, we connected with this highly analytical, extremely dedicated, genuine and kind artist from Rome. 

Hello! I have to start with: you were right. When I said I will listen to all the podcasts and releases for this interview you said it was not possible. I think I came quite far though and enjoyed some of your Vinyl Sessions from 2014. Honestly, they didn’t age! How do you look back at these sessions given the almost 10 years past in the meantime?
I look back at those sets with a lot of affection. I was approaching DJing at that time and I remember recording the sets for the main purpose of listening to them carefully and seeing what I could do better to improve my skills both in selection and mixing.
I understand way better the craft right now but there is something that still makes those sessions very precious to me.

For Delayed, you've made a stunning live set with some unreleased material. It's unusual for you to make a podcast that's also a live set. Can you explain why and talk about the process?
I approached the podcast for Delayed from quite a few angles until I realized that it made sense for me to try and record a Live Set. It makes sense after the talk we had and what we said in the first place, and also I thought that I have some new material that would translate into approximately one hour of very ‘tubular’ and hypnotic techno, which is an aesthetic that I enjoy at the moment. I have consciously avoided a lot of synth sounds and pads that are more related to melodic and ‘obvious’ storytelling and I think I got to an outcome that is very coherent and immersive.

A while back, you said in an interview that you might be “overproductive”. There is indeed a large number of mixes and productions. How do you balance letting an idea grow or just doing it and experimenting to reach such an output?
I must say that I have changed a lot in that sense. A few years ago I was definitely overproductive, but now I manage to have a calmer approach to both production and mixes. It’s a consequence of growth and experience I guess, even if I still spend endless hours in the studio I came to the peaceful conclusion that many things can just not come out and they will anyway be part of my path and influence what will, in the end, be released. Playing live is interesting in that sense because I manage to squeeze in a lot of new ideas and put them to the test of a crowd.

When it comes to testing, your sketches can be heard in your live set much in advance before being released. It’s pretty nerve-wracking for the fans! Last month you released the “Spiral” EP on Non Series. It contains a few remarkable tracks that we got to experience for a while in your live set. What was the main inspiration for this record?

The idea that there is this very direct contact between my daily work in the studio and what I expose people to during the weekends by playing live is beautiful to me.
I like the fact that someone can hear certain sounds only by coming to my show, I think it gives people that experience of uniqueness that you could have with DJ sets in the past when music wasn’t so easily available for everyone and people had, for example, to travel from one country to another just to buy a record.
Regarding “Spiral”, the main inspiration for me is a very stripped-down minimal techno that I associate a lot with the early discography of artists such as Marcel Dettmann and Markus Suckut around the 2010s and in general with a sound that I associate with Berlin during that period.

When it comes to sound design, the experience of spatial awareness appears as a constant. Specifically, with  “Sorcery”  and “Suspiria”, some elements have an absolute surrounding appeal. How do you create this notion of space?
Space is definitely a key concept in many ways: the way I place elements in the stereo field helps me to give an immersive feeling that is very important for me.
I also link the idea of space to equalization and sculpting the frequencies of each sound in a way that they respect the place one of the other, what I don’t enjoy in music is spectrums that are too full without a purpose or an intention. 

photo by Tay Calenda

The "Deep Blue" series revolved around water as a central concept. Have you completed that cycle, or are you working on a similar but different series?
It is very difficult for me to say if that cycle is completed or not, I would spontaneously say no but at the end who knows? I am working for quite a long time on a collaboration with an Italian photographer from Turin (but based in Paris) that is very linked to the concept of “Deep Blue” but is taking a bit more of an ambient take compared to the album. I have manipulated old deep blue material and also made new music for this project. Her name is Costanza Gastaldi, go check her works!

As an artist, you are often exposed to “labels” or “boxes” given by others. How would you describe your sound to someone that never listened to a Tozzi record or mix? 
If we’re talking about the “Deep Blue” - series, which is my most personal work I would say that the aim is to bring people with me in a very intimate and primordial place.
Maybe it has to do with meeting the most fragile part of ourselves and looking for some kind of peace and deep contact with it.

This reminds me of Traumprinz's "mother cave" metaphor. We all long to return there for peace and pure being. What sounds or memories create that feeling for you personally?
Besides the fact that most of his discography manages to bring me to those places, I’ll mention some different music that is very important and cathartic for me:

Ennio Morricone - Deborah's Theme
John Williams - The Force Theme
Pietro Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana (Intermezzo)

Recently you gained more attention with the hypnotic sound being in higher demand. People have all kinds of reactions - I recently read in a Discogs comment from a user calling you “the Sigmund Freud of electronic music.” How does that feel to evoke such reactions in people? Do you read much of these reactions?
I really don’t feel that the hypnotic sound is exposed to a higher demand, to be honest, I often have this discussion with a couple of colleagues and we have different opinions so I might be wrong. I think there’s a huge trend and demand for a very ‘maximalist’ and abrasive approach to techno nowadays that is so distant from the principles of deep techno. Regarding what people say about what I do, I’ve been caring more about it in the past. Still, I am far from being immune to it of course. Anyway, I am a very analytical person, the Discogs guy is definitely right in some ways =)

Talking about analysis - sometimes we are the harshest “analysts” of our work and up to the extent of sleepless nights. Can you share your process for analyzing your work before or after it's released? How does intuition play a role in this process?
I am definitely the harshest analyst of my own work that’s for sure. Usually, I ended up hating my records by the time they got released in the past but once again this has changed a lot with time. For instance, with my last two records (Deep Blue 3 and Spiral) I have the opposite feeling: I love them very much and it has been hard to find a new direction that has the same depth and quality for future releases.
Luckily all that harshness in judging my own works never appears while I am in the creative process which makes me enjoy it freely every time.

Recently I listened to a Podcast with Neel about Mastering. He shared a lot of insights about the relationship between the master engineer and the track/ producer. How particular are you with the mastering of your works and do you have “go-to“ partners that do that?
I have to mention Mattias Fridell as a main partner in mastering because he is the one working with Hypnus since day one. I love how respectful he is with my sounds and how much he knows my music. I also had the chance to work with Giuseppe (Neel) and he is definitely a master of his craft. At this exact moment, he has four new tracks of mine in his hands by the way =)

In many ways you could come across as “minimalist” - your live set-up consists of a laptop and two midi controllers if I spotted that right.  It does not include a lot of hardware and you prefer a dark atmosphere, not many light effects. Can you share a bit more about the reasoning behind this?
To be honest, saying that what you can do with a computer in 2023 is ‘minimal’ sounds quite weird to me, I would say the exact opposite.  Also, the amount of things I can control and manipulate with two Xone K2s is very vast. In general, I wish people would be able to put their focus and passion on the music only, to use their ears and not feel the need to look too much at things that regard the form way more than the actual substance.

When it comes to finding the best setting for experiencing a Tozzi set, which places, clubs, or festivals provide the optimal experience?
The first places that come to mind are Ohm in Berlin and Laut in Barcelona which are very intimate venues with amazing sound. Both have the perfect ingredients to establish a deep connection between people and with the music. For festivals, I will mention Waking Life which has the most special place in my heart since the very first edition.

Generally, you shared that you focus a lot on software and are fascinated by the endless opportunities that are possible, and are not so much a “ gear collector”. Was this also the way you started or was it a development of gradually stripping away equipment?
The way I started was hybrid, I had some old and new analog synthesizers, and I really enjoyed the process of learning synthesis on those machines at the time. Then I just adapted to what felt better and more natural for the approach I have to composition and the techniques that are defining my identity sound-wise.
I also enjoy being able to set up a ‘studio’ in different places and working in the box is key to being able to do so. For example,  “Deep Blue 3” and “Almost Blue”  (Non Series) were entirely composed and arranged in Salina, a small island in Sicily where I always go in the summers.  Making music there puts me in a state where my creativity flows in a very special way as I am in constant contact with the sea and nature in general.

From the beginning of when you started producing and learned all the technicalities of the tools like Ableton etc., what would you say you had to get rid of or maybe better - unlearn- over time to develop your signature sound? 
I would say nothing as I am self-taught and all the methods that I have learned and that stayed in my composition during the years are actually very unorthodox and key to forming my sonic identity.

You started as a DJ and now probably more often play live sets nowadays, how does one for you influence the other? 
Both feel special to me and even if I am fully committed to playing live sets at the moment I don’t see myself giving up DJing in the long term. There’s this magic feeling about the long DJ set slots and the way it makes you connect and exchange with a crowd that is so unique and enriching. Being able to do what I do live at the moment with my own material only is also very special and unique.

You have a long-standing collaboration with Antonio Ruscito and the recent The Memoir: Page 90 mix got a lot of excited reactions. Next to that you regularly play live with Feral. What is important for you in such collaborations? 
For me sharing both the composition and the performance moment with someone is a very delicate matter, I wouldn’t do it with everyone. Antonio and Alessandro (Feral) are two beautiful people and extremely talented artists. We developed a very strong friendship over the years and this makes it feel completely natural to play and make music together.

Like for others, Dubtechno was “the gateway drug” to electronic music for you. It’s fascinating to see the turns techno took to now slowly move again to that kind of “mood” as a countermovement to very expressive, big room sounds. It seems to last. From your point of view, especially with the mindset of the digital possibilities we discussed earlier, what still needs to be said in techno? Or are we “done”?
I don’t think I have this approach to music to be able to say if and what still needs to be said in techno.  I think I still need to say and reflect a lot about myself with my music (be it techno or not) and I will keep doing it until I feel the process is healthy and enjoyable rather than mechanical.

With traveling intensely, time spent in clubs and a lot of studio time, what is your “palette cleanser”, metaphorically spoken?  Which habits and music gets you centered again?
I wouldn’t say I am traveling too much at the moment. A balance between studio and touring is extremely important for me and I am (with the help of my dear agent Laura) handling it better and better in a way that I keep things healthy and challenging at the same time. If I manage to keep the balance between the two in a good place and still have time to enjoy my other passions and the people around me, then I am centered.