Agustin Pietrocola [Interview]

Rounding out the year in style, Deepwibe Underground welcomes Agustin Pietrocola back to the label for a new EP. On the strength of releases for Mango Alley, Movement Recordings and One Of A Kind, Agustin made his Deepwibe Underground debut in 2021 with 'Jewels'. The Argentinean artist would then go on to remix Kamilo Sanclemente's 'Revenge of Jedi' for the label earlier this year, along with key projects for Juicebox Music and SLC-6 Music. Now continuing to build a bond with Deepwibe Underground, Agustin returns with 'Hold', alongside a remix from Kostya Outta. We had a chance to catch up with Agustin for an interview leading up to the release. Enjoy.

Hi Agustin, thanks for joining us. What is your current mood and what was the last piece of music you listened to?

Hello guys! Such a honor to be interviewed by you. Today I am in a mood of a lot of production work. The last piece of music i heard was collider (Tonaco Remix) a very good remix.

What are your plans for the coming week? And for the impending summer season in Argentina? Are you looking forward to this?

My plans for next week are to play at a festival in the city of Olavarria called ¨Bonsi Fest¨.Yes, the summer season in Argentina is incredible, and I'm waiting a long time to go play in the cities of the coast. While I continue to work hard on my productions.

Can you name five tracks that were important in your musical development and why they are so significant for you?

Modd- Jida (Original Mix)

Nicolas Ruiz - Glass Shatters (Robert R. Hardy Remix)

Dmitry Molosh, Nopi - Consciousness Switch (Original Mix)

Cid Inc - Shifter (Original Mix)

Paul Deep - Jiren (Original Mix)

These tracks were very important because they made me realize what was the style I was looking for for my productions, deep and dark atmospheres and good bass handling.

How did growing up in the Argentina influence your music taste and direction? Or did it at all?

It influenced a lot since Argentina is a great seedbed of progressive house, the greatest exponents of the genre are in Argentina. I think that motivated me to realize that it can be achieved since the world has its eye on our country thanks to all those great exponents such as Hernan Cattaneo, Ezequiel Arias, Mariano Mellino, etc.

When we ask most artists what is responsible for the popularity of progressive music in Argentina the overwhelming answer is Hernan Cattaneo, would that be your feeling also? And if so please speak on that, also to add to that, who else from Argentina inspired you when you first discovered the music?

If such great popularity is definitely due to Hernan Cattaneo, other Argentine artists who inspired me a lot were Martin Garcia, Mariano Mellino, Ezequiel Arias, among others. They are artists of the highest level, and they were responsible for my decision to go this way with music.

What are your favourite venues to play or attend events at in Argentina and why?

I think I like all the places a lot, but my favorites are the intimate and comfortable clubs, I really like being able to have the booth close to the people and be one more raver besides playing.

When you were first getting started in production did you have someone help you or are you completely self-taught? And what would you recommend new producers do to help with the learning curve of production?

My first years in the production were totally self-taught, after some time for some classes, and I received several tips from Argentine producers like Nicholas Van Orton, or Paul Deep, but mostly I'm self-taught.

My recommendation for those who are starting to produce is to be passionate, read a lot, listen to a lot of music to understand what you want to generate in your productions.

You have a new EP ‘Home’, out this week on Deepwibe Underground, tell us about the release, how do these tracks showcase your current sound?

If the truth is that I am very excited about this new release, it is an EP that I have been waiting for a few months, and I think that it reflects a little the growth that I have had in recent times. I tried to capture the style that I am trying to define as much as possible, as I previously commented, generating deep and dark atmospheres and bass lines that make people move a lot on the dance floor.

It’s been almost exactly a year since your last Deepwibe Underground EP ‘Jewels’, how would you say your sound or style has evolved since then?

If Jewels was my first EP on DU, I'm very grateful to Sergei for that first opportunity and the opportunities he continues to give me to edit on his label. Since that first EP that I released on DU, I have worked hard to improve the sound quality and be able to be on the playlists of recognized artists.

You’ve now released two Eps and a remix with Deepwibe, what makes the label such a good home for your music?

Mainly the good treatment from the DU family, and also because they work very well, and have a very good distribution of music. I hope to continue working with them as I am very satisfied

What does your set-up look like? Do you favor physical gear over digital? And what studio tools featured heavily in the writing of these tracks?

At the moment I have a small home studio, in which I have 1 set of KRK Rokit 5 monitors, a Native instruments audio card, a synthesizer (Dave Smith Mopho) and of course a computer which is my main tool. I always try to include analog sounds from my synthesizer but mostly they are digital sounds from VSTs.

Let’s talk about production for a moment, where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play? And was there anything that inspired the tracks which make up your ‘Home’ EP?

The impulse to create my own music was due to the need to listen and play live music that hasn't been heard before, I really like to play with IDs, and try to surprise the public with tracks that they haven't heard yet.

Inspiration is everything to me, my daily mood, my triumphs or failures in my life also play an important role when it comes to that inspiration to create new music.

I love everything that is art, and nature I look for inspiration in everything I can. What inspired me 100% in this EP was the dance floor, I made this EP thinking 100% about the dance floor and hoping for a good response from the public.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

I don't have any specific ritual, but I do need to be able to be calm, without much background noise and have time to sit down and produce. What I do use a lot to produce is ¨MATE¨, it is something essential in my studio.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practice? And who is someone you share your new music with first for feedback?

For me it is very important to let the “finished” tracks rest or mature, since many times we do not find errors at the moment, but at the same time you hear things that perhaps can be improved. I think it's very difficult to be 100% satisfied with a track, I think there's always something to improve or polish, many times I realize those details testing the tracks on the dance floor and seeing the public's response and that's when I finish. to decide if something is missing to improve or if the track is ready.

I have some friends/producer colleagues with whom I share my tracks to see what they think or what they feel could be improved after that I try to send them to the MAIN artists to see if they like them and think they are good...

What is the task you enjoy the most when producing and what would you prefer someone else to do?

I enjoy all the stages of the production, but I think the one I like the most is the part of creating the groove and the basslines. The task I prefer someone else to do is Mastering.

What would be a musical extravagance for your studio you would pay for, if you were very wealthy?

I think it would be the entire line of Dave Smith synthesizers and the MOOG line.

Now let’s talk about DJing for a moment, it’s a unique discipline at the border between presenting great music and creating something new with it, between composition and improvisation to an extent. How would you describe your approach to it?

My focus when it comes to djing is to generate deep and dark atmospheres with a lot of groove, to gradually increase the intensity of the set and try to connect with each person in the audience.

Can you tell me a bit about how your work as a DJ has influenced your view of music, your way of listening to tracks and perhaps also, your work as a producer?

I think that producing to play influenced me much more than playing to produce since I started producing shortly after I started as a dj. In the beginning of my career I focused a lot more on producing than playing today I'm trying to balance that.

If you could set up an event with a line-up of five artists of your choice, who would you book and what set times would you ascribe to the artists?

this would be my ideal line

Mariano Mellino

Martin Garcia

Dmitry Molosh

Hernan Cattaneo b2b Guy J

Current top five tracks?

Drift - Alex O’Rion

GMJ, Matter - Lost on Origin (Imran´s 4am Mix)

Alan Cerra - Ascension

Ric Niels & Will DeKeize - Detoner

Dmitry Molosh & Nopi - Consciousness Switch

What’s a book you’ve read or film you watched that has left an impact on you, and why?

I think the film that has made an impact on me is Berlin Calling, which shows a B-side of artists that are not usually portrayed.

What is one superpower you would like to have and how would you use it?

I think that the superpower that I would like to have would be to teleport myself to be able to see the whole world in a more agile way.

Apart from music, what makes you happiest?

It makes me very happy to get together with friends to be able to cook for them and tell each other anecdotes. Besides that I also really enjoy traveling.

What does 2023 hold for you? Anything you can share with us?

For now, in 2023, a lot of new music is coming, and I hope to be able to visit many new cities to which I will perform my music.

'Hold' is available now via Deepwibe Underground: https://bit.ly/3Ybw06H