Feature: Agents Of Time [Interview + Premiere]

Agents Of Time is the project of Andrea Di Ceglie and Luigi Tutolo. A revered two ­man live act, DJs and masters of their sound in the studio. Since starting their journey together as Agents Of Time, the two Italians have combined their talents and shared influences to become a globally in­demand dance act, releasing on a number of leading labels along the way. A much­loved debut 12” on Correspondent in 2014, ‘Polina’, marked them out as an exciting new name in the realm of emotional, melodic techno and kickstarted their touring career.

Hi Andrea and Luigi, thanks for joining us. How has the first half of the year been so far and please tell us something interesting about your day today?

Hi guys thank you for having us. 2024 started in a great way, we been playing all over the world and we had the chance to collaborate with amazing artists like Armin Van Buuren. We re currently working on exciting projects and we can’t wait to show it to you all.

Looking back on 2024 so far, what gigs of yours have stood out and why?

Looking back on 2024 Tulum was a magical experience. We had the privilege to close the Core stage this year. This show was for sure one of the magical moments of this 2024. The ability of Zamna and Tomorrowland to pull a great production in such a big place and keep the atmosphere of the club is something really hard to repeat. We wish to have more shows like that.

Let’s also look at tracks released since the beginning of the year. What do you guys think have been some of the standouts so far?

Looking at the tracks released since the beginning of the year we have plenty of artists making amazing music. In the specific case for our point of view Cassian’s production are always on point. His ability to mix uplifting melodies and energetic basselines makes always the difference in the crowd. We been playing a lot his remix of Jon Summit “Shiver” and we think its the perfect example of a great production.

Take us through a typical day when you’re not traveling, what does a day in your life look like?

When we are not traveling and we go back home, we like to have a very simple day. We meet each other in the studio (possibly everyday) and we try to slow down after the frenetic life we had during the tour. We simply try to have a ‘normal’ life spent through music, sports and friendship that allows us to breath and enjoy every single moment.

A successful partnership is generally based around balance and compromise; how do you manage these things within your production dynamic? And was maintaining this balance a factor on you guys continuing on as a duo from your original three-man lineup?

Life is based on compromise, since we became two we focused more on identifying our sound pushing it to what we like the most: Melodies.

We always try to deliver energetic and complicate melodies in order to drive the listener attention in our world. We truly believe that the identity in the music is what makes you became unique and this is what we re trying to do with our music.

I feel like your Ellum EP which was released in 2016 was a breakout moment for you guys, it had a level of production and creative style that was just sitting above everything else at the time, would you consider that EP a breakout moment? or would it be something a bit later in your career?

The Ellum EP released in 2016 was for sure one of the biggest moment at the time of our career but looking back now we ve had other amazing experiences that changed our career and vision regarding the music. One of the example could easily be the chance we ve had to collaborate with The Weeknd an amazing artist that showed interest in our music and that helped us to believe even more in what we re trying to do!

You guys primarily sit in the melodic house and techno realm at the moment, a genre (like most electronic music genres) which is heavily influenced by trends. How important is it as an artist to try and follow along with current music trends? Is this something you’re conscious of at all?

Melodic house and techno at the moment is for sure one of the biggest genre in the electronic scene but at the same time we don’t like to be associated to one genre. We like to experiment and drive ourselves in different things like the EP we did on Rumors (Guy Gerber’s label). We don’t think its important to follow the trends we really think that the key in this world is to be unique. What makes you different from the others is your identity.

You’ve accomplished a lot across your career with releases via Afterlife and Kompakt, along with being well established DJs and a live act.
What goals do you have going forward? Or a better question might be do you think about the future?

We ve been releasing on amazing labels and we been playing a lot of shows around the world. This is a privilege that we gained working everyday in the studio. We like to spend lot of time in the studio so for sure for the future we been trying to expand our horizon in order to be able to work with different artists trying to get influenced by them and get the best out of them.

You guys have released on very prominent labels, as mentioned in the previous question, along with your own Time Machine imprint, I’m curious how you decide which tracks to keep for your own imprint as opposed to shopping them elsewhere?

Nowadays we are focused on our own record label which represents the perfect place where we can release music without any restriction. The main idea is to push all our energies into the growth of our record label. For this reason we just leave very few spots for other record labels and of course we prefer to release all the biggest track we make on our platform in order to increase the value of our catalogue and create a very addicted and passionate fanbase.

Staying on the topic of your label, Time Machine launched just over a year ago after nearly a decade of you releasing music on other labels, why was last year the right time for you guys to start your own imprint?

After many years releasing on different label, suddenly we decided to give a real home to our own music. We felt the necessity to have a platform where we could release all the music we wanted to share with the people, without any restriction and without any particular limit of boundaries. The importance of having a record label modeled under our vision was growing just after pandemic and we reached a moment when we felt ready to launch our new project which is growing daily without any limit from our side.

You have a new release ‘Dimension Vol. 1’, a release highlighted by your ‘Deeper For You’ track, which is out soon via your Time Machine imprint. It serves as the label’s first VA and also in a way celebrates the imprint’s one year anniversary as well. Tell us about the release and how it showcases the label’s current sound?

We spent exactly one year releasing only our music on Time Machine. The original idea was to involve completely the listener into our music and for this reason we just released tracks made by us. Today is the right moment to launch our first VA including different artist with different approach to the music, but all of them linked under our vision.

As mentioned, this is the label’s first VA compilation, how did you go about sourcing music for it and was there a consideration to push it into the 10 track range?

Initially the idea of Time Machine was to release only Agents Of Time’s track. We ve decided to open the label to new artists because while listening the demos and promos we were receiving we noticed that lot of artists were trying to imitate what we re doing with our music. This was for us the starting point to think that releasing other artists could have helped to build our own world with a community of producers that have common ideas and visions.

We’re thrilled to have premiered your ‘Deeper For You’ track which leads the release off, tell us about the track, why it was a good fit to open the collection?

The song conveys a theme of profound affection and the willingness to explore the depths of love. It evokes feelings of intimacy, vulnerability, and emotional connection, inviting listeners to reflect on the complexities of romantic relationships and the depth of their own feelings. Through its lyrics, melodies, and instrumentation, the song captures the journey of love—its highs and lows, its joys and challenges—and celebrates the beauty of forming deep, meaningful connections with others. Ultimately, "Deeper For You” opens up to this new dimension anticipating the amazing work of their other artists involved in this project.

What is it you look for when signing music to Time Machine and what advice would you have for artists hoping to appear on the label?

The best advice to release on Time Machine is to be unique. We always looking for artists that can make the difference. We also do believe a lot in melodies because this is what lift up emotions in people and this for us is important.

You have a very distinctive look to your artwork, very much on brand for the style of music you release I think. Do you think labels should be putting more time and thought in their artwork? And why did you choose to go with the look you did for your own artwork?

Nowadays the branding of any company is really important. We always like to think as company rather then a DJ duo. This helped us to improve our vision and to have a team of people next to us that help develop what Agents Of Time is. Agents Of Time needs to be a world where people identify themselves, and this is also the same approach we re trying to use for Time Machine.

You’ve released five projects across the labels first year and most would feel this may not be enough given that we’re in an age where content turns over quickly and attention spans are short; does this factor into how you run Time Machine at all?

Give the age we re living now we should release a track every month. But we think its more important to deliver special production rather then push on the quantity. Behind every track we do there’s a concept that needs his time to be developed reason why we could not release music every month but we rather prefer to do less releases and being proud of these. Same thing happens for Time Machine where we are trying to build a strong community of artists working and collaborating under a unique vision.

Can you tell me a bit about how your work as DJs have influenced your view of music, your way of listening to tracks, and also, your work as producers?

DJing around the world influence us a lot. Every show has a story and every crowd give you different emotions. All this feelings are then transported in the studio where the magic happens. We couldn’t imagine being a producer without performing around the world. Those kind of feelings while you perform are the key for us to understand what works and what gives people that excitement over a production in order to bring it then to the studio while making music or listening to demos/promos.

How much prep do you put into the sets you play, or are they spontaneous for the most part?

Most of the shows are not programmed we don’t like to feel like in Jail. Every show is different and needs a different approach. The most important thing is to listen a lot of music and be ready to any kind of situation in order to always deliver the best out of your musical background.

The subject of mental health is complex and nuanced, and it is an issue to which those working in electronic music are especially susceptible. It can be deeply rewarding but it is also competitive, fast-paced, unpredictable and hedonistic. Talk a bit about the pressures of what you do that fans may not be totally aware of. And, as prominent artists, how important is it for you to raise awareness of subjects like ‘mental health’?

Being a dj/producer who travel around the world it can be seen like the best job ever. And this is almost the truth. We say almost because of course performing in front of thousand of people here and there is great and you feel full of adrenaline, but being today in a place and tomorrow in another one far thousand of miles away can increase the level of stress and sometimes the feeling of loneliness. For many years back in the days we missed moments like Christmas at home with family and friends because we were touring for long periods. Missing these moments can definitively leave signs in your mental equilibrium. Not less important is going back home after a long tour and just passing from the very speed life to a very quiet routine.Sometimes the risk is to feel lost. After many years being in this world we realized this is the sacrifice to keep on doing what we love the most music.

If you were not a DJ/Producer what do you think you’d be doing with your life? 

If music was not our job for sure we would love to be in the hospitality business. Our dream would be to open a nice resort in Puglia completely immerse into the nature. On one side a nice pool and on the other side a nice restaurant where our clients can eat local food made with passion.

Current top five tracks?

- Jon Summit , Hayla - Where you are
- Anyma, Cassian - Save me
- Kolsch - It’s love
- Bicep, Benjamin Damage - Chroma 002
- Woo York - Talking to myself

What are some of your favourite TV series? All time and recent.

Breaking Bed, Ozark, The Crown, Peaky Blinders, The gentleman.

Apart from music, what makes you happiest?

We try to search the happiness into the simple things. Having a nice dinner with our friends or just having a nice padel match or spending a day at the beach (possibly in our hometown) can easily increase our feeling of happiness. Behind the scenes we consider ourselves as a normal guys who like to step away from the industry routine when is possible with the intention to enjoy each single moment surrounded by friends and family. Music is our life, but with these right component it becames special and has more value!

What does the remainder of the year hold for you guys in terms of releases and gigs? Anything you can share with us?

We ve got a lot of new music to share this year, some collaborations with amazing artists and a series of parties from Time Machine. So be sure to keep on following us!