April 14, 2023. Swiss sensation Ele A drops the EP “Globo” on streaming platforms, an instant success whose tone of boom-bap and drum & bass instrumentals has united old school purists and new wave fans alike. Behind these hybrid sounds hides the artist’s privileged collaborator for several years, These. A fervent listener of rap, the native of Locarno began experimenting with electronics during his studies in sound engineering. The Cornelian choice between these two musical styles was therefore never imposed, the latter being determined to let himself be guided by his love of music. Portrait.
“Perfecto Leyenda” resonates repeatedly when a Disse-produced track begins: “A few years ago, a friend sent me a voice memo saying: “Perfecto leyenda, see you soon!” ”, which means: “Okay, brother, see you soon!” “. At the time, I was looking for a nametag that didn’t include my name because it seemed too obvious, so I decided to try that and I haven’t gotten tired of it since.” Years ago, Disse’s primary passion was focused on visual arts and graphics, with graffiti as his medium. It was through this practice that the Ticino native fell into rap at a very young age, exploring the Golden Age of hip-hop from the 90s to the early 2000s with references to Notorious BIG, A Tribe Called Quest, Big L, Souls Of Mischief and DJ Premier, as well as Italian artists like Neffa, Sangue Misto, Uomini di Mare and Bassi Maestro.
In 2015, it was the turn of French rap to matrix Disse, and more particularly its trap scene: “I think this discovery completely turned my musical vision upside down. Especially, Eazy Dew, Josman’s producerhas always been an important source of inspiration for me. Today, the French-speaking rap scene is the most exciting in the world.” After having been a simple listener for a long time, Disse decided to practice freestyle with his friends at the age of 15, before launching into self-taught production. From this creative effervescence was born the Locandieri collective, whose title echoes “La Locanda”, the very first recording studio acquired by the beatmaker.
“I owe a lot to this band, who were my first influence as well as the reason I started making music. Anecdotally, although we performed for several years on various stages and received positive critical reception from the public, we never officially released a single song. When he moved to Berlin in 2019 for his studies at the Catalyst Institute, Disse fell in love with the world of electronic music, even if he admits to having always had a certain attraction for the harmonies specific to jazz, soul and ambient: “Growing up in a small town where club culture hardly existed, I didn’t realize that the sounds I loved also belonged to club music. The idea of mixing hip-hop and electronic music came to me very spontaneously, driven by my aesthetic taste for these sounds. I like to play with contrasts, like an 808 bass combined with a jazz chord, or a distorted digital synth combined with an angelic Rhodes piano.” A fascination with eclecticism that we find within his first solo project “Temperatura Ambiante” as well as the atmospheric “Ventagli” released three years later, on which a certain… He A.
The result of their connection in the summer of 2021, the title “Corrente 2” already underlines the obvious alchemy between the two Ticino residents: “Many people think that Ele A and I are childhood friends. In fact, we met three years ago in Locarno before heading to the studio to get to know each other and see if it was possible to collaborate. After listening to a ton of music, we realized we had a lot in common. It was incredible.” As a continuation of this session, Disse places two productions on “Zerodue Demo”, a disc only available in 200 physical copies. Eager to broaden their range of possibilities, the artists decided to team up to design Ele A’s first two real projects.
“Globo” and “Acqua” are two interconnected yet distinct EPs that represent our musical evolution and desire for experimentation. “Globo” was much more spontaneous: some songs were born in the studio, while others were written using one of my preconceived beats rather than adapting Ele A’s lyrics afterwards. “Acqua”, on the other hand, was a more thoughtful concept, where they sought to integrate the theme of water both in the production as well as in the meanings and lyrics, which is a much more difficult process to be continued. During the initial phase of the creation of “Acqua”, we isolated ourselves in a house on the shore of Lake Iseo, and for several days, we created inspired by the panorama. In general, we don’t impose too many rules on ourselves, because we realized that this made our task more complicated. We try as much as possible not to clutter our minds with excessive thoughts and fears but rather to let the most spontaneous ideas express themselves freely in their entirety.”
In parallel with his activity as a beatmaker, Disse also acts as a DJ on Ele A shows. It must be said that in the space of two years, everything has accelerated very quickly, as evidenced by the recent “Acqua Club Tour » which allowed the duo to grace the stage of numerous European venues, from Milan to London via Liège. The opportunity for the Ticino to test the popularity of his famous nametag: “On tour with Ele A, I noticed that the audience often shouted it with enthusiasm, so I can confirm that it works! “. By doing a series of concert dates throughout Switzerland, Disse was able to refine his knowledge of the local hip-hop scene, with a favorite collective from French-speaking Switzerland: “ The people of Lausanne of 247 They really compose good sound, they have a lot of character, taste and innovative ideas.” Although he is full of praise for the artists, Disse is nonetheless much more measured when it comes to discussing the perception of Ticino on the scale of the other cantons: “However, I must admit that t’s always a bit strange to talk about the “Swiss scene” because in various contexts I have observed complete contempt for Ticino. To the rest of the country, we seem to be a separate, non-existent reality. I would like there to be more communication between the different regions.”
Disse and Ele A during a studio session
© These
Even if he is fully fulfilled as a producer, Disse does not rule out a return to his roots: “I don’t want to label myself as a simple beatmaker and close myself off from other opportunities in the artistic field. I love creating, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do. If I were to start singing again, it wouldn’t be in the traditional rap style like in my old projects; I would rather integrate my voice into electronic music. »And what’s next? The Ticino native gives us some scoops: “I am currently working with Ele A on her first album. At the same time, I’m collaborating with other talented Italian rap artists, and I can’t wait to see where these new collaborations take us. There’s a lot of new music coming next year.”
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