Vito De Luca aka Aeroplane, the Italian-Belgian producer, has established himself as a party-starting DJ, a remixer du jour, and a leader of the nu-disco and Balearica music scene.
His distinctive 'analog house' sound sets him apart from the rest. While in the last year, Aeroplane has produced several popular HypeMachine-charting remixes, including Justin Timberlake’s 'Suit And Tie', Mystery Skulls’ 'Paralyzed', Charli XCX’s 'Boom Clap', Mayer Hawthorne’s 'Wine Glass Woman' and Stromae’s 'Tous Les Memes'.
Soundwise… what do you expect to trend in 2015?
I'm not sure. It's getting really difficult to follow everything as there are hundreds of small bubbles, and you never know which one is about to burst and which one is about to grow. I do have a feeling that 2015 will be beat-less. I’ve noticed that a lot of music at the moment has little to no beat and by beat I mean drums, putting songs and performances upfront. I like that.
Aeroplane and an artist album… any plans on that front given the impending release of your new track, 'Let's Get Slow’?
I’m considering it but I need to fine tune the direction. I like concept albums and not collections of random songs. So once that direction/ concept will be clear, I’ll get to it and will probably record it very quickly. Driving is pointless if you don’t know where you’re going.
New musical adventures… what else is fresh out of the Aeroplane lab? We're told you've collaborated with Mayer Hawthorne and Kimbra… what can you tell us?
That it’s true for both. And I can’t tell much about it at this stage. The next thing is a song with Benjamin Diamond called 'Let’s Get Slow' coming out through Capitol France, and after that I have a two-track house EP that’s also finished.
Your sound has a definite '80s vibe/ sound… how do you capture that with the equipment you use?
I have realised over the years collecting vintage gear that, even if it helps, it doesn’t make you sound a certain way. It’s your culture and your knowledge of a genre that makes you do the right thing to emulate it. And if using the appropriate vintage gear, it gets you even closer; any other gear will get you close enough.
What's your favourite piece of music-related hardware?
I bought a Roland Jupiter 8 in the early stages of Aeroplane. It’s still the most inspiring piece of gear I own.
You've collaborated with Kimbra… let's test your Australian music knowledge… name us three other Aussie acts you recommend to our readers? And why.
Kimbra is actually from New Zealand [Ed's note: Australia will adopt her]. About Australian acts well there’s obviously Tame Impala or Empire Of The Sun both from Perth I think… Or Jagwar Ma from Sydney. Why? Because they’re three really great bands, and I would recommend to go see them live too… And if you live in Australia and don’t know these three bands it’s about time you go listen to them.
You're headed to Australia for a series of shows including Rabbits Eat Lettuce at the Easter long weekend… what's your favourite Easter memory?
I guess chocolate eggs? It’s kind of weirding me out that I don’t have any Easter memories… Family gatherings mainly.
In the past year alone, you have remixed tracks for Justin Timberlake, Mystery Skulls, Charli XCX, Mayer Hawthorne and Stromae; what attracts you to a remix project?
You do different remixes for different reasons. Justin because it’s great for profile and it’s fun to get involved in that A-list stuff. Stromae because hashtag Belgium, Mayer because it’s a great song. I can’t like the song too much if I want to remix it though. Every time I have fallen in love with a song and reached out to ask for the stems, I couldn’t do the remix… It always felt like I couldn’t make it better.
Who would be your ultimate collaboration with anyone still alive? And on the flip, who do you wish you could have worked on a project together who is no longer with us?
I’d like to work with a band. Like Midlake or Fleet Foxes. Also Mark Hollis from Talk Talk is my dream vocalist. Or Bowie for obvious reasons. Most people I get influenced by are still alive, but if I had to pick one I’d love if Bernard Edwards could be my bass player.
In Australia rock and hip hop continue to dominate the local markets; electronic music is beginning to mark a resurgence to the early-mid 2000s success… how is EDM (if I can use that term with you) trending in Europe?
EDM as a genre is reaching the end now. Then if by EDM you refer to electronic music in general, it has always been strong in Europe. It comes and goes in the charts, but it is still dominating the clubs, in different shapes and forms.
With the current/ recent international threats (ISIS, Charlie Hebdo, ebola, missing planes, Russia vs Ukraine vs the World), do you feel that musicians will begin to reflect these darker times with their musical output?
Music is an expression of how you feel and as a lot of people have been affected be these events, musicians included; it will come out one way or another. I’m not talking about music getting politicised or trying to get some sort of message across but just that these emotions will be injected into the creative process for sure.
So was #thedress #blueandblack or #whiteandgold? Do you really care?
Blue and black for me, and no, I don’t really care but I play along with it.
That said, social media has such mass appeal today it's easy for such nonsensical stories to begin trending… does that concern you that social media is dumbing-down society in general?
It doesn’t concern me because I don’t think it’s dumbing-down society. I think it’s just exposing us to more dumb people who probably shouldn’t be giving their opinions about any of the things they are tweeting or posting about, me included. Then I don’t mind a funny cat video or whatever; I browse Reddit a lot because I like to have access to so much content, but you just have to filter it the right way.
What's your favourite app at the moment, and why?
Uber. Everyday life-saver.
Aeroplane Tour Dates
Thu 2 Apr - The Grand (Wollongong)Fri 3 Apr - OneSixOne (Melbourne)
Sun 5 Apr - Rabbits Eat Lettuce (Sunshine Coast)
Wed 8 Apr - Beach Road Hotel (Sydney)
Fri 10 Apr - Rocket Bar (Adelaide)
Sat 11 Apr - Sets In The City (Perth)
