Vito de Luca, AKA Italian-Belgian producer Aeroplane, 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 analogue house sound sets him apart from the rest. In the last year, Aeroplane has produced several popular Hype Machine-charting remixes, including of Justin Timberlake’s Suit & Tie, Mystery Skulls’ Paralyzed, Charli XCX’s Boom Clap, Mayer Hawthorne’s Wine Glass Woman and Stromae’s Tous Les Mêmes. GARETH BRYANT caught up with him ahead of an appearance at Sets In The City at Riverside Drive on Saturday, April 11.
Sound-wise, 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 finetune 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.
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 else 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 to it. 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.
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, who comes from our neighbouring New Zealand. Let’s test your Australian music knowledge – name us three other Aussie acts you recommend to our readers, and why.
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.
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. Sometimes just 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 with 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 (Chic) could be my bass player.
In Australia, rock and hip hop continue to dominate the local markets; electronic music is beginning to experience a resurgence since the early-to-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. But 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.
