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DJ Alex Gaudino

Alex Gaudino - Photo by Hugh FindlaterDestination Calabria with its infectious sax riff and catchy electronic beats has taken this Italian DJ to the top of world charts. OUTinPerth asked Mr. Gaudino to talk about his hot (see the music video if you need convincing) single, time behind the turntables and upcoming trip to Australia.

OUTinPerth: How did you start DJing?

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Alex Gaudino: I was something like 15 listening to the dance tunes on the radio and the first DJs. My dream was to be a DJ. So, I started to do some private parties with my friends. We didn’t have the money for turntables, so we just used the tapes. That was the beginning.

OiP: Eventually, you started your own label?

AG: Yes, I started my own label called RISE records. It was born in ’98. I had records like Black Legend, Robbie Bang, Paul Jones on Get, Get Down.

OiP: Why did you decide to start a label?

AG: Because I was working with record companies, doing A&Ring and promotion. After some time, I decided I had to start a label to have a little bit of independence to do what I feel to do.

OiP: With your own label and DJing, do you ever take a holiday?

AG: I don’t think so this year [laughs]. When I DJ it is like being on holiday because I do what I like and people give me money for that and you go traveling around and meet people. That’s a DJ holiday, playing every night… Going every weekend, every day, every night in a different city, in a different nation, meeting different people and talking different languages.

OiP: What time do you normally wakeup?

AG: That depends what time is my flight, what time I have to leave the hotel. If I can I sleep to noon. I sleep whenever I can.

OiP: What’s the hardest part of the DJ life?

AG: The hardest part is the airports, the check-ins. The rest is something you can enjoy because you go around the world and meet people and play your music.

OiP: What are your favourite places to play?

AG: The best gigs are in London at The Cross, Le Mix in Paris, Bypass in Geneva.

OiP: What is it like to play to a massive crowd?

AG: When you arrive in a club and you see people waiting for you, 2000 people and every record you play they are jumping, you really feel like in a dream.

OiP: How do you decide if a show is good?

AG: You just need to be there to understand. You immediately see the reaction of the people. Sometimes you can play in a club where the people don’t care about you and they are just there because they are used to being there. You feel a difference when you come to a club and see people waiting for you from the moment you come into a club until the moment you leave it.

OiP: Destination Calabria has been your biggest hit to date. Why do you think the song has become so popular?

AG: It’s a mix of things together because of the sax thing, because of the song. It is something catchy that people can sing easily. It is something you can hear wherever you go in the clubs, on the radio, at the beach, in a bar, in your car.

OiP: How did you decide to sample a saxophone in Destination Calabria?

AG: There was my old song Destination Unknown which was doing very good 3-4 years ago, but it never had a proper official release. So, I needed to find the proper backing track to give the song the maximum result. We finally found this Calabria sax riff, which fit perfectly. When we made it, we felt we could get something big. We didn’t imagine we could get Top 5 in UK, top 10 in France, No. 1 in Belgium, but we felt we were doing something big.

OiP: The music video is quite sexy. Where did the idea for it come from?

AG: It was from the UK label who made it, Miinistry of Sound. We got the idea to have a sexy band perform the song. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there, but perhaps I can be for the next video!

Alex Gaudino will come to Australia for the first time and will play Perth as part of the Godskitchen show at Metro City on September 28th. Tickets ($65 + bf) go on sale July 1 with 300 Early Bird Tickets available ($50 + bf). Tickets are available through www.ticketmaster.com.au (136 100), www.inthemix.com.au and selected retail outlets.

The Good Word on the Album by Stuart Miles: Not a new sensation by a long shot anymore, mash ups are still reining the dance world when they get the chance. In this case, an escapist Italo-house number Destination Unknown (via house/garage diva Crystal Waters – it ain’t not Gypsy Woman, oops, showing one’s age again) gets a new injection of life thanks to the addictive saxophone loop from Rune’s 2003 single Calabria. Like a marriage made in club heaven, it’s destined to wear out the soles of many a pair of sneakers. And a decent video to boot too.

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