Hello Emilio, it was great seeing you in Philadelphia earlier this year and getting some records signed, much appreciated! How have things been since your visit to the United States?

Hello Maurice, things have been great, the tour was fantastic and I came back from it full of creative energy. On top of that it is summer and I live a 10 minute drive from a beautiful beach. So I can't really complain right now ah.

You have an EP from 2022 titled "Mavericks" that was a collaboration with DJ Trace. Can you share some background on how you both decided to start collaborating and any insight you have from working with DJ Trace?

It all came natural really, we’ve been sharing ideas and music for a few years now. Probably the best thing is that we didn’t put pressure on each other. Duncan is super chilled to work with and so am I. I’d say the best insight working with him was listening to Duncan's ideas and realizing that simplicity is the key. I think we share the same “hypnotic” idea of DNB/Jungle. A few months ago we were talking about his anthem “mutant revisited”, and he said “I could listen to a loop for hours and hours and I'll be fine with it”. That really resonates with me, sometimes all you need is a good idea, without the need of over complicating things.

You have music out on a number of labels such as Integral, Prestige, Dispatch and more. The work you have done on the Metalheadz label is great as well. I am still enjoying the most recent Amethyst EP. There is actually an upcoming EP by you and DJ Trace due out on Metalheadz at some point, can you share any updates or info on this?

It's due for August 2024 and is a 4 track EP. It will be released on vinyl as well. All i can say is that we really went down with darkness ah! I also have a solo album for Metalheadz, more info later in the year.

HLZ

Right now you have a new record out on Mako's label, Utopia Music. This is an excellent label featuring a solid roster of talent. I'm guessing that you have been following Mako's work and his label for a bit? Did you send him music or did he contact you asking for some tunes?

For sure, I really love the Utopia output. And yeah, Stephen has been asking for tunes for Utopia which is humbling. So far this project is receiving a lot of love, especially for the tune called “Black Core” which is the A side. Probably one of the most complex tunes I ever wrote, with really intricate drum patterns.

With your back catalog of released music already shaping up nicely, what other labels and artists would you like to work with at some point?

Something is already happening, I've signed some material for Carbon Music, Jubei's label, which is one of my favorites of recent years. It is kind of an “underdog” label, if you know what I mean, slowly killing it with incredible quality releases. Other labels that I’d love to work with I’d say are Exit and 1985. An artist I’d love to work with is Quartz, and we’re setting things in motion.

In May of this year you released a second sample pack with Splice and also did a track walkthrough video for the Splice Youtube channel. How has your experience been working with Splice? Could we possibly see more sample pack work or tips and tricks videos from you in the future?

First of all thanks to Leigh (Quadrant) for the Splice link. Working with splice was great, they ask you for a reasonable amount of material to be done in a reasonable amount of time. I do not exclude to do more sample packs in the future. If I have to do videos about music production I’d prefer to have a platform like Splice or similar, but there’s nothing in the works at the moment. I know a lot of my peers have Patreon, but it is a format I personally don’t like as, knowing myself, that type of medium would put too much stress on my persona.

HLZ Sample Packs

While it can be easy to start new ideas and get them going, what helps you stay on course to bring a song to actual completion? Can you tell us what software, hardware, or plugins you like to use for making music?

I’d say probably my best “trick” for this is to make sure that you really, really like what you are doing. Normally that should lead to finishing a track in one or two days. I’d say, get at least an intro, a drop and 32 bars, as long as you have a basic structure you’ll be fine. As for software, plugins and hardware, to be honest it is hard to answer as a lot of times some tools are used for a specific task but I definitely wanna praise Bitwig, I switched to it in 2017 and I absolutely love this DAW.

When you aren't vibing to Drum & Bass what else do you enjoy listening to?

I tend to listen to less electronic music and things from when I was younger. Old school Hip Hop, Dub, Hardcore Punk (a lot), Trip Hop. But hey, I’m not a boomer! If I have to pick a few modern artists I love I'd go with Doja Cat, Thundecat, Billie Eilish.

Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Records, Capitol Records and others have now filed lawsuits against the AI companies Suno and Udio, accusing the startups of violating the copyrights of top artists to train their generative AI engines without permission. How much do you think all of this AI technology will actually affect the music industry and underground genres?

That’s a tough one and really an unpredictable one. What I mean is that you can’t really predict how a new technology will develop. Sad example, who would have thought that most of the people would end up dating using apps? But is it people's fault or is it the technology that changed our habits? Same thing that could happen with music, already is, we give instructions to AI, it generates music. How many generations will it take for this to become the norm? Thing is it will affect not just the music industry but our life. I do not even exclude that clubs will be a thing of the past in the near future. So, while I personally hold a negative vision about this when people ask me about AI I reply: Best case scenario, we’ll travel space, produce clean energy, find cures to deadly diseases and live a more relaxed life. Worst case scenario is total individual isolation, loss of any value in art and a dramatic decrease in culture. Probably we’ll have something in between the aforementioned.

Do you have a favorite venue that you have played at? How about music that you've released, any song or record that you personally consider your best or favorite work?

So many but I’m gonna pick a recent one, The Phoenix Landing in Boston. It was my debut on the East Coast, nice place, amazing crowd. Lenore and the Elements crew have been absolutely fantastic. My favorite work to date is the “How I feel“ EP for Integral, I consider that my most soulful release and one of my best ones.

What is your favorite food or snack and what has been your favorite place that you've traveled to?

I can’t really answer the first question, I like too many things ah. Similar reply for the second question but I have to say that visiting New York for the first time this year was on my bucket list for ages. Funny enough, I just came back from a place here in Italy where I've never been before, called Cala Jannita. It was literally volcanic sand and mountains meeting the Mediterranean sea. Blown away and just a 4 hour drive from home.

Any short or long term goals or achievements that you have set for yourself?

I’d love to have my own label, but I’m really meticulous when I join a new adventure. Generally speaking I learned not to have goals, this could be different from person to person, but through my experience I know I'm more of the “day by day” person. Some people can be motivated by having goals, others can be pressured in a negative way. I’m more in the latter group.

Any closing thoughts or shout outs?

First of all thank to you Maurice and we had a nice chat in Philly. Shouts to Trace, Goldie, Metalheadz crew, Mako, Quartz, Quadrant & Iris and all the promoters from my US mini tour.

Keep tabs on HLZ at the following links