Deestopia (Ten Questions with...) Exclusive Interview
Deestopia is a duo of Progressive Trance/Progressive House DJs and producers from Italy, consisting of Arturo Mazzia (Arthesia) and Alberto Chiappo (DalNulla). "Arthesia Vs DalNulla" was created in 2019 from their shared love and passion for Trance and Progressive music and the desire to create new, fresh music, mixing their different tastes and styles. As of 2022, they changed the name of the project to "Deestopia". They have already released their songs on labels such as Pure Trance, JOOF Recordings, Perfecto, Future Sound Of Egypt, State Control Records, Alter Ego and many others. The gentlemen found time to share their thoughts about their work. I invite you to an interview conducted exclusively for Visions Of Trance.
1. What is trance music to you?
Arturo: My passion but also a friend able to help me when I need energy, encouragement or consolation.
Alberto: It’s the genre I love to listen and the genre that to me offers the wider palette of sounds.
2. How do you perceive the state of the current trance music scene?
Arturo: Despite all still exists a solid fan base, meanwhile classic trance styles are slowly becoming underground music.
Alberto: I believe big festivals changed the overall genre and turned it more commercial, but at the same time, as Arturo stated the roots of trance and the non commercial tracks are becoming really underground. Let’s say there is trance for all the tastes, I guess it means the genre is alive!
3. What are your goals in producing trance music?
Arturo: The first one is have being able to produce quality tracks, that is not so easy for a new guy without any music theory background. The second is, of course, the release of our music under big labels I always followed as fan.
Alberto: express my ideas and share my music with the rest of the world. I love the feeling of composing a mix with all the track I love, including mines!
4. Who was your inspiration to start producing trance music?
Arturo: Markus Schulz, PvD.
Alberto: There are too many…. Each track that I love is leaving a bit of information in my head and this helps shaping my tastes. But to name a few: Gabriel & Dresden, Sander Van Doorn, Paul Oakenfold, Mike Push….
5. Which song are you most proud of and why?
Arturo: Hard to say...we released about 30 tracks till now and each one of them has something I like for different reasons. So I have no favourite. I really like a track called "Introspection", but it’s not signed yet :-)
Alberto: I would say I am almost proud of all the releases we did as Arthesia Vs DalNulla and now Deestopia. Each track means something to me and when I listen to each one of them there is always that moment when it all fall into the right place and something lights up into my head. Choosing one? Don’t Look Back. It was our second release as Arthesia Vs DalNulla and was released on Mike Push’s label. For us it was really a dream. It was also the first time we appeared on Cosmic Gate’s radio show, and Andy Moor played it live in Amsterdam during ADE…. Somehow I can say it was the moment I thought we could really achieve our dreams!
6. Will your future releases be collaborations with other artists? Are you more into solo productions?
Arturo: We already released several tracks in collaboration. We usually prefer solo productions because collabs can be long and quite complicated but we do it sometimes! Depends on the mood.
Alberto: we have several collaborations. Most of the times we end up collaborating after we create a strong relationship with other artists, there is more than music, we first need to get to know each other and then feel a sort of musical and personal connection. Speaking about collab, we have a huge one out right now on PURE, with an incredibly talented producer, The Digital Blonde! Such a cool guy to produce with!!!! In general though, we are more into solo productions, because we can really control every aspect of the track and we can go back and forth as many times we feel like. We are not so fast in making tracks (even several months), so having other producers waiting so much could be awkward.
7. What inspires you to create trance music?
Arturo: Usually I start with a basic idea and then the production flow comes naturally.
Alberto: Typically I have riffs and ideas in my head and I start wondering how these would sound in a club…
8. What hardware and software do you use to create trance music?
Arturo: Logic Pro X, Access Virus TI Snow, Swissonic midi keyboard and several VST software: Sylenth1, Spire, Diva, Alchemy.
Alberto: Logic Pro X; Access Virus TI Snow (bought to be in synch with Arturo, so we can really exchange projects with the maximum flexibility), a Novation LaunchKey and may VSTs. My favourite ones are Alchemy, Diva, ANA 2 and Sylenth1. I previously had a Moog Sub37 and a Novation Peak, but I recently had a baby and needed to free up some space, so I sold them, they were absolute monsters!!!
9. How do you perceive the influence of social media on the career development of a trance artist?
Arturo: Every artist must use Social media to interact with fans but the most important thing is the quality of the music you make and the network you create with other artist and labels.
Alberto: It’s nice to have one or more platforms to share thoughts, opinions, music and mostly networking with peers and labels. However, this should not become the main source for selecting DJs
and Producers….. Yes, I do not like to see bookings based on social media popularity. Choices should be based on quality of releases, quality of the music selection and core artist values.
10. Finally, what would you like to say to your fans?
Arturo: Thank you for never-stop sending us the energy to continue producing quality and interesting music!
Alberto: Thank you so much for all the love and support! It’s because of you that we can find the energy to keep producing, despite our busy life! Looking forward to share with you our upcoming releases!!!
