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Feature: Supa/Nova - Interview with Simone Serritella
Interviewer: Ike Ikwuemesi
Italian DJ/Producer Simone Serritella (Big Bang, Cuica) has been immersed
in London’s underground jazz-fusion scene for longer than he cares to remember. He runs the excellente Arision label
and their latest release, the Big Bang Rework Project, is an outstanding album featuring collaborations with some
top-notch groovsters. He says he’s just about the music...and trainers.
You are originally from Italy. Which part?
In the north, I was living between Milan, Turin and Bologna.
How long have you been collecting records?
Since ’93 - I used to buy and sell.
How big is your record collection?
About four to five thousand.
Mainly a jazz collection?
No, I also got hip hop, soul, funk, latin, dance in general.
Do you still trawl old record stores trying to find those great rare tunes?
Not really, I don’t have time to do that anymore. Now when I go out I go to shops that specialize in what they do. You pay a
bit more but you get the killer records you want more. It’s less time consuming.
When did you start djing?
In ‘92.
And the producing followed naturally?
The producing took a long time. It took a lot of confidence. It took off when I came to London. You learn a lot here in
London.
When and why did you decide to make the move to London from Italy?
In '99. But before that I lived in London when I was eighteen. I was doing some stuff with a
company that used to be an agency, which had Gilles [Peterson] and Patrick [Forge] on their roster. It was really a
friendly vibe. And being eighteen and mad for the music was great.
Then you hooked up with Pete Hebert and formed Cuica?
I've known Pete Herbert for a long time. Since ’92 or something. He used to send me records from London when I was still in
Italy. Then he opened up a record shop called Atlas. We kept in contact. And one day we decided to get into producing.
Was the forming of Cuica a result of your mutual love for Latin music?
Not really, we just ended up in a studio for a couple of days, we had a lot free time and we needed to do something or go
and get jobs. So we started off doing a couple of singles, pure remixes, things like that then at one point, it started
to be become like a proper job.
What are the other aliases do you go under?
Just Big bang. That’s my project.
Do you have different approach to the music under Big Bang?
More jazzy. It just doesn’t have to be dancey.
What's the idea behind the Arision label?
When I started, I absolutely didn’t have a clue on how to run a record label. I have learnt a lot from people at Ubiquity
records, Far Out records, and other people like that. I learnt about sales, duty exports, control of your cash flow stuff
like that. But then I hooked with this guy I worked with at one of the labels about three years ago. We started working with
this big company of vintage trainers. The way I see it, the way this music business is set, the music business is evolving
every day. So everybody is looking for different ways to develop their product. People like Neroli, 2000 Black, they do
music but at the same time they start manufacturing T-shirts. They actually go out and look for proper designers. So do
Ubiquity. They have their own line, which is real excellent stuff. So by the way things stand, if you want to make an effort
as a record label the times when you use to sell tens of thousands are gone. Well gone. Unless it’s a good record you are
not gonna sell that much. So you gonna have to divide things the way you do. I know this Japanese label that does
small toys along with t-shirts and music. It depends on what you like.
And you liked selling vintage trainers. Is that another passion of yours?
Yes, and then at one point, where it turned into a proper job. I have someone who goes around looking for the trainers we
sell. And we also have a company we work closely with called Crooked Tongues. That’s what it’s all about. Having a
lifestyle approach.
How many trainers do you own personally?
Around 40.
Tell us what's happening musically with Arision right now
Music wise, we have a very strong identity at the moment with nu-electronic, jazz releases. Right now we have released Big
Bang rework with Xan Blacque, 4 Hero etc, then after we do a more of a jazz album with the likes of Marco de Marco and
Nathan Haines. Nathan has been one of biggest things in the electronic dance scene in the last two years but really he is
a jazz artist. The last two albums he did don’t really tell you how good he is as a jazz artist.
The Be Arisionable compilation received a lot of underground attention. What was the thinking when compiling the
track listings?
Dunno [laughs]. That’s the bunch of people we were hanging out with. You know, Domu, Marc Mac, Alexander, Hopper. Also,
there’s Hajime Yoshizawa and Xan Blacq, who has a great track
on the album. The first time I heard Xan, I was blown away, I think he’s such a talented soul musician.
The compilation releases so far are tied in what’s been fired up by the West London scene. Would you agree?
In a way yeah, but not only West London; on the Be Arisonable album you have Hajime Yoshizawa from Japan, Dharma One from
Sweden, and tracks from South America. My label started off with Goya Music. The real good thing about Goya, it was and
still is this talented community of people. It was natural to come to them when getting the releases out.
How do you view the West London scene?
I still hear tracks that blow me away. What this music is, and it’s been there for 15, 20, 30 years, from the time of
people like Roy Ayers. All part of the same music. What happens is that people would find it trendy for a while then they
stop finding it trendy. They think the music is not so hot but it’s not the music it’s the people that relate to it that
has changed. You can’t control trends. Trends come and go. You just have to keep doing your thing. People who like your
stuff will always like your stuff. People who follow the trends they don’t really care about your stuff they are just
following the trend.
Your latest release is the Big Bang Rework Project. It’s a reworked compilation album. What’s different this
time?
We spent a lot more money [laughs]! That’s what different.
Any notable additions or remixes?
I have to say Xan Blacque, 4 Hero remixes and, of course, Viper Squad. I know in the jazz circuit they love the Viper Squad
track.
How do you determine which cuts make the grade?
There were some things we liked and some we didn’t like as much. We try and get people to push the quality up as much as
they can. They just have to give you what they think is good. And sometimes what they think is good is not necessarily what
you think is good. But sometimes you think something is not going to work and it fuckin’ works.
Is that from whose reaction?
DJs, sales, and things like that. You have to step out of your own taste and consider everything, still you can never be
precise. You do sometimes have to take the risks.
The Internet radio shows on the Arision website must be integral to what Arision is also all about. Who have you had to do guest spots so far?
We've had Yam Who, Karl Injex, Domu. Seiji gave us a mix CD.
What’s been the general feedback from your listeners to your radio shows?
I have to say the website is going really well. People, check the new releases, check the charts, actually you have just
reminded me I have to update the charts. It takes up a lot time. I spend a lot of time on the website. But the more you put
in the more you get out of it.
You also run club nights. Tell us more about that.
I am doing a monthly at Fluid [called Be Arisionable, venue is on London's Charterhouse Street - Ed.]. I have been running club nights for a long time. And I have to say that it can be a fuckin'
lottery.
Elaborate!
You can never predict the success of a club night. A few club nights do have a history. One is That’s How It Is
[the long-running night from Gilles Peterson, Ben Wilcox, and Raw Deal at London's Bar Rumba - Ed.]. Another is Co-Op
[the broken beat night at London's Plastic People with I.G. Culture, Dego, Afronaught, and Demus as residents - Ed.]. There other
nights, like at the Jazz Café. But other than that it’s a gamble. And that’s wherever you go. London, New York, Milan.
Anywhere.
Do you still DJ abroad often?
Yeah I do, but it’s nice to do it when it’s really worth doing it otherwise I concentrate on doing records. Or, to be
honest, I have more fun looking for trainers to sell on the website. It’s not nice when you go to a club and you have
records the trend seekers don’t wants to dance to. It’s not worth the hassle. You end up in places like that sometimes.
It’s one of those nights that make you want to stop DJing [laughs]. But also, there are some nights we do in Italy, once a
month from April to September, in a big theatre with 2000 people. We get a great UK DJ from the scene every month and it’s
fuckin' amazing . Almost magical. I like to do those sort of things. If I have to go and play for a crowd that’s only
interested in what’s trendy then I’m not interested.
Who are you feeling, musically, at the moment?
Yam [Who?], Marc [Mac], Alex [Attias] - he’s got an amazing album coming out. Dego, he’s working on something I’m sure
will be super amazing. I heard Jazzanova’s new track last night called That’s How we Do It - amazing! Xan - I hope he
does really well with his album.
And what is next for Big Bang?
An album: deep jazz, more clubby than dancey. For the jazz heads. But before that, as I mentioned, we are working with
Marco di Marco. That’s going to be the biggest thing we’ve ever done. It’s gonna be pure jazz.
Besides music and trainers, what else inspires you?
Very different things: snowboarding, going away, sunny places, incredible food, incredible quality of life, so not London
[laughs].
Picture this: you're stuck on an island with a choice of having only three items in your possession. What would they
be?
A boat to get out, my girlfriend, oh shit she’s not an item [laughs], food and wine.
NOTE: Simone is guest DJ at Know The Ledge's Bruk Boogie party (Salmon & Compass, London) on Tuesday 8 June.
Find out more.
RELATED LINKS:
Arision
Cuica discography
Cuica discography
Buy Big Bang Rework Project at Amazon
UK
(CD)
Buy Big Bang's Arriving Soon at Amazon
UK
(CD
/
Vinyl)
Buy Be Arisionable at Amazon
UK
(CD
/
Vinyl)
Buy Cuica's City To City at Amazon
UK
(CD
/
Vinyl)
| US
(CD)
PUBLISHED: Wednesday 10 March 2004
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::: RELATED LINKS
Arision
Cuica discography
Big Bang discography
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