How’s it going?: DJ Damianito

 How are you doing and how are things going for you right now?

Hey Serato, thanks for reaching out and asking me to be part of this. I’m currently in Rome and, thank God, all my friends and family are safe, me included.

In this country, we’re living a nightmare and I really hope that this unexpected period ends soon.

What are some of the key pieces of gear in your arsenal to help you stay active through this period, and why?

I have been taking advantage of this period to clean up everything in my libraries, trying to improve workflow and experimenting with new systems (Livestreams and hardware rewires).

I use this to jump through my turntables and Ableton, sort of a ping pong between productions and routines.

What are your top 3 watches right now? Movies, TV shows, Documentaries. Anything.

During my time at home, I am studying new techniques to improve my workflow on Music production softwares, learning how to manage new systems of broadcasting and, of course, spending time playing video games and watching some movies/documentaries.

First, I watched tutorials about ”Live streaming”, for example the DJcity video with Mojaxx. I have also watched some italian comedy shows like Enrico Brignano. On Netflix I have watched the series ”Black Mirror” twice, Ozark, documentaries like ”Sample This”, ”Hip Hop Revolution”, ”Miles Davis Documentary” and more.

What’s your secret in staying productive and getting stuff done when you’re just at home all day?

I create a list of tasks every day.

My friend gave me a whiteboard, and everyday I write ”things to do”. The following day I can then see how many of my goals I have achieved.

What would your advice be to younger DJs/producers who are struggling to find a direction and feel a bit lost through this period?

I think this period must be used to look for inspiration by listening to some DJ sets and routines. You should then use this time to practice and dig for music to create your own sound.

In the end, this will build your character and identity, and you will better understand the artistic direction you would like to move in.

How do you think this period is going to impact the DJ community in the near future?

I think this period will bring some positive things to the DJ Game. 

More time to:  improve and practice, work on all those unfinished projects, create a branding plan. At the same time, economically, the clubs, bars and festivals may need to reinvent the scene completely. I think it will restart again, but very slowly.

Photography by Giuseppe Antonelli