With Federico Monachesi having new music out this week on Soundteller Records we catch up with him for the latest episode of 12 Questions.
1. How old are you, where are you living and how long have you been producing and Djing?
I’m 31 years old, from Tucuman, Argentina. I started to produce in 2005 and to djing professionally in 2009
2. Where do your musical roots lie, what are your first memories of electronic music and when did you know you wanted to pursue it seriously? Are there any particular productions or artists from the past that really made you think to yourself ‘this is what I want to do.”
My first memories of electronic music are from the early 90’s listening euro dance music. Sometime later I started to looking for another genres of electronic music and discovered techno and trance. By the end of 90’s I saw for the first time how a dj works and thought: This is what I want to do!
3. How difficult was learning to produce for you in the beginning? Did you take any Audio Engineering programs or production courses to help you out or are you pretty much self taught? And did anyone give any advice early on that really helped?
I am completely self-taught and it was not easy to learn, but in the beginning I did it just for fun. Sometime later I decided to share my stuff with other djs and producers friends, some of them helped me a lot with their advice and inspired me to keep making music.
4. What parts of the production process do you find the most difficult and what comes easiest for you? When you do hit a creative block what helps you through it?
The most difficult process to me is to achieve the final master with the sound that I want. I can spend many days fixing details and doing tests until convincing me. The part that seems less difficult and the most fun is to create a groove, atmospheres and melodies for future projects.
5. What’s a normal day like for you? Do you have a job outside of electronic music? And what do you like to do when you’re not working on music?
I do not have a job outside of electronic music. The first thing I do in the day is to check the emails, then spend many hours listening promos and looking for new music. After that I work in the studio as long as I can. When I need to relax I watch some movies or play some video games.
6. Apart from electronic music what other genres do you listen to and who are your favourite artists outside of electronic? and do these genres or artists have a direct effect on your own productions?
I like bands like Pink Floyd and Radiohead, and I’m sure their sounds influenced me a lot, in fact I did some bootlegs of their songs.
7. What was the first and last physical (CD, Vinyl, Cassette etc) piece of music you bought?
The first cd I bought was one called “Rave 2000” in 1998 and the last one was “Loud” by Timo Maas in 2002.
8. Tell us something about yourself that might surprise people?
On weekends I play an amateur football tournament with my friends and its one of my favorite activities.
9. Which producers in your opinion get consistently overlooked?
There are many artists with great talent and future but I do not know who is really overlooked.
10. Which producers consistently inspire you? And where else does your inspiration come from?
Guy J & Sasha are my favorite producers and they music always inspires me. Also I play music every weekend and I think the most inspiration comes from the dance floor.
11. There are countless producers out there trying to find their way and create their own unique sound, what advice do you have for them?
The best advice I would give them is to work a lot, be patient and spend many hours in the studio, I think that’s the only way to achieve an unique sound.
12. If the final DJ/live set of your career was next week what would your last track be?
My last track would be: PQM – You Are Sleeping (Luke Chable Vocal Pass) that track still produces me goosebumps when I hear it.
‘Syzygy’ is out now on Soundteller Records, you can purchase the release: here
