in

Agents Of Time Talk Books, Cooking & Their New Album On Kompakt

The Italian duo are known for the melodic tracks they have released on labels such as Afterlife Recordings.

Agents Of Time have featured their melodic tracks on labels such as Tale Of Us’ Afterlife Recordings and Maceo Plex’s Ellum.

Agents Of Time are an Italian duo that consists of Luigi and Andrea and they are known globally for their techy style of melodic house.

Their style is a blend of intense atmosphere and uplifting melodies that are often intermingled with moody atmosphere to create epic tension.

They are known to be talented DJs and live performers who have headlined some of the world’s biggest clubs and festivals.

You can find their music on iconic record labels ranging from Tale Of Us’ Afterlife Recordings to Maceo Plex’s Ellum and their next release is an album on the iconic, Kompakt.

Excited to learn more about the album and some of their passions outside of music, we invited them for this interview…

Hi Guys, it’s great to be talking with you today. Could you start by telling us about where you are based, and what the local music scene is like?

Both: Hello everybody! We are currently based in our home city (Bari in South of Italy). We were born and raised here and we feel well connected with our city because it’s a perfect mix of beautiful weather (mostly all the year) and very nice people. The food is incredibly delightful, so we encourage all of you to come and discover our homeland!

Music-wise we have a strong identity and of course, our club scene is still alive. Even though many clubs closed in recent years, we still have people working and living in this business. A lot of electronic festivals are happening, especially during the summer, and this can only be a good omen for the future and for the entire music scene in the region!

How did you guys meet, and what inspired your alias, Agents Of Time… is there a story behind it?

Both: We met each other almost 10 years ago (time flies so fast!!!) at a small party, and after that, we started making music in a very tight room equipped with some synths and a drum machine. Even though the financial resources at the time were not the best, the musical results were starting to satisfy us. So we started thinking about our alias and we chose Agents Of Time. This is Mathew Jonson’s album name and we decided to use it because was dark and futuristic, plus of course, it was a thank you to him, because we love his music!

What’s your production process like, do you always work together in the same studio space or do you share ideas via the internet?

Both: We always work together in the studio and we rarely share ideas via the internet. The reason why is that we think this is the best approach to create music that reflects both our visions. We can share good and bad moments together and put these feelings into the music and the result will reflect our personality. Furthermore, working together like this, we can teach each other more tricks and share knowledge. We also think making music together improves our friendship.

How do you find inspiration for music, I’m told Luigi is a passionate reader. Luigi, what type of books do you like the most, and what appeals to you about this type of writing?

Luigi: I’m very passionate about reading books and of course, I read more when I have free time, because I feel this is a relaxing moment for my brain. I really love historical books but I also like to read magazines (music-related) and biographical books. I’m also a huge fan of Freddie Mercury. Sometimes when I’m struggling with musical ideas and I can’t find any type of inspiration, I start reading books regarding his life and the secret behind his life as an artist. I think reading books or newspaper articles can help your mind because it can stimulate your fantasies. I find reading very useful for my creative process!

Could you recommend some of the books you consider timeless or read recently and really enjoyed?

Luigi: I’ve always loved reading Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Peter Hince’s Queen Unseen.

It must be hard switching off after a long day in the studio, and I hear that Andrea finds cooking an excellent way to relax. What is it you find so relaxing about cooking?

Andrea: It’s a passion that my grandmother passed on to me and my brother, which is the reason my brother became a chef in some Michelin stars restaurants while I worked more on the music side, thankfully it worked out well for us both!

While I’m cooking is the only time where I can turn off my brain and be concentrated on doing this one thing, rather than being on the phone replying to messages or calls. In some way I also find it creative because you’re basically creating something using your hands and it’s amazing for me to see the end result!

Could you list some of your signature dishes and any tips to help people get more creative in the kitchen?

Andrea: Being an Italian for sure, carbonara is one of my highlights! I’m not using besciamella (bechamel sauce) cause this is a fake way to make the pasta creamy. The best way is to cook half of the pasta while the water is boiling and then finalise it with the guanciale which needs to be fried for at least 5 min with some wine and oil. Then it will become creamy simply by adding beaten eggs and a bit of the water you used for the pasta!

Now you’re ready to try it yourself!

Moving back to your music, I understand you have a new album out on Kompakt, could you tell us about those tracks and the concept behind them?

Both: The album comes from a very long creative period that started during the pandemic. It took us more than one year and a half to reach the final result. It consists of 13 tracks and is called ‘Universo’ because our idea is to give the listener the opportunity to create his own world simply by listening to the tracks. During the pandemic, with no certainty about the future, we started making music with the goal of an album that could reflect our vision and our idea about a ‘new world’, let’s call it the AOT world. So the concept behind the album is that every listener can create a specific world that is different from ours etc.

Is this your first time working with Kompakt, and how does it feel to release on such an iconic record label?

Both: Luckily not! We released our first EP called ‘Music Made Paradise’ with them on April 2020. We are very proud about the release because Kompakt is one of our favourite record labels ever and after a long time trying to make proper music for them, finally we got the opportunity to start working with the whole team -which is simply great!

Can you list a couple of tracks from Kompakt’s back catalogue that you feel are timeless?

Both: Some of the Kompakt tracks we have both loved are Justus Köhncke’s ‘Timecode’, Kölsch’s ‘Grey’ and Gui Boratto’s ‘Beautiful Life’.

Thanks for talking today, is there a message for fans or anything else you would like to add before we finish?

Both: Absolutely. We want to thank all the people who have supported our musical project since the beginning. It’s very important for us to feel the love of our fans and we hope to give back to every single one of them through our energy and shared love for the music!!!

You can pre-order a copy of their new ‘Universo’ album on Kompakt from HERE

Report

What do you think?

Pig&Dan

Pig&Dan Drop New Album ‘20 Years: Pig&Dan’

Ghenwa Nemnom Drops New Single ‘Story of a Battle’