Up The Stuss’s 11th release is an irresistible offering of classy house cuts courtesy of Italian Canadian DJ Paolo Rocco, with this his debut ‘To The Stars And Beyond EP’ on Chris Stussy’s imprint.
Paolo Rocco has made a name for himself with releases on FUSE, Rutliance Records, Talman and his own label RAW/Moments. We had the pleasure to sit down and find out more about the man behind these spacey house cuts.
Thanks for taking the time to sit down with us Paolo - what a great record on Up The Stuss, how did the release come about?
Thanks for having me. I've known Mr. Stussy for circa five-ish years now and it's absolutely amazing to see how far he's come. We first met in person when PIV first booked me for one of their events back in 2017 and stayed in touch ever since. Over the years we've played a lot of each other's stuff and whenever we get talking about music we just nerd out so I think it was just a matter of time before I gave him a record, more just a question of what material it would be and when.
You’re very much in the ascendancy right now with some amazing music under your belt - what is the inspiration behind this EP and what inspires you to make music in a wider sense?
I think ascendancy is a strong word but the compliment is appreciated haha. The A1 ‘First Night Out’ was made during the pandemic. I was in Canada which had some of the harshest lockdowns and I already couldn't wait until literally that first night out. The track was a really easy, fun, bouncy, housey one to make and was loosely inspired by a US west coast kind of feel. The ‘To The Stars and Beyond’ track really came together around the break that's pretty epic sounding with the sort of bendy type synthetic strings. I remember coming across that sound and thinking it would be outrageous and too over the top to use but played around with it anyways. I wasn't really sure about the whole track either but decided to finish it up and try it out live. I thought to myself this is either going to really work well and create a moment, or people are going to be like wtf is going on. Luckily for me it went down well and I made the dub mix without that big break element to have a version to play if ever I get tired of that part. ‘Chi Chi Boogie’ was made back in 2018, who said music can't be released years after it was made ;).
What inspires me to make music is a tough one to answer. It really changes all the time. Sometimes it's a goal, a moment, a life event, a person...
As a highly respected selector, what is on heavy rotation in your DJ sets right now?
I think Burnski is one the most underrated producers out there (even with how much he is rated). I met James about ten years ago (I can't believe it's been that long) and everything he does is quality.. from his Constant Sound, Instinct... It's all great stuff and I find myself trying not to play too much of it because, well, I'm not him. That's how you know the material is special. When you try to do something different during a set but have trouble replacing the music with something else. There are a lot of other really dope producers out there too like Huerta, Giammarco Orsini, Brawther / Dungeon Meat, and Chrissy Stussy himself to name a few. You also have Unknown Artist who really exploded their discography in the last few years...
What do you do when you’re not making tasty house cuts?
Lately, I've been spending most of my free time with a core group of friends. Even if I'm not in the studio with a direct purpose we hang out there often enough. I've also been working on some other projects away from the music world and the combination of all this keeps me pretty busy.
What is coming up for Paolo Rocco for the rest of 2022/23?
A few remixes, we're also going to be bringing back the RAWMoments label which I'm excited about, and I'm working on a concept-type album called 1M1M (One Man One Machine) where the whole project is made only using one piece of gear (no computer). Paolo Rocco 'To The Stars and Beyond EP' out now
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