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Cricco Castelli
Label: Kult Records
Artists Genre: Dance
When the opening strains of “Life is Changing”
waft into your ears, you realize it doesn't get
much better than this. The purveyor of
this and other fine house classics, is Cricco
Castelli, an Italian producer based in London,
who is destined for super-stardom. Since his US debut
on the Kult Records imprint, he has set
the dance music world alight with astring of
tracks that have garnered props from DJs, producers
and critics alike. Tracks like “No
Name” mesh chunky, drum kicks and snares, with
lush melodies, courtesy of Castelli's virtuoso piano
skills, while still retaining an edge
that fits into the underground club aesthetic.
His beautifully crafted tunes are rich, warm and have
a surreal quality that Castelli has
made very much his trademark. A classically-trained
pianist for five years, Cristiano Castelli made
his DJing debut back in 1983. As an adolescent,
he listened to funk, R&B and disco,
with a record collection that included Earth, Wind &
Fire, Kool & the Gang and Rufus & Chaka Khan.
At aged 13, he was playing clubs in his native
Rome, spinning a smooth set of funk. His growing
reputation as a DJ resulted in frequent
gigs. “I can't remember the names of the DJs,
in my home town, who inspired me,” he says. “but
I got into DJing hearing them.” Known for
his funky, kinetic sets, Castelli soon became a
regular fixture around Rome, DJing at
many of the hottest parties. One such gig proved to be
prophetic. “I met up with Lilla (Vietri,
Kult's president) in the years before the
label, when she was doing parties in Italy. I didn't
realize that nearly 10 years later, we'd be
working together again, but with me as a
producer.” In 1991, Castelli started sampling
soundbites from the radio. He eventually
bought his first sampler and began experimenting.
The first fruits of his labor was
“Underground Shock,” a deep, funky house cut,
which was released on a small, independent label based
in Italy. Castelli left his homeland for
pastures new. He moved to London, as the already
thriving club scene there continued its boom, and
set about establishing a
well-equipped studio. He also continued to DJ both in
the UK and in his former domicile. Castelli
began to experiment with his sound, putting
out tracks on small independents. In the
beginning of 1997, Castelli finally hit pay dirt.
The track was “Life is Changing,” which appeared on
volume 4 of Kult's DJ Sampler series, caused
a major quake on the club scene.
Employing well known jazzy samples, driving bass and
tinkly pianos, “Life is Changing,” was an
aural revelation. Demand for the cut was
such, that prior to Kult's six-month hiatus, the
label put out the appropriately
titled “You Asked for It” E.P. which featured the
original cut, plus three new tracks. “The
track started out as a little experiment.” he
recalls. “I took a little hook, sampled it
and came up with my own interpretation of the
original cut. I couldn't understand why people went so
crazy over the track, but it got me a lot of
respect!” Castelli went on to prove that he
definitely wasn't a one-trick pony, with luscious cuts
like ”No Name” and remixes that include
Mila's “Keep On Giving.” The success of “Life is
Changing,” also led to Farley & Heller
enlisting the Italian talent to produce a
track for the Junior Boys Own imprint. Castelli
finally made his US DJing debut at the Winter
Music Conference '98 in Miami, where he played
alongside Terry Hunter and Doc Martin at the
Kult Records party. Luminaries such as DJ Sneak,
Masters at Work, Daft Punk and Tommy Musto
were attendance, as Castelli played one of the
most talked about sets at the conference. The
Italian producer says he tried not to get
intimidated by the whole affair. “While I was playing,
I could see people like Kenny Dope and Louis
Vega, but I played without thinking about any of them
being there. After it was over, that's when I got
excited...” Life is definitely changing for the
London-based producer, who is currently working on
tracks with kultivated flavor. He plans to venture
into more vocal-driven tracks, but promises
to stay true to the style that is distinctly his.
“When I make tracks, I don't go for the standard way
of doing things. I try to go beyond that. If
it works and people like it, then I'm happy.”
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