Club Beat #53 Interview – Stefano Noferini: Toolroom, Techno & Talent

If Stefano Noferini is spinning anywhere in or around London, Planet Notion will be there. Never shy of expressing our appreciation of this maestro’s mixing and production skills, we couldn’t resist having a quick chat with him after his set in the Toolroom Knights arena at Global Gathering.

Read our interview below as Stefano Noferini talks Toolroom, techno and talent on his record label, as well as giving us a heads up on some hot new releases.

How did you get involved with Toolroom?

I have been working with Toolroom since three years ago when I released my first track. It was very good; it was number one on all the charts on beatport. It was Burujava. I will probably remix Burujava 2012 for the Toolroom Knights compilation.

What feedback have you received about your latest release on Toolroom, your Sometimes/You Make Me Feel EP?

Sometimes is a really underground style; it is one of the best tracks for me for 2012. You Make Me Feel is a little bit mainstream; it’s good because it’s like the old-school style house. And also the video is very nice. I’ve had a lot of very nice feedback about this, especially for the video. It’s like the story of me. In a couple of clips I’m a bit drunk but who cares!

How has your sound changed throughout your career?

I have been a DJ and producer since 1994. I played and produced a lot of techno music at that time and in 1997 I collaborated with producers like Sven Väth and I played a lot of techno festivals like Energy in Switzerland in front of one million people; it was great! And then my career changed in 2001 when I changed the sound engineer, the sound of the collaborators and changed the manager. This was really important; this was a big change.

Now I come back into techno because I love the techno music sound and style, especially the techno of the 1990s; I love it, absolutely. The newest track I’ve made is totally different from them all; it’s a really techno style. It’ll be released probably at the end of this year.

Where do your labels fit in with this?

I have two labels; one is a little bit mainstream, but Deeperfect is underground, so they are different. I have lots of DJs that produce on Deeperfect and I have a lot of collaborations with artists. Now I am very happy because the label is absolutely doing well.

What new releases have you got coming out on Deeperfect?

I have a new collaboration with Mar-T, the Spanish DJ, resident at Amnesia. He is a good producer also. We also have another release by the famous Zoo Brazil. I love Zoo Brazil; super, super good producer and funny guy.

Also, Mr.Bizz. For me, he is one of the best new producers for techno music. The guy comes from Sardinia in Italy. He has a techno touch and I like it because it’s a tribal sound mixed with old-school techno. I love it! We have a collaboration between Stefano Noferini and Mr.Bizz for September or maybe November. I played the track this afternoon [at Global Gathering].

Who else would you like to collaborate with?

For 2013 I want to collaborate with a pop artist, but I won’t say the name until it’s done. They are a big influence in the history of house music in the 1990s. They are the best artist for me. I cross my fingers. Also, I want to collaborate more with some DJs like Umek, Mr.Bizz and Mark Knight, of course. We have a track together, me and Mark Knight. It’s probably out at the end of this year.

What is your next release?

My next release, out this Monday [30^th July] on beatport, is part 1 of Remix Me. It’s an album concept with a lot of DJs remixing my tracks: part 1 with 6 tracks and part 2 with 6 tracks. And I have a release on the Toolroom album, Toolroom Knights, out at the end of September. I have a lot of things going on!

Part 1 of ‘Remix Me’ is available now.

Follow Stefano Noferini and Radius Agency on twitter.

Check out Toolroom Records and Global Gathering.

-Ann Bartholomew