Abstract Travels _ Interview with Claudio PRC

Experimentation and research, art and music. All in a days work for Prologue’s novel artist.

Claudio PRC was raised on the Italian island of Sardinia.

Over the years, an interest in Electroacoustic music, Detroit and Musique concrète have fused together, to form the deeply rhythmic and mesmerising Techno that he is highly regarded for. A successful DJ and producer, Claudio currently releases his music on Prologue, and in the past, has appeared on Aconito and Strobostopic Artefacts. He enjoys playing venues all over the world from Berlin to Tokyo.

Claudio is providing a mix for subsekt 021, that will be broadcast on Fnoob on Wednesday 23rd January 2013 @2200GMT. The show is actually a double header and will also feature a mix by the formidable Timothy Alexander. As always, it will be available on soundcloud after transmission.

In this interview with Claudio, we chat about early influences and the power of nostalgia before discussing frequencies and escapism. After discussing the concept of personal journeys, we move on to discuss DJ’ing, the therapeutic nature of Techno and underground culture.
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Rachael: Thanks for taking the time out to do this interview… I like to start interviews with this question, as everyone has a different answer…what does music mean to you?

Music is everything and nothing. Music is an abstract mystery which attracts infinite things like every kind of emotion, music is art, science and sacredness, it is a universal language that makes an individual unique, music is social relations, a reason for aggregation, it is a refuge, a way to escape from reality, music is sound that fills our innermost being, its power is so big as to make it invisible, and because of this, I like to think that music is all in the absolute nothingness.

So you are from Sardinia, it looks very beautiful there! There are some very talented musicians coming from Sardinia such as Svart 1, Ness, Hubble, Andrea Porcu to name a few. There must be something in the water there, haha. To what extent does ones surroundings impact upon their approach to producing music do you think?

Sardinia is really beautiful, I love my land, nature and history, my roots are here, but I hate it for the few opportunities it offers, and being a small island I have to contend with the harsh attitude of the place. My work is based upon these two feelings and I think also the work of all the artists who live and work here, who are many and all with a high level. In the end this place is mystical, from which comes our greatest inspiration for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ7F0Nfd-7k

Music can evoke powerful feelings of nostalgia. What is your first musical memory?

When I think about it, I remember when I was a child, me and my family went to the sea every
weekend by car. One summer, I forget which one, my father always listened to a tape of the
legendary Rino Gaetano, one of the best Italian artists ever. Today, when I play his songs my mind re-enacts those hot days, our old white car and the smell of the pine forest that bordered the beach.

What were the first records you ever purchased and what kind of memories do you associate with them, if any?

I don’t know what the first record ever was exactly, but I remember very well when I bought the first record of Sleeparchive or Plastikman, or “Destination Eskimo” from Brando Lupi and Donato Dozzy on Elettronica Romana. I totally went crazy, I was completely lit up, they were a great discovery for me, and still I keep a wonderful memory of these records today, along with all the first records I bought at that time, when really started this journey. I traveled a few miles every Saturday afternoon to reach the town next to mine, to buy the latest news before anyone else. It was a time of great turmoil for me, one time in my life I will never forget.

You’ve previously stated that you grew up listening to Giorgio Gigli and Donato Dozzy, have these artists had a big impact on your music, and in what way?

They are some of the artists that inspired me most when I started to conceive of a certain type of music. I listened to different styles of electronic music but the charm transmitted by them and from the rest of the artists from the movement created by the label Elettronica Romana definitely changed my perspective. Their music was so hypnotic and warm, a concept of music composed by deep meanings that goes beyond the dance floor. Their music is always a great source of inspiration for me.