Some people were just born for the stage. Whether you believe in nurture or nature, you can't stop someone meant for the spotlight from reaching it. Carlo Astuti is a living example. The Italian DJ and producer not only throws a party every time he steps on stage but also joins in on the festivities by having just as much fun as concert goers, if not more. His love for the music is apparent not just live but also in the consistent high placement of his songs on various Beatport charts through labels like Spinnin Records, Dim Mak, Nervous Records, and his own label, Mindkraft Music. You'll rarely hear the same melody twice in a Carlo Astuti song, let alone on two separate songs. He is the complete package.
In his younger years in Sicily, Carlo Astuti was into a grab bag of artists: Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Genesis, and Bob Marley. Thanks to his grandfather, who had bought him a drumset and taught him some basics, Carlo already had the groundwork laid down for his future in Dance music production. Then at 14, while at a local club, he caught wind of a "dark progressive Techno sound which was very popular at that time." He was entranced with a group of DJs and producers, Insomnia Disco Acropoli d’Italia. It was composed of Ricky Le Roy, Franchino, Zicky il Giullare, Sandro Vibot, Joy Kitikonti. Mario Piu’, and Francesco Farfa. From there, his focus shifted to Dance music. As a result, he became a Dance event promoter at his young age and started to build a network of contacts and a reputation for himself that would prove useful later down the road. But Dance music wasn't the only thing on his mind. Carlo put his good looks to use and started to act and model. He would eventually move to America to pursue a career in acting and modeling. The move would also jump start his DJing career.
Once in the states, he didn't let past negative experiences performing as a DJ deter him:
"I remember playing NYE [New Year's Eve] 2008 at this event in Taormina, Sicily. They put me to play at a very small room. There was only one guy on the dance floor."
He also commented that "the music scene was a disaster in L.A. at that time and it was very hard to find a good spot to go and dance." Although he preferred the Dance scene in Europe, he found a way to dominate the field on foreign soil with his massive, diverse sound and high octane energy behind the decks. It's difficult to put Carlo in a neat genre box. His production could be considered House, Electro, Techno, or something we don't even have a name for. The common thread that runs through all of them is the volume they seem to take up when you play them. To get the full effect of the heavy synths he's created and the layering with drums on top of said synths, we highly recommend massive speakers, plenty of room to jump around, and some friends to share the moment with. When we asked if he had ever created a song that felt "too big," he replied, "It's never too big!" [laughs]. When he's in the lab developing these tracks, he goes off of his gut instinct on when the track is finished. That can take anywhere between two days and two weeks. It's this confidence in his own intuition that has prevented him from over embellishing his music and thus earned him coveted spots on the Beatport charts.
The other half of the appeal behind Carlo is his ability to pull the crowd in with his raw energy while he's performing. If he's not enjoying himself, how can he expect the crowd to? He creates a cycle of feeding into and off of the crowd to keep himself going: "It is extremely important to interact with the audience while I play. That’s the whole reason why I play. It feels great to see your fans dancing like crazy with your beats and that makes me feel great. I make sure I ‘play for the crowd’ also. That means I play tracks they love so I keep them dancing the whole time I perform." He has his experience as an actor to partially thank for his stage presence. And he hasn't hung up that hat either, as he considers getting back into acting now that his music career has taken off.
Part of that booming music career is the progress his Mindkraft Music label has made. It was an outlet for him to showcase all of the great music he was receiving in his inbox while also saying, "Thanks," to those who had supported him from the beginning. Carlo is also planning on setting up worldwide Mindkraft events as a networking platform for his artists. When asked on if he was looking for a particular sound from artists to work with, he replied with, "We sign great music. It doesn’t matter what genre." With his love of his fans motivating him everyday and his unwavering dedication to giving them a good time, we're sure that Carlo will continue to only associate his name with great music.
Last Call
1. What is your favorite movie of all time?The Pianist with Adrian Brody
2. As a young DJ, who was the one DJ you looked up to?David Morales, Danny Tenaglia, Robbie Rivera
3. As a DJ, what's your biggest pet peeve?While I’m spinning I hate when they ask me to play music I don’t love.
4. What is your current set up at home?I keep my music world separated from my home. I work on music from my studio and when I don’t work on music I like to disconnect from that world. I actually listen to Classical music on a regular basis but most of the time I like silence. No music at all.
5. What's your favorite record of all time?"Music Is The Answer" by Danny Tenaglia
Keep up with Carlo Astuti on his Twitter, website, Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Bryan Hahn is ready to go after watching a clip of Carlo. He's on Twitter: @notupstate.