Italian artists Giammarco Orsini and Jacopo Latini have, for some time now been working their way through the electro tinged minimal scene with a natural flare that can only be as a result of countless hours digging and honing their craft. While their solo careers have been flourishing in recent years the two artists have now combined to form the production alias Data Memory Access. With so much history between the two we catch up with the pair to find out where the collaboration has come come from…
All good things have a beginning and Giammarco and Jacopo have been in this for some time now, “We have known each other for a long time due to a few friends in common such as Umberto from Nudge, DJ Cream and Francesco Del Garda. Jacopo was a resident for Cassero and Kinki in Bologna and Giammarco was a resident for Zu::Bar in Pescara.” Having stood out due to their undoubted passion for music it was clear to those around them that they would make a great partnership, “Umberto always believed we could have a certain musical connection but we did not get the chance to meet in the studio until Jacopo moved to Berlin in the summer of 2019. We started to see each other more often and the first time we met in the studio we both understood there was a strong connection.”
With Jacopo being a long time serving member of various crews and collectives, it is this rich history in the scene that dovetailed so nicely with Giammarco’s own lineage, “We think it was a natural evolution, the combination of our experience in the studio and our common roots of Italian House and nostalgic deep sounds from the 90s brought us to develop our sound as a duo. We also found we both liked certain machines such as the Prophet 5 or Moog Sub 37 and everything grew organically from there.” As result of this shared love for gear and Italian house the DMA sound was born.
Working together on the Data Memory Access two solo artists were bound to rub off on each other and while their own solo work has always been well received their work was bound to be intertwined, “When we met in the studio for the first time our sounds were more different, despite the common roots. But we soon begun to influence each other so much over the years that our individual sounds definitely got influenced as well from the DMA sessions. This said we can still feel a different touch in our solo music. We kept our own identities and we believe that is the beauty of our collaborations.”
Interpreting a record into a brand new live set is no easy task, but all live acts need to start someplace, “We were asked by Andy Luff and Tom from Picnic Records to build a live set for their 10th anniversary and the idea was very intriguing to us. It took a month to build it and we’ve been working on it since, constantly developing the narrative. About the preparation, we have a selection of tracks we want to play and those are the foundation of the live. Before every show, we end up adding new tracks and take away some others, this can depend on the environment we will be playing in. We have been using a laptop, two midi controllers and the Moog Sub 37 as the base of our set up, and then for each show we try to new and different hardware that we wish to experiment with.”
For anybody that has witnessed a live act preforming a string of their already well known tracks the process is not a straightforward one, “It was not the easiest to find the right sequence of tracks. We have both been deejaying for several years and we know with a live set it could be tricky, because you cannot adapt with so much ease in comparison to a DJ set. So, we tried to build a sequence of tracks that worked well for us and where possible we wanted to create some unique mash ups of our own tracks tunes to create a different type of experience, yet a familiar feeling.”
For most artists there is usually a period of testing and live scenarios, however, due to well-known recent social factors DMA did not have that luxury, “The reality is that we did not really have the chance to play the live anywhere before Fabric because of lockdowns but it was overwhelming to see the reaction we got that night. It really gave us a boost to work harder and consistently try to improve.”
Having elevated their musical output to include a fire live act Jacopo and Giammarco have always been DJ’s through and through. So, while on the road the two have been able to revert to their first love and played several b2b’s, “As you said, being DJs is still our first approach to the music. Together or individually we love to deejay and we love that no matter how much you experience it still brings different challenges all of the time.” They continue to explain this connection, “We feel we have a certain connection when it comes to music and we just have to lock it in when we both deejay together. Sometimes it’s immediate, sometimes we have to warm up a little. The same happens in the studio as well, certain days it goes so quick and some others it takes more time.”
At the beginning of their DMA journey they connected with Mood Waves and they are set to explore this relationship further explains Giammarco, “I met TJ and Shaque during my Berlin years and when they came up with the idea of releasing something after they met with Jacopo I was very happy to contribute to it. A few months later I moved into Shaque’s apartment and we ended up reinforcing our friendship and I became part of their group of friends. We’ve been working to stamp almost each release on the label together and had so many fun times over the past few years. It was beautiful to connect and find a group of friends through the music.” Jacopo echoes these thoughts with more insight, “When I moved to Berlin I met TJ and Shaque we became friends in a very smooth way, they directly made me feel at home and instantly felt like I became part of their crew. We had been chatting to release something together, but when I showed them “Experience” they was very intrigued, and wanted to offer us a release as soon as possible. I always feel supported and inspired with them and it’s always nice to hang together.”
With their upcoming “Yearning For Cobalt” LP due to land on Mood Waves we hear more about their decision to work again with their long-time friends, “After the nice feedback of our first release in 2020, we had the rare chance to be even more concentrated in the studio, no gigs and clubs were open because of lockdowns so we had so much time for producing.”
“The idea of making an album came after we had a 2 weeks’ session in January 2021 in the Dolomiti Mountains. We built a little studio in a small apartment and we made music every day, cooked and to take breaks we took long walks out in the snow. After this period of isolation, we shared many tracks with Shaque and TJ and we all agreed on the opportunity of releasing an album together. We kept working in the following months between Berlin and Bologna until we found the right balance between the tracks.”
Conversation soon moved onto the duos next body of work that is due to see the light on the esteemed Cragie Knowes label, “Max (Craigie’s A&R) got in contact with us in 2021 and we sent some demos without any expectation. He came directly with a proposal for an EP after a few weeks and we were both so happy because we love the label. However, it took us a while to finalise the EP because we wanted to add something else to the release, and now we are happy with how it turned out. It is somehow different from the others but we love the tracks and some of them are already part of our live, and soon the others will also be a part of it. The “Hi Tee” EP will be out in the early days of July via One Eye Witness distribution.”
It is clear that DMA are on the ascendance and with hot releases comes white bookings and they don’t come hotter than Nostromo and Illusions (Fuse). We hear from the pair how they will be preparing for gigs like this and what we can expect from their sets, “We have been making music for both occasions, picturing in our heads how that synth line or that bassline would sound on the terrace of The Cause or into the garden stage of Nostromo. So, there will be also a few unreleased tracks but with some little details of something we already released. For instance, at the moment we don’t play “Experience” or “Acid In Mind” but we love to play with some parts on the new tracks. We are pretty excited and we look forward to the events ahead!”
Finally, we hear from Jacopo and Giammarco on their future place for DMA, “The next music we are releasing will land on the aforementioned Craigie Knowes label, it is slightly different from what we released so far but we’re really curious to see the reaction. We hope you like it. Also, by the end of the year we will start our own label called DMA and we will be able to share the first release by the beginning of autumn. We also have a few new shows on the way between Berlin, Barcelona, and Bologna. Stay tuned for more info.””
“Yearning For Cobalt” LP by Data Memory Access is out now on Mood Waves, and the “Hi-Tee” EP on Craigie Knowes is now available to pre-order.
More info on Data Memory Access
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More info on Giammarco Orsini
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More info on Jacopo Latini
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