Volcov in the mix
Enrico Crivellaro aka Volcov is a cat whose music and labels I have been buying for basically my entire time in dance music, stretching back nearly twenty years. Neroli is in my opinion the strongest house music record label in Europe, and usually ends up being the trigger that forces me to do an overseas record order. You’ll recognize a number of Neroli jams in my year end lists, including last year which was incredibly strong for the label. In fact, it was only recently that it occurred to me that despite this fact even *I* had maybe been sleeping how strong his whole catalogue is.
His labels Archive and Neroli have both been home to a number of classics. His edits have been staples in the sets of some of the best disco and funk DJs. His own productions have been very strong, especially the Rima album he made with Domu which still features in many of my own DJ sets and rate as classics in my book. His compilations focus on strong music with soul and funky rhythms, not rarity.
There really isn’t anything in this world (lol) of dance music he hasn’t tried his hand at and done successfully. Despite this, he remains a humble, chill cat who keeps churning out quality. Enrico seems content to let the music speak for itself, but I was curious to know more so he was the first person I hit up to christen our new 10 Qs interview series. I am very happy that he was down to share with us. He also dipped deep into his personal archive (lol again) for a few photos from the parties he has been involved with over the years.
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How did you get into music and what age did that occur?
*classic stuff: started buying few records [mainly hip hop] at around 14, some friends had turntables and i got hooked….bought few chicago house things the following years [including Mr Fingers ‘what about this love’] and that was it!
Who is your favorite DJ, and what is the best DJ set you’ve ever witnessed live?
*my fave after all these years is still Theo Parrish by miles….for the selections and proposing certain type of songs in certain moments…playing things like D’angelo or Hiatus Kaiyote in the middle of the night for example..…a for a single set: i have a great memory of Ron Trent’s set at a Rush Hour/Somewhere in Amsterdam event from a 2-3 years ago though! Also witnessed quite few Sadar Bahar’s crazy sets…
Where do you find more inspiration, digging for old music or discovering new music?
*i do enjoy both worlds..…buying jazz and fusion album in stores as well as looking for new ambient or soul on bandcamp really. In general i get a good kick from discovering some new music, but i’m not obsessed with it. A new record to ‘enter the bag’ ideally has to be as strong as an older one.
Kaidi Tatham and Seiji at Pergola in Milano circa 2000 or so
How do you prepare for one of your DJ sets?
*i listen to the newest things i recieve or buy in the car….best way to ‘learn’ your tunes in my opinion…and then i present them over the weekend mixed with some other records that have been on rotation over the years. I’m a bit picky with what i play i have to say, so certain things stay in the bag for long.
What is the difference in purpose of your labels Archive and Neroli, and is there any plan to release more on Archive?
*Archive was way more conceptual and was inspired by A.R.T., OP.Art, Retroactive, B12…basically labels i was religiously collecting, so the idea was to have a label that could release music that people would collect without regretting in the future…..Neroli came a couple of years later as a more housey project…i tried to get some of the artists i used to have on Archive to do some house cuts or tracky based material….over the years Neroli became more organic and eclectic and i dont see much difference now. Nothing planned on Archive for 2018 so far, while plenty due on Neroli [Trinidadian Deep & Lars Bartkuhn, Alton Miller and Specter/Jose Rico Our Own Organization will the next ones].
What is your favorite record you’ve released as a producer? On your label (by any artist)?
*mmm of my own tracks i’m not so sure…i like certain tracks on the Rima album [with Domu] and a couple on the Isoul8 ones, but i dont really make much music anymore.
On Neroli i guess all Dego releases are really special, but I also have a soft spot for Trinidadian Deep ‘Oruns Jam’ and Latin Soul Brothas ‘Peace ‘n Strenght’.
What is your local Italian scene like, and what is your relationship with it?
*i think its pretty alive with some young djs with fine taste in music, like i guess a bit everywhere nowadays. It opened up to good music in many cities. In my own city we’re trying to build a little community around our Go-To monthly party where i play with my friends Patrick Gibin and Native. We have guests from time to time, it’s still growing but the musical output is really consistant. Also we have a really nice radio here in Verona called Rocket Radio where i do some long redundant jazz/ambient radio shows called ‘from the Archive’. Ornella and Sounds Familiar are based in Roma, although i guess is more of an international entity. I was never part of the main italian dance scene to be honest, not much back-patting to the big djs from my side. I always been part of the more alternative club circuit: i used to have some Archive parties in the late 90s in a squat called Pergola in Milano where we had people like Dego [several times], Phil Asher, Kaidi Tatham, Seiji, Recloose, Ian O Brien, Chateu Flight, Alex Attias, Titonton, Nubian Mindz and so on, but certainly it was pretty underground.
Dego at Pergola in Milano circa 2000
What is it about soulful music that has kept it at the forefront of what you do for over twenty years?
*ahaha i dont know, i always bought, played or released music that for me had a certain flavour, that gave me a buzz without really following a certain tag or category….i was never really cynical in my musical preferences….in general i always been more interested in the more musical things rather than beats/drums.
Tell me what you think the future of soulful dance music looks like…
*i dont really know…i think at the moment there’s far too much attention to reissues and not enough quality new music on the dance tip, at least for my taste. Plenty of fresh new jazz records etc, but not many inspiring house records for example. Or least for me. I hope kids will leave the edits alone and will go back to make some fresh beats.
What are your favorite things to do outside of music?
*outside of the music thing, i try spend most of my time with my family. As an italian I have of course a strong interest in food and wine.