“I did a track called 'The Good Old Days' that was released on Hive here in Switzerland and I can say that this collaboration changed my life. Since then I'm getting requests for remixes, I play for good parties. I work with a different crew now and that's definitely changed my career.”
Dario D'Attis' breakthrough track came at the start of 2014 and since its release he has featured highly in the charts of Beatport and Traxsource. But although he has seen a sudden rise in interest this is no overnight success. The Italian Swiss D'Attis has been DJing for over two decades already and his production career stretches back almost as long. Debuting in the early 2000s D'Attis went on to have associations with labels like Transport Music and in particular Purple Music operating largely in the field of vocal house.
“Switzerland has been a good place for house music since the 90s,” he says. “DJs like Oliver Stumm, Dani Konig, Mr Mike, Djaimin, Mandrax were all big names for vocal house music in the 90s, people who inspired me to do music.”
But D'Attis's 'The Good Old Days' marked a change in direction for him. Gone were the female lead vocals and the overt garage and soul influence, replaced by a deeper, more tracky aesthetic, one that proved popular with a new, wider audience. It's a sound he has further mined on recent releases for Poker Flat and his 'Breaks For Peace' EP on Strictly Rhythm which contained the strong club cut 'My Tip'. Though deeper and more clubby than his earlier efforts you can still taste a morsel of D'Attis's soulful house past in these productions, there being a certain bump and swing to the percussion he chooses.
“I used to record a lot with musicians in the studio,” he says, “but I've stopped doing that. I mean, I love soulful music but, right now, I'm going more towards doing simpler tracks. I'm more focussed on the dancefloor.”
This garage and soulful house history combined with his newly found deeper groove is expertly expressed on D'Attis's remix of Tonja Dantzler's 'In & Out Of My Life' (an obscure club shaking classic from back in the day that had an Armand Van Helden remix). It's the latest in a line of releases that, at long last, focus attention on a clearly grateful Dario D'Attis.
“I've been Djing for 20 years now and producing for 15,” he says. “There was a long time when nothing happened, so I'm really happy that things are changing a bit for me now and I'm working with labels I really respect. It's a good time for me right now, I'm living a dream. I hope I never wake up.”
Dario D'Attis has mixed one side of the first ever Defected In The House Croatia 2016 album, which is out on July 15th.
