We speak to Supernova as they release their latest 'The Light Goes On' EP.
Working together for nearly a decade, Italian duo Supernova were drawn together by a desire to create and perform the best house music possible, something they considered almost impossible to achieve by a single person. Still influencing each other in a undoubtedly positive way, their relationship with Defected marked a turning point in their career, with their ‘Beat Me Back’ release and debut at London’s Ministry of Sound announcing their arrival on the international stage.
Their latest ‘The Light Goes On’ EP is released this week and shows a deeper side to their production aesthetic. We caught up with them for a quick chat about how life has changed for them over the past year and how they went about putting the new EP together.
How have things changed both personally and professionally for you over the last year or so?
For sure things are evolved both humanly and professionally. The Supernova project has changed our lives positively. Everyone has given so much to each other in artistic and humans terms. We are different people from the beginning of this adventure, more complete as both artists and men for sure.
Have you begun to feel the pressure of other people’s scrutiny?
We believe that every artist should look at what happens around him and that almost all artists end up being influenced by external factors or by other people; it’s normal. As our career has progressed and we’ve gained more experience we have learned to look around but also to be free from any constraint. We do what we like and we are proud of it! The way we work is perhaps more complex because we are trying to build a project of our own without following any fads.
How do you think your music has changed and evolved since the early days?
Our project is a very eclectic one and one that takes inspiration from ourselves rather than other people more often than not. We try to produce instinctively. Even when we play in clubs we like to be very eclectic. Since 2002 it has always been like that. Probably the quality has been improved, the technology and the speed of execution also, but heart and soul with which we make and perform our music is still the same.
Are you more studio dwelling or is it more likely we’ll catch you out there playing a live set?
We really love both things. Music is our life and we love spent time in the studio to make new cuts and spin them during our live set. There is nothing better that listening your new stuff live on the dancefloor and looking at them making people happy.
Have you ever had to take time out to get re-inspired, or are there always ideas and creative processes going on in your minds?
To be honest, lately we have more time to get re-inspired than to be in the studio producing new ideas. The thing is that we are always traveling a lot and the time we get to spend in the studio is very limited. Also most of the time we are in studio we need to finish new tracks, remixes and work for the label. Se we really miss time to produce all the ideas we have in mind. During our travel we are always like "Hey, as soon as we get back in the studio we must produce this track with this idea…." So now we have a lot of new fresh ideas on the table, we just need the time to be in the studio and make this happen!!
When making ‘The Light Goes On’ EP, had you decided on a particular sound before, or did you just let it flow in the studio?
We didn't decide on a particular sound before but we were in love with that old school house sounds and feeling. It was a long time that we wanted to incorporate that feeling into our style to create some new house cuts in a deeper style. We always listen to old school house and play some tracks in our sets, so has been quite easy to find some good inspiring sounds and fill them into our music.
Describe the creative process of making this EP. Do you have quite a simplified way of making your music or is it a huge process?
It depends; sometimes things come really easy and fast, sometimes they need more work. On this EP things have been quite easy. First we made the beat of ‘I Can't Do Without You’. We wanted to make a deep cut with an old school house feeling. While making the beat we found this vocal sample cutting it from an accapella and adding some effects. They match perfectly and the track was pretty straightforward from there.
‘The Light Goes On was different. We were working on a remix and trying to play some different basslines for it. We found a really good bassline, but it didn't work on the remix. So we decided to keep the bassline for an original track adding a catchy vocal on top. Then, as we always do with new tracks, we tested them several times on the dancefloor; they always got a fantastic response, so we decided that was time to release them. We played them at Ministry of Sound during the Defected in The House party and two days later Andy from Defected wrote us to ask about those two unreleased tracks that he listened on the recorded set!
What can we expect from you in the future, more of the same sort of sound or a different direction?
It's really hard to say…we are in constant evolution with our sound and we don't like to be classified under just one genre. We always try to do what we feel in that moment and what we think can be good for our sets!
Anything else you’d like to tell us about…?
In 2013 we'll celebrate 10 years of Supernova. We have in mind to produce a new album this really important year of our life. Oh yeah, hope to see all you guys at the Defected In The House ADE party @ Air in Amsterdam on October 19th!!
