Our last interview with Antonio

Data di pubblicazione 26/07/2018

- The choice to appear as an artist and not only as a producer. What is your artistic need, your message. What do you want to tell us that in music you don't say?

Music expresses my emotions and the vibrations of the soul, through it I express my inner feelings and the perception I have of the world. I think it is one of the most direct and universal forms of expression, which does not necessarily need words. Get to the point right away!

- On Spotify your music is constantly growing, but by choice you are not moving from the studio. How strong is the need for a live show? And how do you imagine a live performance by Bellantoni?

At the moment I prefer to stay in the studio to produce music and gain more confidence in myself. If I had to imagine a live... Good question I will think about it, but it will have to reflect 100% my musical vision.

- A music definitely European, in the wake of many producers like Odesza and many others who bring the electronics on slopes outside and inside the dance music. How important is listening and dancing for you?

For me it's more important to listen to my music together because through the chorus I can spread my music to the community, but if the piece is somehow danceable, why not.

- The sounds and beats of your songs are certainly part of a strong Anglo-Saxon influence. What about Italian culture and music in your music?

My musical background is basically based on listening to English and European music, but having grown up in Italy I unconsciously absorbed the melodic element of Italian music.

- It's music very far from black music, although the drum'n'bass and house influences are very strong. How much black music is there in your research?

Having grown up listening to jungle, drum'n'bass and trip-hop I'd say that more than an "external" search, it's an internal influence, something natural that I've acquired through listening to these musical genres.

- In your music many contradictions emerge. The search for serenity, relaxation, but also opposing territories, strong sensations. What is right and what is wrong in the world?

As for what's right and wrong in the world I could talk for hours, but maybe now it's better to stay focused on the musical theme. All the contrasting sensations within my music are mostly internal contradictions, I don't think they have anything to do with the outside world.

- Contradiction is also dominant in the rhythmic and melodic choices, which struggle between clear, simple, brilliant melodies and dark atmospheres. Do you set your feelings to music or do you use music to paint the world you want?

I tend to set my feelings to music. The result is the transposition into notes, rhythms, sounds of my "inner world".

- Your ideal world in a few simple words, as if it were your manifesto

The ideal world does not exist, you could ask John Lennon (if he was still alive)

- In your music there is a strong idealization of feeling. Describe your ideal woman.

I am convinced that it doesn't exist! What you have to do, even to better live a relationship, is to make compromises, for the good of the couple and at the same time have values to respect and share. You have to know how to wait, the "ideal woman" will present herself sooner or later.

- You are one of the most prolific musicians in the electronic world, even if you are not yet known as an artist. Does your strong sensitivity give you advantages or disadvantages in real life?

In most cases, being sensitive brings disadvantages in real life because it is clear that you are not understood by everyone, but every now and then it also brings small recoveries.

- What would you recommend to a 13 year old boy who wants to do a musical journey like yours?

You have to be really convinced otherwise leave it alone, don't be discouraged by what others say or try to impose. Be original and always try to put your touch into the productions you create, so that you are not just another copy of the great artists of world renown. Having idols and being inspired by them is fine, but not too much!

- What struck you about the Miraloop project, to which you entrusted a demanding and ambitious project?

The friendliness, the seriousness, the ability to listen about new ideas and new musical forms, to find a meeting point and not simply impose a single point of view. But above all, something rare in a label nowadays: sincerity.

- We greet you, leaving to our readers the links of the four records published with us:

Elisya - http://www.miraloop.com/records/release/item/241/elisya

Silver Clouds - http://www.miraloop.com/records/release/item/2/silver-clouds

Aesthetic Pleasure - http://www.miraloop.com/records/release/item/249/aesthetic-pleasure

Eyelight - http://www.miraloop.com/records/release/item/260/eyelight

NDR: Antonio Bellantoni passed away on July 18, 2018 at the age of 38.
This interview was recorded and written at the end of June following the release of Eyelight, the last album in the "ESCAPE" series. He was still waiting to be completed. When Antonio leaves us, Eyelight is still on the Beatport chart.

We'll miss Antonio! staff