Meduza Share the Secrets of the ‘Italian Touch’ in Dance Music

Milan, Design Week 2024, a big party in a wonderful location with Meduza’s Mattia Vitale at the DJ booth. Waves of people reach the dance floor: first a group of Dutch designers in their 40s dancing with cocktails in hand, then a wave of 20-year-olds raising their hands in the air when they hear the hooks of “Piece of Your Heart” and “Lose Control.” At the end, everyone passionately sings Daft Punk’s “One More Time,” while Mattia has fun playing with the effects. Meduza are capable of making themselves loved by a transversal audience.

If artists like Daft Punk have exported the “French touch” to the rest of the world, then Meduza could be considered flag bearers of the “Italian touch,” the tradition of Italian DJs and producers who have transmitted a certain style in dance music, from Giorgio Moroder to Tale of Us.

Before the interview, they have some fun commenting on a handful of 12-inch vinyl singles contained in a DJ bag. The eyes of Mattia Vitale, Luca De Gregorio and Simone Giani lit up when looking at the covers of tracks that made the history of dance music. “Groovejet” by Spiller, “Needin’ U” by David Morales, “Music Sounds Better With You” by Stardust, just to mention a few.

Now it’s their turn to speak, in the aftermath of their new single “Fire,” the official anthem of the European football championship.

You have a lot of gigs this summer — more than 40 in three months.

Mattia Vitale: Plus some pre-shows at Cafè Mambo in Ibiza!

Luca De Gregorio: Those are cool. We mix for an hour, sometimes back-to-back with some guests, while the sun sets. In Ibiza we also play at “Our House” parties at Hï.

You are now regulars in Ibiza. Has your audience changed in recent years?

Vitale: In my opinion there is a completely different generation than before, and the average age has dropped a lot.

Simone Giani: The type of music offered is also changing. I could say that it is much more linked to international successes than in the past, when DJs tried to maintain that certain Ibizan identity in the sounds.

Vitale: Obviously in July and August the island becomes much more musically commercial, due to the type of tourists who arrive. But compared to the past, Ibiza has become more open to the demands of what the audience wants. In September, you will also find industry insiders in the clubs and that segment of pure clubbers, true enthusiasts and many Americans. At that time of the season, you can really have fun and feel more free as a DJ.

You are experts at DJing in every situation. What does it mean for you as a DJ to be on the decks at Tomorrowland and then move on to the decks at Lollapalooza, to give two examples?

Vitale: This is all very interesting. I grew up as a resident DJ, so always used to changing the set depending on the audience or the type of evening. For me, the fact that I play in different situations every week also helps myself to be able to work on the tracks, on the edits, and to completely change my perspective. Of course, when you go to play a festival you have to play your own music. We present ourselves as Meduza: we are there because the public expects our performance, with our productions.

Giani: At Tomorrowland, we feel like we are in our natural habitat, within the company of other DJs and producers, while at Lollapalooza we are among bands and artists who do something completely different. It is precisely at that moment that we often feel even more gratified, because our singles played on the radio or streamed online bring together a diverse audience that you often find at festivals, such as Lollapalooza.

The acceptance of dance music at festivals began between 1997 and 1998 with Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk, remember? People who danced to rock began to respect clubbers and mix with them.

De Gregorio: In the last 15 years, electronic music has really exploded as a presence at festivals, as well as having created a circuit of festivals where the genre is dominant. Today, electronic music has the same value as genres such as rock, pop, hip-hop.

Giani: You mentioned the Chemical Brothers. What comes to mind is not only their courage to play at festivals where rock was the main genre, but also the fact that they managed to make a difference! This reminds me of my time at the conservatory: I too did my act of courage by demonstrating my interest and passion for dance music. I remember finding myself mocked most of the time!

Italy has always exported great dance music. Your tracks have a sense for melody that is also the result of this long tradition.

Vitale: Sure. We grew up with Italian pop music from an early age. We feel that legacy emerge when we get into the studio, where we always make a mix of all the experiences we have in our heads. Those melodies become present again.

Giani: I grew up with the songs of Lucio Battisti and Lucio Dalla, for example. From the 17th century onwards, we Italians have been masters of melody.

Vitale: In the ranking of the most listened to Italian authors in the world, there is Vivaldi! Luckily, I’d say.

Giani: I don’t really like very rhythmic DJ sets without melody. I respect “purist” techno DJs, but for me it’s an approach that becomes monotonous after a while. I need breaks, singing and melodies that take you on a journey. That’s what we do in our DJ sets.

Your case is special. Thanks to your hit songs, even the most traditional media play your music, but today many good Italian artists of the electronic scene are not broadcast on radio or TV.

De Gregorio: I can’t explain it. It’s strange, because in Italy in the ’90s, dance music reigned everywhere, becoming a global phenomenon. Then evidently our dance music lost appeal on TV and radio.

Giani: Since then, dance music has often been considered a second-class production.

Yet today many hip-hop, trap and even pop artists flirt a lot with contemporary dance.

Vitale: The thing that really saddens me is that there are artists who gather large audiences with their shows and don’t have visibility elsewhere. Benny Benassi and Tale of Us have a media impact, yet the reaction of the mainstream media is close to zero. There is also a certain lack of respect, if we consider that we are all “children” of Giorgio Moroder, who exported that Italian touch we are talking about to the world. It’s sad to achieve success first abroad and then in Italy. When we enter some recording studios abroad, we see that there are a lot of Italians working there who had to go there to demonstrate their skills. In our country, they didn’t give them a chance.

With your latest single, “Fire,” you worked on commission for the first time.

De Gregorio: You don’t know how many versions we have made. … We have more than a thousand files in one folder! For that track we worked with a great professional, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic.

The thing that strikes me about your productions is that in seven years, you have produced seven hit songs. On one hand, you are not very prolific, you don’t release a lot of new music. But on the other hand, it is not easy to churn out a sure hit every year.

Vitale: We prefer quality over quantity. Everything that comes out of the studio must be approved and precise. Before starting the interview, we were talking about the vinyl of David Morales’, “Needin’ U”: Before releasing it, he tested it in DJ sets, and only after seeing the public’s reaction did he decide to release it as a single. It is now one of the classics of house music.

De Gregorio: The opposite happened to us. For the third single, after “Lose Control,” we were sure we wanted to release a certain song. It was conceived during the pandemic, so it hadn’t had the opportunity to get played in clubs. After the lockdown, we tested it live. We looked at each other and immediately changed direction. Then we worked on “Paradise.” Testing a track “on field” has always helped us; it’s an advantage of dance music that other genres don’t have.

–This article originally appeared in Billboard Italy